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{{short description|Underground complex in Middle-earth}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox fictional ___location
| name = ''Moria''
| image = Emblema Durin.svg
| image_size = 100px
| caption = Durin's emblem, as on Moria's West-gate
| source = ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''
| alt_name = ''Khazad-dûm''
| type = Greatest city of [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]]<br/>[[Subterranean fiction|subterranean realm]], [[labyrinth]]
| blank_label = Geography
| blank_data = Central [[Misty Mountains]]
| blank_label1 = Lifespan
| blank_data1 = [[Years of the Trees]] – {{ME-date|TA|1981}}; [[Fourth Age]]
| blank_label2 = Founder
| blank_data2 = [[Durin]]
| ruler = [[Durin's folk#Durin|Kings of Durin's Folk]] (to {{ME-date|TA|1981}}); Durin's Bane, Azog; Balin; Durin VII
}}
In the fictional history of the world by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], '''Moria''', also named '''Khazad-dûm''', is an ancient subterranean complex in [[Middle-earth]], comprising a vast [[labyrinth]]ine network of tunnels, chambers, mines, and halls under the [[Misty Mountains]], with doors on both the western and the eastern sides of the mountain range. Moria is introduced in Tolkien's novel ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and is a major scene of action in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.
In much of [[History of Arda|Middle-earth's history]], Moria was the greatest city of [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|the Dwarves]]. The city's wealth was founded on its mines, which produced ''[[mithril]]'', a fictional metal of great beauty and strength, suitable for armour. The Dwarves dug too greedily and too deep for ''mithril'', and disturbed a demon of great power: [[Durin's Bane|a Balrog]], which destroyed their kingdom. By the end of the [[Third Age]], Moria had long been abandoned by the Dwarves, and was a place of evil repute. It was dark, in dangerous disrepair, and in its labyrinths lurked [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] and the [[Balrog]].
Scholars have identified likely sources for Tolkien's Moria: he had studied a Latin inscription about [[Ring of Silvianus|a lost ring]] at the temple of [[Nodens]] in Gloucestershire, at a place called Dwarf's Hill full of old mine-workings. The name Moria, Tolkien wrote, echoed the name of [[Soria Moria Castle|a castle]] in a Norwegian folktale, while Gandalf's death and reappearance reminded critics of the [[resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] and [[transfiguration of Jesus]]. The West Gate that the [[Watcher in the Water]] crashes closed behind the [[Fellowship of the Ring (characters)|Fellowship]] recalled to commentators the [[Wandering Rocks]] of [[Greek mythology]], and [[Odysseus]]'s passage between the devouring [[Scylla]] and the whirlpool [[Charybdis]]. Finally, the Fellowship's entry into the darkness via the deadly lake by the West Gate, and its exit into the light via the beautiful Mirrormere, alongside Gandalf's death and reappearance, has been compared to a [[baptism]], a ceremony that combines a symbolic death and the gift of new life.
Moria provided dramatic scenes in [[Peter Jackson]]'s film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', inspired by [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]]'s illustrations. Its multiple levels of tunnels and halls have served, too, as the basis for a variety of computer and board games.
