The Doors of Durin or West-gate were built in the dark cliffs of the Silvertine and protected the entrance to the Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm, later called Moria. The doors were bordered on each side by two ancient holly trees, symbolising the border of the Elven realm of Eregion or Hollin.
The doors were notable for being inlaid with ithildin, which only reflected starlight or moonlight.
History[]
Second Age[]
Narvi alongside his creation.
Until the Second Age, the primary entrance to Khazad-dûm had been the East-gate. In the friendship between the Elves and the Dwarves, however, the doors were built as a means to aid travel and trade between Khazad-dûm and the elven kingdom of Eregion. Celebrimbor, the great elven-smith, and the dwarf Narvi were the architects, and worked together to create the doors. Later, during the War of the Elves and Sauron, the Doors were sealed after Eregion fell to Sauron's forces.[1]
Third Age[]
The way of opening the Doors was forgotten, and they were closed. After the death of Balin, Lord of Moria, five of the Dwarves who had accompanied him tried to use the doors to escape the Moria-orcs; however, the Watcher in the Water took Óin here and the Dwarves could not escape this way.
The inscription on the door to Moria, with interpretation
Depiction of Gandalf and others at the Door of Durin by Darrell Sweet.
Later Gollum entered Moria seeking a path over the Misty Mountains, but was not strong enough to open the doors from the inside and was thus trapped.
During the Quest of the Ring, the Fellowship approached the Doors and attempted to enter Moria from there. At first, Gandalf was unsuccessful at opening them, having exited the doors previously from the inside. The inscription was a riddle (in Sindarin: Pedo Mellon a Minno.): "speak friend and enter." The answer was a password in an Elvish language that would cause the Doors to swing open. Gandalf eventually solved the riddle, remembering the Elvish word for friend, mellon.[2]
Inscription in Sindarin
Ennyn Durin Aran Moria.
Pedo Mellon a Minno.
Im Narvi hain echant.
Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin. [3]
Translation of inscription
"The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria.
Speak, friend, and enter.
I, Narvi, made them.
Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs." [4]
When entering, the Watcher in the Water grabbed Frodo's ankle to drag him into the lake. Samwise Gamgee slashed the tentacle with his knife, causing it to release Frodo and retract. The Fellowship then ran into the mines while the Watcher slammed the Doors behind them. A great noise was heard of stone and rock being thrown behind the Doors, and Gandalf believed that the two great holly trees on either side had been uprooted and thrown across them.[5] After the fall of Sauron, the Dwarves reoccupied Khazad-dûm; it is unknown whether the Doors of Durin were repaired.
Gallery[]
.png "Door of Durin (LOTR-Gollum).png (958 KB)")
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Deure van Durin |
| Albanian | Dyer të Durinit |
| Arabic | أبواب دورين |
| Azerbaijani | Durinın qapıları |
| Basque | Durineko ateak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Дурыны дзверы |
| Bengali | দুরিনের দরজা |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Врати на дурин |
| Catalan | Portes de Durin |
| Croatian | Vrata Durina |
| Danish | Morias Vestport (Durins døre) |
| Dutch | Deuren van Durin/Poorten van Durin |
| Esperanto | Pordoj de Durin |
| Estonian | Durin uksed |
| Fijian | Katuba ni Durin |
| Filipino | Mga Pintuan ng Durin |
| Finnish | Durinin ovet |
| French | Portes de Durin |
| Frisian | Doarren fan Durin (Western) |
| Galician | Portas de Durin |
| German | Türen von Durin |
| Greek | Πόρτες του Ντουρίν |
| Gujarati | દુરીનના દરવાજા |
| Hawaiian | Nā puka o Durin |
| Hebrew | דלתות דורין |
| Hungarian | Durin kapuja |
| Indonesian | Pintu-pintu Durin |
| Italian | Porte di Durin |
| Japanese | ドゥリンの扉 |
| Latvian | Durin durvis |
| Lithuanian | Durino durimis |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Врати на Дурин |
| Malagasy | Ny varavaran' ny Durin |
| Malaysian | Pintu Durin |
| Maltese | Bibien ta ' l-Durin |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Дурин-ийн хаалга |
| Nepalese | डोरिनको ढोका |
| Norwegian | Dører av Durin |
| Occitan | Pòrtas de Durin |
| Persian | درب دورین |
| Polish | Drzwi Durina |
| Portuguese | Portas de Durin |
| Romanian | Usi de Durin |
| Russian | Врата Дурина |
| Samoan | O faitotoa o Durin |
| Scottish Gaelic | Dorsan Durin |
| Serbian | Врата Дурина (Cyrillic) Vrata Durina (Latin) |
| Sesotho | Liholo ea Durin |
| Sinhalese | ඩුරින්ගේ දොරවල් |
| Slovak | Durinova brána |
| Slovenian | Durinova vrata |
| Somali | Galka ee Durin ? |
| Spanish | Puertas de Durin |
| Swahili | Milango ya Durin |
| Swedish | Durins Dörrar |
| Tamil | டூரின் கதவுகள் |
| Turkish | Durin'in kapılar |
| Uzbek | Дурин эшиклари (Cyrillic) Durin eshiklari (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Cửa ra vào của Durin |
| Welsh | Drysau o Durin |
| Yiddish | טירן פון דורין |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. IV: "A Journey in the Dark"
- ↑ Parf Edhellen - Doors of Durin
- ↑ Tolkien Gateway - Doors of Durin
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth: The Definitive Guide to the World of J.R.R. Tolkien