Mount Doom, also known as Orodruin and Amon Amarth, was a volcano in Mordor where the One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, and accordingly the only place in which it could be destroyed. It was the ultimate destination of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in the Quest of the Ring at the end of the Third Age.
History[]
Mount Doom was the result of works of the first Dark Lord, Melkor, in the First Age.[1]
In the Second Age, Sauron chose the land of Mordor as his dwelling-place. He used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging. Around SA 1600, Sauron forged the One Ring in the depths of the Cracks of Doom, which was built within Mount Doom itself. In SA 3429, Mount Doom erupted, signaling Sauron's attack on Gondor, where it earned its name "Amon Amarth."[2][3][4]
After the War of the Last Alliance and Sauron's disappearance, the mountain slept,[5] and only sprung into life in TA 2954, after Sauron's return to Mordor.
On March 25, TA 3019, Frodo and Sam ascended the slopes of Mount Doom, and entered Sammath Naur. Gollum had ascended as well, at a distance from them.
With the ensuing destruction of the One Ring, Mount Doom erupted with great force, sending massive lava floes down its sides and scattering the area with volcanic debris. The cone of the volcano was ripped apart by the eruption, and the Nazgûl and their mounts were destroyed in the ejection of lava as they tried to reach Frodo to reclaim the Ring.[5]
Mount Doom as Sam and frodo approached, by Anna Kulisz
Description[]
Mount Doom, marked in red, as seen in The Battle for Middle-earth II
Mount Doom was located on the Plateau of Gorgoroth in northwestern Mordor. It stood about 4,500 feet with its base about 3,000 feet tall.[2] It was connected to Barad-dûr through the steaming fissures of Sauron's Road.
In The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad, who published her work before the completion of The History of Middle-earth, it is suggested that the Mount Doom and all of Mordor formed as a result of a tectonic uplift, draining the Sea of Helcar in the Belegaer, caused by the cataclysms of the War of Wrath.[6] However, this hypothesis is negated in the 12th volume of The History of Middle-earth, The Peoples of Middle-earth, where is stated that the mountain had already been created by Melkor in the First Age.[1]
Etymology[]
Orodruin was the common Sindarin name for Mount Doom. It means "Fire Mountain", from orod ("mountain") and ruin ("burning, fiery red"). However, the literal Sindarin translation for Mount Doom is Amon Amarth, from amon ("hill, mountain") and amarth ("doom, fate").[7][8] It is possible that "Doom" is a mis-anglicization of "Dun", an old-English and possibly Rohanese term for "mountain".
Gallery[]
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In adaptations[]
Mount Doom as depicted in the 1980 film
Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King[]
In The Return of the King film created by Rankin/Bass, Mount Doom is depicted as a slender composite volcano. The slopes of Mount Doom have a jagged, rocky landscape with ash channels. The Sammath Naur is shown as a small iron door way into a tunnel that leads to a open cavern with a lava pit in the center of it.
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy[]
In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, the New Zealand volcano Mount Ngauruhoe was used as Mount Doom in some scenes. In long shots, the mountain is either a large model or a CGI effect or a combination. Filming the summit of Ngauruhoe itself was not permitted because it is sacred to the Māori of the region. However, some scenes on the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the actual slopes of Mount Ruapehu.[9]
On November 22, 2012, it was incorrectly reported by media outside New Zealand that "Mount Doom" Ngauruhoe had erupted. The reported eruption was actually from nearby Mount Tongariro, not Mount Ngauruhoe.
Orodruin erupting for the first time in many years, in The Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power[]
In the alternate continuity of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the mountain, called Orodruin, has been dormant for many years during Sauron's seeming disappearance. The dark Elf Adar, seeking to create a home for the Orcs where they need not fear the sunlight, executes a plan that channels a vast amount of water into tunnels dug into the mountain's base, causing an enormous eruption.
This is contrary to the original cause of Mordor's desolation, described by Christopher Tolkien as a result "of the devastating work of Melkor" in the First Age.[10]
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings Online
In The Lord of the Rings Online, the eruption of Mount Doom has spilled mostly onto the southern side, creating a large lake of burning fire on the plain below. The northern slope has been affected as well, with massive fissures and cracks opening all over the landscape. The ruins of Barad-dûr in particular have been enveloped by a river of lava. Elsewhere in Mordor the eruption has left its marks as well; in the south, between the Ephel Dúath and the Morgai, the groundwaters have been released by the shaking of the earth, flooding the valley and transforming it into a rotting swamp.
Real world[]
Mount Ngauruhoe
The International Astronomical Union names all mountains on Saturn's moon Titan after mountains in J.R.R. Tolkien's work. In 2012, they named a Titanian mountain "Doom Mons" after Mount Doom.
The Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth is named after the Sindarin translation for Mount Doom.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Berg Straf |
| Albanian | Mali Dënim |
| Amharic | የጥፋት ተራራ |
| Arabic | جبل الهلاك |
| Armenian | Ճակատագրական լեռ (Mount Doom) Օրոդրուին (Orodruin) |
| Azerbaijani | Dağ əcəl |
| Basque | Mendiaren Infernura |
| Bengali | সর্বনাশের পাহাড় |
| Bosnian | Planina Propasti |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Връх съдбата (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin) |
| Burmese | ပျက်စီးခြင်း၏တောင် |
| Cambodian | សភ្នំវិនាស |
| Catalan | Muntanya del Destí |
| Chichewa | Phiri Chilango |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 末日火山 (Mount Doom) 歐洛都因 (Orodruin) |
| Cornish | Menedh Terros ? |
| Corsican | Muntagna Andantino |
| Croatian | Kleta Gora |
| Czech | Hora osudu |
| Danish | Dommedagsbjerget |
| Dutch | Doemberg |
| Esperanto | Fatalo-Monto |
| Estonian | Turmamägi |
| Filipino | Bundok ng Lagim |
| Finnish | Tuomiovuori |
| French | Montagne du Destin (first translation) Mont Destin (second translation) |
| Frisian | Doemspjalten (Western) |
| Galician | Monte do Destino |
| Georgian | ბედისწერის მთა (Mount Doom) ოროდრუინი (Orodruin) |
| German | Schicksalsberg |
| Greek | Όρος μοίρα |
| Gujarati | મપ્રારબ્ધનો પહાડ |
| Haiti Creole | Mòn Fayit |
| Hebrew | (Orodruin) אורודרואין (Mount Doom) הר האבדון |
| Hindi | माउंट कयामत |
| Hungarian | A Végzet Hegye |
| Icelandic | Dómsfjall |
| Indonesian | Gunung Azab |
| Italian | Monte Fato |
| Japanese | 滅びの山 (Mount Doom) オロドルイン (Orodruin) |
| Javanese | Gunung Siksa |
| Kannada | ಮೌವಿನಾಶದ ಪರ್ವತ |
| Kazakh | Қиямет тауы (Cyrillic) Qïyamet tawı (Latin) |
| Korean | 마운트 운명 |
| Kurdish | Çiyayê Qiyamet (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Кыямат тоосу |
| Latin | Montis Fati |
| Latvian | Kalns Liktenis |
| Lithuanian | Lemties kalne |
| Luxembourgish | Montéierung |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Планината на судбината |
| Malagasy | Tendrombohitra Loza |
| Malayalam | വിധി കൊടുമുടി |
| Maltese | Impunjazzjoni kundanna |
| Malaysian | Gunung Azab |
| Marathi | नाशाचा डोंगर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Мөхлийн уул |
| Nepalese | मविनाशको पहाड |
| Norwegian | Dommedagsberget |
| Occitan | Mont del Destin |
| Pashto | د عذاب غر |
| Persian | کوه هلاکت |
| Polish | Góra Przeznaczenia |
| Portuguese | Montanha da Perdição (Brazil)
Monte da Condenação or Montanha de Fogo Portuguese (Portugal) |
| Punjabi | ਤਬਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਪਹਾੜ |
| Romanian | Muntele Osândei |
| Romansh | Destin Muntogna ? |
| Russian | Роковая Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin) |
| Serbian | Планина Усуда (Cyrillic) Planina Usuda (Latin) |
| Sindhi | عذاب ٿي ويھو |
| Sinhalese | විනාශයේ කන්ද |
| Slovak | Hora Osudu |
| Slovenian | Gori Pogube |
| Somali | Buur Cadaab |
| Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Monte del Destino |
| Swahili | Adhabu ya Mlima |
| Swedish | Domedagsberget |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Кӯҳи ҳалокат |
| Tamil | அழிவின் மலை |
| Telugu | డూమ్ పర్వతం |
| Thai | ภูมฤตยู |
| Turkish | Hüküm Dağı |
| Turkmen | Heläkçilik Dagy |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Вогняна Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруїн (Orodruin) |
| Urdu | عذاب کا پہاڑ |
| Uzbek | Қиёмат тоғи (Cyrillic) Qiyomat tog'i (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Núi Diệt Vong |
| Yiddish | באַרג פאַרמישפּעטן |
| Zazaki | Koyê Hukımi |
|
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Khazad-dûm (Moria) | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII The Peoples of Middle-earth, ch. XIII: Last Writings
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Mount Doom"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (i): "Númenor"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter III: "Mount Doom"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, "Introduction"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, Mordor
- ↑ Brian Sibley, The Making of the Movie Trilogy The Lord of the Rings, Houghton Mifflin (2002)
- ↑ The Peoples of Middle-earth, pg. 390