== Names ==
The name "Moria" means "the Black Chasm" or "the Black Pit", from [[Sindarin]] ''mor'', "dark, black" and ''iâ'', "void, abyss".<ref name="Letter 297" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=letter #297 draft to Mr Rang, August 1967 }}</ref> The element ''mor'' had the sense "sinister, evil", especially by association with infamous names such as ''[[Morgoth]]'' and ''[[Mordor]]''; indeed Moria itself had an evil reputation by the times in which ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' are set. The name ''Moria'' had (within the fiction) originally applied only to the Black Chasm itself. However, after the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] were forced to abandon Khazad-dûm, its many lamps went out, and the whole subterranean complex became dark. [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] [[#Bible|borrowed the name ''Moria'']] itself, but not its meaning, from a book he had read.<ref name="Letter 297" group=T/>{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|p=224 "Moria"}}
''Khazad-dûm'' is the name of the fabulous city-kingdom of the Dwarves, especially in a historical or nostalgic context. In the fictional history, ''Khazad-dûm'' was Moria's original name, given by the Dwarves in their own language, [[Khuzdul]]. It is rendered (in "translated Westron") as ''the Dwarrowdelf'', an archaic form of what would be ''the Dwarves' delving'' in more modern English. Tolkien rhymes ''dûm'' with "tomb".<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"}}</ref>
== Tolkien's account ==
=== Geography ===
[[File:Misty Mountain (59053312).jpeg|thumb|left|Mist on the [[Alps]]: Tolkien's experiences on his 1911 visit gave him the idea for difficulties crossing the Misty Mountains.<ref name="Letters #306" group=T/>]]
Moria was originally a system of natural caves located in Dimrill Dale, a valley on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. The appearance of the Misty Mountains, and some of the experiences of Tolkien's protagonists, were inspired by his travels in the [[Swiss Alps]] in 1911.<ref name="Letters #306" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=letter #306 to [[Michael Tolkien]], October 1968 }}</ref>
{{anchor|Black Chasm|Durin's Bridge}}
The caves led to the Black Chasm, a subterranean abyss, some fifty feet wide and of indeterminate depth, which was crossed only by Durin's Bridge, "a slender bridge of stone, without kerb or rail".<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> It forced any group wishing to cross to go in single file, limiting the power of any attack.<ref name="The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"}}</ref>
{{anchor|Misty Mountains|Mountains of Moria}}
[[File:Sketch map of Lothlórien.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|Moria's ___location, beneath the Misty Mountains, opening on to Dimrill Dale, surrounded by three high mountains, ''Celebdil'', ''Caradhras'' and ''Fanuidhol''. Mirrormere lies in Dimrill Dale; the River Celebrant flows out of it.]]
Moria lay on the western edge of the [[Middle-earth]] region of [[Wilderland]]. The Mountains of Moria, three of the Misty Mountains' most massive peaks, surrounded Dimrill Dale: ''Silvertine'' on the west, ''Redhorn'' on the north, and ''Cloudyhead'' on the east – in [[Sindarin]] respectively ''Celebdil'', ''Caradhras'' and ''Fanuidhol''. Their [[Khuzdûl]] names, respectively ''Zirakzigil'',{{efn|In early editions, the name was mostly hyphenated, as ''Zirak-zigil'', but by 2004 [[Christopher Tolkien]] had established that his father preferred the unhyphenated form.{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|p=267 "The Ring goes South"}} }} ''Barazinbar'' and ''Bundushathûr'', are mentioned by Gimli, as the Fellowship nears Moria. The caves of Moria, where the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarf]] city-kingdom of Khazad-dûm was founded, were situated under Silvertine; their mouth overlooked Dimrill Dale, which contained many waterfalls and a long, oval lake that reflected stars even in daylight. Perceiving these stars as a [[Durin's Crown|crown glittering above his head]], Durin took this as an auspicious sign, named the lake ''Kheled-zâram'', the Mirrormere, and chose the eastward-facing caves above it for his new stronghold.<ref name="Lothlórien" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 6 "Lothlórien"}}</ref>
=== Geology ===
{{further|Mithril}}
The [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] excavated most of Khazad-dûm out of solid rock, leaving polished walls.<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> Minerals included [[gold]], [[gem]]s and [[iron ore]]. However the principal mineral was ''[[mithril]]'', a fabulously precious and versatile metal found nowhere else in Middle-earth. It was the source of Khazad-dûm's huge wealth, but ultimately [[#The Mines|its mining]] was the cause of its downfall. Beginning under the Silvertine, the Dwarves mined ever deeper, and down towards the roots of Mount Caradhras. There they unearthed the Balrog, which drove the Dwarves into exile.<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/>
Far below even the deepest mines of the Dwarves lay a primordial underworld of tunnels, [[Subterranean river|streams]] and [[Underground lake|lakes]] in perpetual darkness, inhabited by primitive creatures. The tunnels were "gnawed by nameless things" from the beginnings of [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]],<ref name="The White Rider" group=T/> and, as [[Gandalf]] suggested, from this underworld the [[Watcher in the Water]] may have emerged.<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/>
