Chamber of Mazarbul

File:Joseph Freistuhler - The Chamber of Mazarbul.jpg

Fan created set of The Chamber of Mazarbul for Game Workshop's battle game.

The Chamber of Mazarbul was the old Chamber of Records of Khazad-dûm. Probably built during the early years of Khazad-dûm, it was later used as a base by Balin when he began his ill-fated attempt at recolonization in the late Third Age.

The Books

The chamber was located to the right of a pathway that branched off the north end of the Twenty-first hall. When the Fellowship found the chamber as they passed through Moria, Balin's tomb was located inside it, and a bright shaft of sunlight streamed in from outside the mountain to land directly on the tomb. There were two stone doors leading into the chamber (one entrance from the Twenty-first hall, one from the stair tunnels that the Fellowship later use to flee the Balrog). Many deep recesses were cut into the chamber rock containing chests that had been recently looted by the Orcs inhabiting Moria. In one of these was found the Book of Mazarbul, a record of Balin's recolonization efforts. It is in the chamber of Mazarbul that the Fellowship engage in a brief fight with a band of Moria orcs and a Cave-troll and where Gandalf makes his first stand against the Balrog.

The Films

In Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, the Chamber of Mazarbul is presented much as it is described in the books, with a few notable exceptions. First, its geography has been slightly altered. It is placed in the center of the Twenty-first Hall, rather than on the right of a corridor running off the hall to the north. Second, there is only one proper doorway leading into the chamber, rather than the two described in the book. These alterations are likely the result of geographical simplification and enhancement of geographical drama. Placing the chamber in the center of the Twenty-first Hall gives it greater prominance and significance and provides a less cumbersome position than that of the book. The elimination of one of the doorways allows the chamber to take on an even more unique design than that found in the book (while, again, simplifying it for dramatic purposes).

The Mazarbul Chamber Wall Runes

In the film, the walls of the chamber are covered in runes (seemingly Angerthas Moria). These runes detail the history of Moria from its foundation by Durin to the Battle of Azanulbizar. From the rune translations, it is clear that the authors were the Dwarves led by Balin during the recolonization of Moria. The larger text is Khuzdul, the smaller text is in the Common Speech (English). The rune histories were probably written for both Dwarvish and foreign readers. Notable peculiarities have appeared in translations of this text. It is not clear whether this was deliberate on the part of the filmmakers. Khuzdul phrases appear in the midst of the English text and peculiar spellings of certain words and irregular constructions of some phrases also exist. The consistency of the irregularities seem to suggest that these may have been at least partly intentional. Several explanations have been postulated, the most obvious of which is that the Dwarves who carved the runes made mistakes. Other theories have been put forth: perhaps the Dwarves used idiosyncratic rune forms or a slightly altered mode of Westron in order to better convey the deep meanings behind Moria's history. The third theory seems the most likely, given all the available evidence. The phrase "Made in New Zealand" can also be seen in at least one place along the Mazarbul Chamber walls. The filmmaker's left this as their trademark for those who translated the runes to see. Some fans have rationalized its appearance by citing the meaning of "zeal" as "seal" in Danish, which is closely related to the Danish word for "soul". Thus, the true phrase would be "Made in new-soul land", with "soul-land" referring to Moria, a land of many dwarvish souls that had come and gone, new because it was being recolonized. The theory postulates that the word "zeal" was originally Khuzdul but made its way into modern Danish.

Below are the phrases that have been translated from the Mazarbul walls thus far:

"...of Nogrod and Belegost year sixteen..."

"...watch tower established at highest peak..."

"...of Zirakzigil with star from Thirtieth Hall ..."

"...Second Template:Ref Age five hundred of the..."

"...fathoms gold smelter built..."

"...the establishment Template:Ref of Moria below..."

"...in return for silver and cloth and lumber..."

"...established Template:Ref and the Dimrill Template:Ref Stair..."

"...of Kheled-zâram Template:Ref and Fundin slain..."

"...of Durin of Ered Luin Template:Ref settle in the..."

"...one thousand and twenty news of fall..."

"...forces of Sauron's army gates to Moria..."

"...service Template:Ref of Lorien elves(') trade..."

"...second Template:Ref level shaft sunk to forty..."

"...year seventy-two Template:Ref Great Gate..."

"...Zirakzigil in year forty of the..."

"...caves Template:Ref above Kheled-zâram Template:Ref great rices..."

"...in seams to east of Durin's door..."

"...growth of trade to western Template:Ref gate year..."

"...ninety-seven Template:Ref Eregion laid waste by billions..."

"...of Eregion founded by Noldor Template:Ref bring..."

"...shut against hordes and continuous Template:Ref attacks..."

"...year seven Template:Ref hundred and fifty..."

"...made in New Zealand. Dragon..."

"...on the shores of Azanulbizar..."

"...in diamonds and gold..."

Translation Notes

1. Template:Note S-E-CH-O-N-D…possible variant rune usage.
2. Template:Note E-S-T-BL-I-S-H-M-E-N-T…possible variant emphasis from alternate word construction.
3. Template:Note E-O-T-A-B-L-I-S-H-Y-D…possible variant emphasis.
4. Template:Note D-I-M-R-I-L…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
5. Template:Note K-I-E-L-E-D-Z-A-R-A-M…possible variant emphasis from alternate word construction.
6. Template:Note E-N-E-D---L-U-I-N…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
7. Template:Note S-E-R-V-I-CH-E…possible variant rune usage.
8. Template:Note D-E-CH-O-N-D…possible variant word construction and/or rune usage; variant emphasis also possible.
9. Template:Note S-E-V-E-N-T-A---T-W-O…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
10. Template:Note CH-A-V-E-S…possible variant rune usage.
11. Template:Note K-H-E-L-E-D---Z-A-R-M…possible variant emphasis from alternate word construction.
12. Template:Note W-E-S-T-R-N…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
13. Template:Note N-I-N-T-Y---S-E-V-E-N…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
14. Template:Note N-O-L-D-O-N…possible variant word construction or rune usage.
15. Template:Note A-G-A-I-N-T-S-O-R-D-E-S---&---G-O-N-T-I-N-U-O-U-S…possible variant phrase and/or word construction and/or rune usage.
16. Template:Note S-E-V-N…possible variant word construction or rune usage

References

• Mazarbul Wall Inscriptions Analysis - A web site discussing the transcription of the Mazarbul wall runes from screen to page.

The Use of English

The use of English to represent the Common Speech in primary sources such as the Mazarbul wall runes is in keeping with Tolkien's own vision of completely translating all Westron into modern English, even in authentic documentation, although upon reflection Tolkien said that this translation was "an erroneous extension of the general linguistic treatment" (The Peoples of Middle-Earth, pp. 298-9). The filmmakers obviously followed Tolkien's original intent, representing what would have been Westron on the "original" Mazarbul walls as English.

Variances

Justification for the variances that appear in the Mazarbul wall text comes from Tolkien himself. He specifically claims having used a similar methodology when creating samples of the Book of Mazarbul: "...the text was cast into English spelt as at present, but modified as it might be by writers...who where transliterating the English into a different alphabet"; "...since documents of this kind nearly always show uses of letters or shapes that are peculiar and rarely or never found elsewhere, a few such features are also introduced..." (The Peoples of Middle-Earth, pp. 298-9).