=== History ===
Moria was founded by [[Durin]] at the end of the [[Cosmology of Tolkien's legendarium#Stars|Ages of the Stars]]. During his reign, the precious metal mithril was discovered in the mines, and some of the major structures of Moria were built: Durin's Bridge, the Second Hall, the Endless Stair and Durin's Tower. Durin died before the end of the First Age. He was buried in the royal tombs of Khazad-dûm.<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/><ref name="Appendix A: III Durin's Folk" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix A: III "Durin's Folk"}}</ref> [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] constantly attacked the dwarf kingdom; men and dwarves fought together against the orcs.<ref name="POME Shibboleth" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996|loc=part 2 ch. 10 "[[The Shibboleth of Fëanor]]"}}</ref> The dwarves became friendly with the Elves of [[Eregion]] to the west; the Elves assisted in developing Khazad-dûm's mansions, making it "far more beautiful" as it grew westwards through tunnels to the West Gate,<ref name="UT Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|loc=part 2 ch. 4 "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn"}}</ref> which opened on to Eregion. [[Celebrimbor]], the Lord of Eregion, used ''ithildin'' lettering on this gate on behalf of its builder, his friend the dwarf smith [[Narvi (Middle-earth)|Narvi]].<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/>
In the [[Second Age]], [[Rings of Power]] were made by elves in Eregion. [[Durin III]], the King of Khazad-dûm at the time, obtained one of the rings; another was [[Nenya]], made from Moria's ''mithril''; it became [[Galadriel]]'s ring. When the elves discovered that [[Sauron]], the Dark Lord had made the [[One Ring]], giving him control of all the other rings, the War of the Elves and Sauron broke out.<ref name="POME Shibboleth" group=T/> Sauron conquered Eregion, but Khazad-dûm's intervention enabled Elves including [[Elrond]] and [[Celeborn]] to escape Eregion's destruction and found [[Rivendell]].<ref name="UT Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T/> Khazad-dûm was closed, and its population dwindled. At the end of the Second Age, Khazad-dûm fought Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, helping to defeat him.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc="[[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]"}}</ref>
In the Third Age, the more easily accessible seams of ''[[mithril]]'' were exhausted, and the Dwarves dug deeper until they disturbed a [[Balrog]], a powerful fire-demon. [[Balrog#Durin's Bane|It]] killed King Durin VI, acquiring the name Durin's Bane, and then Náin I, his son. The Dwarves abandoned Khazad-dûm and fled into [[Wilderland]].<ref name="Appendix A: III Durin's Folk" group=T/>
{{anchor|Balin's colony}}
Orcs occupied Moria, while the Balrog haunted its depths. The Orc-chieftain Azog became the master of Moria. Thrór, the heir of the Dwarf-kings of Khazad-dûm, attempted to enter his people's ancestral home, and was killed by Azog. This started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs; Azog was beheaded by [[Dáin Ironfoot]], but the [[Pyrrhic victory|victory was Pyrrhic]], and the Dwarves did not dare face the Balrog.<ref name="Appendix A: III Durin's Folk" group=T/> Much later, [[Balin (Middle-earth)|Balin]] left Erebor to recolonize Moria, but after five years his colony was destroyed by Orcs.<ref name="The Council of Elrond" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 2 "[[The Council of Elrond]]"}}</ref>
As the [[War of the Ring]] loomed, a messenger from [[Sauron]] offered Dáin the return of Moria and three [[Rings of Power#The Seven|Dwarf-Rings]] if he helped Sauron to find the [[One Ring]]. Dáin refused, sending [[Glóin, son of Gróin|Glóin]] and his son [[Gimli (Middle-earth)|Gimli]] to the [[Council of Elrond]], starting the quest of the [[Fellowship of the Ring (characters)|Fellowship of the Ring]].<ref name="The Council of Elrond" group=T/>
{{anchor|Chamber of Mazarbul}}
[[File:The Fellowship of the Ring in Moria by Alexander Korotich.jpg|thumb|upright|[[The Fellowship of the Ring (characters)|The Fellowship of the Ring]] in Moria. [[Scraperboard]] illustration by [[Alexander Korotich]], 1981]]
The Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in winter, gambling that most of its [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] had been killed in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. They were attacked by the monstrous [[Watcher in the Water]] as they entered the West-gate, and faced further perils in the subterranean passages. They reached the Chamber of Mazarbul, the ancient repository of documents holding [[Balin (Middle-earth)|Balin]]'s tomb and his colony's chronicle, the [[Book of Mazarbul]].<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> They were attacked there by a [[Troll (Middle-earth)|Troll]] and many Orcs, before being approached by the Balrog. [[Gandalf]] confronted the Balrog on Durin's Bridge. The two duelled briefly before plunging together into the chasm, allowing the rest of the Fellowship to escape to the Eastern Gates.<ref name="The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" group=T/>
{{anchor|Battle of the Peak}}
Unknown to the Fellowship, Gandalf climbed to the top of Mount Celebdil and continued to fight the Balrog for two days in the Battle of the Peak; both died, but Gandalf returned to Middle-earth as Gandalf the White.<ref name="The White Rider" group=T/>
Khazad-dûm lay empty. Some centuries into the [[Fourth Age]], the auspiciously-named Durin VII, a descendant of [[Dáin Ironfoot]], succeeded as the King of the Longbeards and heir of the Kings of Khazad-dûm.<ref name="POME Making of App A" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996|loc="The Making of Appendix A", (iv) "Durin's Folk"}}</ref> He led his people back to Khazad-dûm, where they remained "until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin's race were ended".<ref name="POME Making of App A" group=T/>
=== Architecture ===
The city of Khazad-dûm had many levels, linked by flights of stone steps. There were at least six levels above the Great Gates, and many more levels —or Deeps— below it. Every level consisted of a network of arched passages, chambers and many-pillared halls, often with "black walls, polished and smooth as glass".<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> Below the level of the Gates lay treasuries, armouries, dungeons, and mines. The Endless Stair of many thousands of steps rose in an unbroken spiral from the lowest dungeon of Moria to Durin's Tower at the summit of Celebdil; it was destroyed in the battle between [[Gandalf]] and the balrog, [[Durin's Bane]].<ref name="The White Rider" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=book 3, ch. 5 "The White Rider"}}</ref>
During the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, the subterranean realm was "full of light and splendour", illuminated by many "shining lamps of [[Rock crystal|crystal]]".<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> The higher levels had [[skylight]]s carved through the mountain-side which provided daylight. The East-gate or the Dimrill Gate was the main entrance, looking over [[Dimrill Dale]].<ref name="A Journey in the Dark" group=T/> It opened into the First Hall of Moria. The West-gate enabled travellers to pass right through the [[Misty Mountains]], thus providing a weather-free alternative to the notorious and arduous Redhorn Pass, 15–20 miles to the north. ''[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]]'' notes that Middle-earth gates are important both symbolically and practically: "They mark exclusion or admission. They test character and wisdom. They suggest mystery, secrecy, and privilege."<ref name="Stanton 2007">{{cite book |last=Stanton |first=Michael N. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |chapter=Doors and Gates |title=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |page=127}}</ref>
{{anchor|West-door}}
==== Doors of Durin ====
{{further|Tolkien's artwork}}
[[File:Doors_of_Durin.jpg|thumb|upright|Tolkien's illustration of the [[Doors of Durin]], with [[Sindarin]] inscription in [[Tengwar]] script{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|pp=279–283}}]]
The Doors of Durin, also called the West-gate or the West-door, formed the western entrance to Moria. When shut, the gates were invisible and impossible to open by physical means. They were however decorated with designs engraved in ''ithildin'' made by the elf-Lord Celebrimbor of Eregion and the dwarf Narvi from ''[[mithril]]'' mined in Moria. The designs included the emblems of Durin, the two trees of the High Elves, and the Star of the House of [[Fëanor]]. Tolkien's drawing of the designs on the Doors of Durin was the only illustration in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' during his lifetime (other than cover-art and calligraphy). In moonlight, a password made the designs visible. The designs contained a second password to [[Open Sesame (phrase)#Classification|open the doors]]. When the Fellowship entered, the [[Watcher in the Water]], the aquatic guardian of the gates, slammed the doors shut with its tentacles, plunging the Fellowship into darkness.<ref name="Journey in the Dark" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}}, book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"</ref><ref name="Letter #137" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#137 to [[Rayner Unwin]], 11 April 1953 }}</ref><ref name="Huttar 1975"/>
The inscription was in the Elvish language of [[Sindarin]], using the [[Tengwar]] script;{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|pp=279–283}} Gandalf translates it as "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs."<ref name="Journey in the Dark" group=T/> Scholars have commented that "Moria", an unfriendly Elvish description meaning "The Black Pit", was hardly how a ruler of Khazad-Dûm would choose to describe his realm; and that since the name was not used until the Balrog was awakened in the Third Age, it was also anachronistic. Possible resolutions have been proposed: that Celebrimbor had foresight of the name; that the magic lettering reshaped itself; or that Gandalf indeed saw the Sindarin name "Hadhodrond" on the door, and read it out as "Moria" for the benefit of those listening (and in the same way, he must have seen "Eregion" and read out "Hollin").{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|pp=279–283}}{{-}}
== Origins ==
=== Nodens ===
[[File:Roman Temple - geograph.org.uk - 1318760.jpg|thumb|Tolkien visited the temple of [[Nodens]] at a place called "Dwarf's Hill" and translated an inscription with a [[curse]] upon a ring. It may have inspired his dwarves, mines, rings, and [[Celebrimbor]] "Silver-Hand", an Elven-[[Silversmith|smith]] who contributed to Moria's building.<ref name="Anger 2013"/>]]
{{further|Nodens|Ring of Silvianus}}
In 1928, a 4th-century pagan mystery cult temple was excavated at [[Lydney Park]], Gloucestershire.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=40–41}} Tolkien was asked to investigate a [[Latin]] inscription there: "For the god [[Nodens]]. [[Ring of Silvianus|Silvianus has lost a ring]] and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens."<ref>{{cite web |title=RIB 306. Curse upon Senicianus |url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/306 |publisher=Roman Inscriptions of Britain |access-date=17 February 2020}}</ref> An old name for the place was Dwarf's Hill, and in 1932 Tolkien traced Nodens to the Irish hero ''[[Nuada Airgetlám]]'', "Nuada of the Silver-Hand".<ref group=T>[[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien, J. R. R.]], "The Name Nodens", Appendix to "Report on the excavation of the prehistoric, Roman and post-Roman site in [[Lydney Park]], Gloucestershire", ''Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London'', 1932; also in ''[[Tolkien Studies|Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review]]'', Vol. 4, 2007</ref> The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] thought this [[J. R. R. Tolkien's influences|"a pivotal influence" on Tolkien's Middle-earth]], combining as it did a god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand.<ref name="Anger 2013"/> ''The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'' notes also the "Hobbit-like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien was extremely interested in the hill's folklore on his stay there, citing Helen Armstrong's comment that the place may have inspired Tolkien's "Celebrimbor and the fallen realms of Moria and Eregion".<ref name="Anger 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Anger |first=Don N. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Report on the Excavation of the Prehistoric, Roman and Post-Roman Site in Lydney Park, Gloucestershire |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=563–564}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Armstrong |first=Helen |title=And Have an Eye to That Dwarf |journal=Amon Hen: The Bulletin of the Tolkien Society |date=May 1997 |issue=145 |pages=13–14}}</ref> The scholar of English literature John M. Bowers notes that the name of the Elven-smith Celebrimbor is the<!--British English--> Sindarin for "Silver Hand" and that "because the place was known locally as Dwarf's Hill and honeycombed with abandoned mines, it naturally suggested itself as background for the [[Lonely Mountain]] and the Mines of Moria."<ref name="Bowers 2019">{{cite book |last=Bowers |first=John M. |title=Tolkien's Lost Chaucer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGOtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 |date=2019 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-884267-5 |pages=131–132}}</ref>
===''Norwegian Folktales''===
Moria first appeared in Tolkien's 1937 novel ''[[The Hobbit]]''. Tolkien later recalled that the name was "a casual 'echo' of ''[[Soria Moria Castle]]'' in one of the Scandinavian tales translated by [[George Webbe Dasent|Dasent]]. ... I liked the sound-sequence; it alliterated with 'mines', and it connected itself with the MOR element in [[Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien|my linguistic construction]]."<ref name="Letter 297" group=T/> The tales translated by Dasent were from the 1852 collection ''[[Norwegian Folktales]]''.{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|p=224 "Moria"}} A historic source is the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', with which Tolkien was familiar; the protagonist in the ''[[Skírnismál]]'' notes that his quest will involve misty mountains, [[orc]]s, and giants.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=80–81}}
== Analysis ==
{{further|Christianity in Middle-earth}}
[[File:The_Book_of_Mazarbul,_first_page.jpg|thumb|upright|The first page from ''The Book of Mazarbul'', [[Tolkien's artwork|artwork created by Tolkien]] to support the story. The publishers did not include it in the first edition of ''The Lord of the Rings''.<ref name="Holmes 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Holmes |first=John R. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Art and Illustrations by Tolkien |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=27–32}}</ref><ref name="Letter #141" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#141 to [[Allen & Unwin]], 9 October 1953 }}</ref>]]
The Tolkien scholar [[Jane Chance]] observes that the fall of the dwarves, first those of Durin, then those of Balin, is brought about through avarice, their greed for Moria's deeply-buried ''mithril''. She identifies this as "their internal vice",<ref name="Nitzsche 1980 p108">{{cite book |last=Nitzsche |first=Jane Chance |author-link=Jane Chance |title=[[Tolkien's Art: 'A Mythology for England']] |date=1980 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=[[Papermac]] |isbn=0-333-29034-8 |pages=108–109}}</ref> which the Balrog "monstrously projects".<ref name="Nitzsche 1980 p108"/> Chance notes further that Balin meets his death at the lake Mirrormere, "a very dark mirror in which he is blind to himself."<ref name="Nitzsche 1980 p108"/>
The scholar Clive Tolley notes that the contest between the wizard Gandalf and the evil Balrog on Durin's Bridge somewhat recalls a [[Shamanism|shaman]]istic contest but that a far closer parallel is medieval vision literature, giving the example of ''[[St Patrick's Purgatory]]'' and even [[Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tolley |first=Clive |chapter=Old English influence on The Lord of the Rings |year=2014 |editor1-last=Allard |editor1-first=Joe |editor2-last=North |editor2-first=Richard |title=Beowulf and Other Stories |publisher=[[Routledge]] |url=http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/uploads/M02_NORT6036_02_SE_C02.pdf |access-date=10 January 2020 |page=55 |archive-date=17 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517070743/http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/uploads/M02_NORT6036_02_SE_C02.pdf |url-status=dead |isbn=978-1-31583295-1 |doi=10.4324/9781315832951}}</ref>
Scholars such as Chance and Jerram Barrs have recognised the death of Gandalf the Grey (at the hands of the Balrog), and his reappearance as Gandalf the White, as a [[Transfiguration of Jesus|transfiguration]],<ref name="Barrs2013">{{cite book |last=Barrs |first=Jerram |title=Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and the Arts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kx2CkUmuxmkC&pg=PA123 |year=2013 |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1-4335-3600-7 |page=123}}</ref> the change in colour hinting at "a parallel with [[Christ]]'s own death and [[resurrection]]".<ref name="Nitzsche 1980 p42">{{cite book |last=Nitzsche |first=Jane Chance |author-link=Jane Chance |title=Tolkien's Art |date=1980 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=Papermac |isbn=0-333-29034-8 |page=42}}</ref><ref name="Petty 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Petty |first=Anne C. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Allegory |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=6–7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Maher |first=Michael W. |editor-last=Chance |editor-first=Jane |editor-link=Jane Chance |chapter= "'A land without stain': medieval images of Mary and their use in the characterization of Galadriel" |title=Tolkien the Medievalist |date=2003 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=225}}</ref>
The professor of English literature Sue Zlosnik notes that the fantasy world in Tolkien's [[A mythology for England|invented mythology for England]]<ref name="Eaglestone2006"/> is constructed with elaborate detail. She cites [[Humphrey Carpenter]]'s biographical account of Tolkien's "painstaking crafting" of The Book of Mazarbul that appears in Moria, complete with "burnt and tattered" pages, and Tolkien's disappointed wish for a facsimile of this artefact to appear in the first edition of ''Fellowship of the Ring''. In Zlosnik's view, this sort of detail recalls [[Horace Walpole]]'s love of the "[[Gothic fiction|Gothic]]".<ref name="Eaglestone2006">{{cite book |last=Zlosnik |first=Sue |editor-last=Eaglestone |editor-first=Robert |chapter=Gothic Echoes |title=Reading The Lord of the Rings: New Writings on Tolkien's Classic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dmu9G8oU3oQC&pg=PA50 |year=2006 |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |isbn=978-0-8264-8460-4 |page=50}}</ref>
Erin Derwin, writing in ''The Artifice'', compares the fellowship's time in Moria with [[Siegfried Sassoon]]'s [[First World War]] poem "The Rear-Guard", in which he describes "groping along the tunnel" in a labyrinth of dark trenches, with "muttering creatures underground", recalling, Derwin suggests, the awakening of the Orcs and the Balrog by the hobbit Pippin.<ref name="Derwin 2014">{{cite web |last1=Derwin |first1=Erin |title=World War I and The Lord of the Rings: The Trenches of Moria |url=https://the-artifice.com/lord-of-the-rings-world-war-i/ |publisher=The Artifice |date=8 July 2014}}</ref>
The scholar of English literature [[Charles A. Huttar]] compares this "clashing gate" that crashed shut behind the travellers to the [[Wandering Rocks]] that in [[Greek mythology]] lie near the opening of the [[underworld]], [[Hades]], and, along with the monstrous Watcher in the Water, to [[Odysseus]]'s passage between the devouring [[Scylla]] and the whirlpool [[Charybdis]].<ref name="Huttar 1975">{{cite book |last=Huttar |first=Charles A. |author-link=Charles A. Huttar |editor-last=Lobdell |editor-first=Jared |chapter=Hell and the City: Tolkien and the Traditions of Western Literature |title=A Tolkien Compass |date=1975 |publisher=[[Open Court Publishing Company|Open Court]] |isbn=978-0875483030 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/tolkiencompass00lobd/page/121 121–122] |quote=Clearly Charybdis is yet another route to hell. |url=https://archive.org/details/tolkiencompass00lobd/page/121 }}</ref>
<gallery mode="nolines" heights="200px" widths="200px" class="center">
File:Transfiguration Raphael.jpg|Scholars such as [[Jane Chance]] have compared Gandalf's death in Moria and subsequent reappearance as "the White" to [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Christ's Transfiguration]],<ref name="Nitzsche 1980 p42"/> as in this painting by [[Raphael]], {{Circa|1520}}.
File:Charybde et Scylla.jpg|Gateway to Hell: the Fellowship's passage through the West-gate has been compared to [[Odysseus]]'s passage between the devouring [[Scylla]] and the whirlpool [[Charybdis]].<ref name="Huttar 1975"/> Painting by [[Ary Renan]], 1894
File:Labastide-de-Lévis - Peinture Bozia 03 (cropped).jpg|[[Matthew Dickerson]] writes that Moria, symbolising both [[Tomb]] and [[Womb]], can be seen as a place of [[Baptism]].<ref name="Dickerson 2007"/> Detail of painting by Jean Bozia, 1825
</gallery>
[[Matthew Dickerson]], writing in ''The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'', suggests that of all the caves, barrows, tunnels and underground kingdoms in Tolkien's writings, Moria is "the most significant".<ref name="Dickerson 2007">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Dickerson |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew T. Dickerson |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Moria |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=438–439}}</ref> He writes that these dark places, home to many of the major events in the stories, from the Paths of the Dead to [[Gollum]]'s various tunnels and the [[Glittering Caves of Aglarond]] serve as symbols of darkness and death, the Tomb, or of fertility and new life, the Womb. Moria, he argues, citing Hugh Keenan's description of the two contrasting lakes at the Fellowship's entrance and exit from Moria, and giving the example of Gandalf's death and rebirth, functions as both Womb and Tomb. In Christianity, he notes, [[Baptism]] is at once a symbolic death and the gift of new life.<ref name="Dickerson 2007"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Keenan |first=Hugh |chapter=The Appeal of The Lord of the Rings: A Struggle for Life |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |title=J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Modern Critical Interpretations |date=2000 |publisher=[[Chelsea House Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-349-38251-4 |pages=3–5}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+ [[Matthew Dickerson]]'s analysis of Moria's symbolism<ref name="Dickerson 2007"/>
|-
! "[[Tomb]]" !! "[[Womb]]"
|-
| colspan="2"; align="center" | '''''[[Baptism]]'''''
|-
| [[Gandalf]] falls to his death in the Black Chasm || Gandalf is reborn as "the White"
|-
| ''Entrance lake:''<br />Monstrous [[Watcher in the Water]] offers death || ''Exit lake:''<br />Beautiful Mirrormere (''Kheled-Zaram'') offers life
|}
{{anchor|Bible}}Tolkien was asked whether the name ''Moria'' meant the [[biblical]] mountains of [[Moriah]], where [[Abraham]] was to sacrifice his son, [[Isaac]]. Tolkien wrote that his mind did not work that way, explaining that ''Moria'' meant "Black Chasm" in [[Sindarin]], the root ''Mor'' occurring in [[Mordor]], [[Morgoth]], [[Morgul]]. He went on "As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever."<ref name="Letter 297" group=T/>
== Adaptations ==
=== Film ===
[[File:Moria_by_Alan_Lee.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Jackson's [[Architecture in Middle-earth|depiction of the underground halls]] of Moria was largely inspired by [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]]'s illustration.<ref name="Russell 2002"/>]]
[[Peter Jackson]]'s portrayal of Moria in his ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' movie was mostly inspired by [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]]'s illustrations.<ref name="Leotta2015"/><ref name="Russell 2002"/> Lee worked as the project's conceptual artist in New Zealand throughout the making of the film trilogy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnett |first=David M. |title=Making fantasy reality: Alan Lee, the man who redrew Middle-earth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/03/alan-lee-jrr-tolkien-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-hobbit-the-fall-of-gondolin |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=3 September 2018}}</ref> Moria was modelled for the film at 1/12 scale.<ref name="Leotta2015">{{cite book |last=Leotta |first=Alfio |title=Peter Jackson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kum2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT176 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-62356-948-8 |page=176}}</ref><ref name="Russell 2002">{{cite book | last=Russell | first=Gary | title=The Lord of the Rings : the Art of The Fellowship of the Ring | publisher=[[HarperCollins]] | publication-place=London | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-00-713563-9 | oclc=50329727}}</ref>
=== Games ===
The [[roguelike]] computer game ''[[Moria (1983 video game)|Moria]]'' was modelled on ''The Lord of the Rings'' events. The goal in the game is to reach the bottom of a maze-like simulation of the Mines of Moria and kill a Balrog.<ref>{{cite web |last=Koeneke |first=Robert Alan |title=The Dungeons of Moria |url=https://archive.org/details/TheDungeonsOfMoria |publisher=Internet Archive |date=1983}}</ref>
Moria is featured in board games such as Reiner Knizia's [[Lord of the Rings (board game)|''Lord of the Rings'']].<ref name="HG">{{Cite book | contribution=Lord of the Rings | title=Hobby Games: The 100 Best | last=Woodruff | first=Teeuwynn | author-link=Teeuwynn Woodruff | editor-last=Lowder | editor-first=James | editor-link=James Lowder | publisher=[[Green Ronin Publishing]] | year=2007 | pages=183–187 | isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref>
The first expansion pack of the [[Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|MMORPG]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'' named ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria|Mines of Moria]]'' takes place almost entirely in Moria, which has several levels. The uppermost is the path of Durin's Way, which pierces the mountain to reach the cliffs of Zirak-Zigil. The main levels of Moria span from the Doors of Durin to Dolven-View, Zelem-Melek, Nud-Melek and the East doors, known as the First Hall. Further down in the subterranean realm are the Silvertine Lodes and the Redhorn Lodes, and the furthest depths contain the submerged Water-Works, the fiery Flaming Deeps, and the Foundations of Stone, where Gandalf and the Balrog fought before ascending the Endless Stair.<ref name="Bree Royce">{{cite news |last=Royce |first=Bree | url=http://massivelyop.com/2016/12/19/turbine-spins-lotro-and-ddo-teams-out-to-new-studio-using-daybreak-as-publisher/ | title=Turbine Spins ''Lord of the Rings Online'' and DDO Teams out to New Studio, Using Daybreak as Publisher | work=Massively Overpowered | date=19 December 2016 | access-date=20 December 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://mmocourt.com/2019/02/26/lord-of-the-rings-online-expansion-to-include-minas-morgul-and-shelob/ | title=''Lord of the Rings Online'' Expansion to Include Minas Morgul and Shelob| work=MMOCourt | date=26 February 2019| access-date=27 August 2019 | author=Michael}}</ref>
=== Music ===
The Dutch composer [[Johan de Meij]] wrote a movement in his [[Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"]] called "Journey in the Dark", that was directly inspired by Moria. The movement is split into two sections, "The Mines of Moria" and "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm", and it depicts the events that take place there in ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (novel).<ref>{{cite web |title=Der Herr der Ringe, Johan de Meij - Sinfonie Nr.1 |url=http://sbor.de/index.php?id=66 |access-date=21 October 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011084604/http://sbor.de/index.php?id=66 |archive-date=11 October 2014}}</ref>
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
=== Primary ===
{{reflist|group=T}}
=== Secondary ===
{{reflist}}
=== Sources ===
* {{ME-ref|Letters}} <!--Carpenter 1981-->
* {{ME-ref|RC}} <!--Hammond & Scull 2005-->
* {{ME-ref|ROAD}} <!--Shippey 2005-->
* {{ME-ref|FOTR}} <!--Tolkien 1954a-->
* {{ME-ref|TT}} <!--Tolkien 1954-->
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}} <!--Tolkien 1955-->
* {{ME-ref|Silm}} <!--Tolkien 1977-->
* {{ME-ref|UT}} <!--Tolkien 1980-->
* {{ME-ref|POME}} <!--Tolkien 1996-->
{{The Lord of the Rings}}
{{Middle-earth}}
{{Subterranea}}
[[Category:Middle-earth realms]]
[[Category:Middle-earth populated places]]
[[Category:Fictional subterranea]]
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