Misty Mountains

2009-07-22T15:07:24Z

94.195.4.114: /* Hobbits */

{{location
| image=[[Image:J.R.R._Tolkien_-_The_Misty_Mountains_looking_West_from_the_Eyrie_towards_Goblin_Gate.jpg|250px]]
| name=Misty Mountains
| othernames=Hithaeglir, Mountains of Mist
| etymology=
| type=Mountain Range
| location=Between [[Eriador]] and [[Wilderland]], and [[Rohan]]'s northern border
| inhabitants=[[Dwarves]] of [[Durin's folk]], Orcs, Trolls, [[Giants]], Men, [[Silvan]] and [[Sindar]] Elves, [[Ents]], [[Eagles]]
| realms=[[Khazad-dûm]], numerous Orc-realms
| description=The largest mountain range in [[Middle-earth]]
| events=The [[Great Journey]] of the Elves, awakening of [[Durin I]], awakening of the [[Balrog]], dominion of the Orcs, [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]]
| references=''[[The Hobbit]]'', ''[[The Silmarillion]], [[The Lord of the Rings]]''
|}}

The '''Misty Mountains''' or '''Mountains of Mist''' ('''''Hithaeglir''''' in [[Sindarin]]{{ref|1}}) was a great mountain range that lay between [[Eriador]] in the west and the Great River [[Anduin]] in the east. They ran 795 miles (1,280 kilometers) from [[Mount Gundabad]] in the far north to [[Methedras]] in the south. Some of the peaks may have been as high as 12,000 feet (3,660 meters){{ref|2}}.

== Geographic Features ==
The most important peaks were [[Mount Gundabad]], [[Redhorn]], [[Silvertine]], [[Cloudyhead]], and [[Methedras]].

=== Important Peaks ===
The northernmost peak of the Misty Mountains was Mount Gundabad, where according to legend [[Durin I|Durin]], eldest of the [[Seven Fathers of the Dwarves]], awoke. Later it became a haven for Orcs.

The greatest [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] realm in Middle-Earth, [[Khazad-dûm]], was located at the midpoint of the Misty Mountains. The city was built under three peaks, Redhorn (''[[Caradhras]]'' in Sindarin), Silvertine (''[[Celebdil]]''), and Cloudyhead (''[[Fanuidhol]]''). Inside Silvertine the Dwarves built the [[Endless Stair]], a stairway from the foundations of the mountain to its peak. The southernmost mountain was Methedras (Sindarin for "Last Peak").
[[Image:Alan Lee - The Redhorn Gate.jpg|thumb|250px|''The Redhorn Gate'' by [[Alan Lee]]]]
=== Passes over the Misty Mountains ===
The most important passes were the [[High Pass]] and the [[Redhorn Pass]]. There was also a pass at the source of the [[Gladden River]].

=== Routes around the Misty Mountains ===
The [[Gap of Rohan]] was a passable valley between the southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost of the [[White Mountains]]. In the far north the Misty Mountains formed a '''T''' with the [[Grey Mountains]], preventing a northern route around them.

== History ==
=== Origins ===
The Misty Mountains were created by the [[Vala]] [[Melkor]] during the [[Years of the Trees]] as a hindrance for [[Oromë]], who would hunt his fell creatures. They would later serve as a deterrent for the Elves during the [[Great Journey]], causing some to turn south. The Elves that would not cross the Misty Mountains would become the [[Nandor]].

=== Inhabitants ===
[[Dwarves]], [[Orcs]], [[Elves]], [[Men]], [[Hobbits]], [[Eagles]], and [[Ents]] all lived beneath or alongside the Misty Mountains.

====Dwarves====
The great Dwarven city of [[Khazad-dûm]] (later called the "Black Pit" of [[Moria]]) was located near the middle of the mountain chain. There [[Durin's folk]] lived for thousands of years with a kingdom which spread as far as Gundabad and as far east as the [[Iron Hills]]. Until the awakening of [[Durin's Bane]], which drove the Dwarves from their city. It also seems that some Dwarves either before or after the [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]], dwelt on the eastern side of the mountains near Goblin-town.

When the Dwarves were strong, the mountains were generally free of Orcs, but when the [[Shadow]] was strong, Orcs bred in Mount Gundabad, in [[Goblin-town]] (where [[Bilbo]] found the [[One Ring]]), later in Moria itself, and everywhere in between.

====Elves====
The Elven enclave of [[Rivendell]], the home of [[Elrond]], was built in the western foothills beneath High Pass. On the eastern side of the mountains, near the source of the [[Silverlode]] river, lay the Kingdom of [[Lórien in Middle-earth|Lorien]] under the rule of Lord [[Celeborn, Lord of Lórien|Celeborn]] and Lady [[Galadriel]]. While Elves guarded both sides of the Misty Mountains, few ever crossed them.

====Men====
The land east of the Misty Mountains and south of the Grey Mountains was the ancestral home of the [[Éothéod]], the forefathers of the [[Rohirrim]]. Their capital was [[Framsburg]].

====Wraiths====
In the [[Third Age]] the [[Witch-king of Angmar|Witch-king]] built the Kingdom of [[Angmar]] in the western lands between the Misty Mountains and the Mountains of Angmar. The evil country was peopled by fallen Men, Orcs, and other creatures of [[Sauron]]. Its capital was [[Carn Dûm]]. At the southern tip of the Misty Mountains, beneath Methedras, was [[Isengard]], which was originally a [[Gondor|Gondorian]] fortress but was later given to [[Saruman]]. In the Third Age the south lands were protected by [[Rohan]].

====Hobbits====
Hobbits lived for untold years along the foothills of the Misty Mountains near the [[Vales of Anduin]]. Around Third Age 1050, the Hobbit group known as the [[Harfoots]] migrated west across the Misty Mountains, fleeing the ever more numerous Men and the Shadow growing in [[Mirkwood]]. Later the other two groups of Hobbits, the [[Stoors]] and [[Fallohides]], migrated west as well, until by 2500 no Hobbits could be found east of the mountains.

====Eagles====
Near the east exit of Goblin-town was the Eagles kept an eyrie to keep watch on the Orcs. Much further south, Ents guarded [[Fangorn Forest]], the last remnant of the great [[Southern Forest]] that surrounded the Misty Mountains eons ago.

=== In the Third Age ===
[[Thorin and Company]] used the High Pass to cross the Misty Mountains, and were captured by the Orcs of Goblin-town.

Later the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] tried to cross Redhorn Pass, after choosing not to use the High Pass or the Gap of Rohan because of the threat of Orcs patrols or Saruman's forces. A powerful blizzard blocked the Redhorn Pass, forcing the Fellowship to journey through Moria. There they faced the [[Durin's Bane|Balrog]] that ruled the mines. Gandalf slew the Balrog by throwing it from the Silvertine, but sacrificied his own life in doing so.

== "Misty Mountains" Outside of Tolkien ==
* [[Led Zeppelin]] recorded a song, "[[Misty Mountain Hop]]", which seems to have borrowed the name but little else from Tolkien. Several other Led Zeppelin songs contain Tolkien references.
* Robert Jordan's fantasy series ''The Wheel of Time'' also features a mountain range called the ''Mountains of Mist''.

== Notes ==
# {{note|1}} The Hithaeglir were mispelled as "Hithaiglin" on the original ''[[The Lord of the Rings|Lord of the Rings]]'' map.
# {{note|2}}Their height as calculated in ''[[The Atlas of Middle-earth]]'' by [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]]. This would make the Misty Mountains of similar height as the Alps in Europe, which makes sense, since Tolkien visited the Alps in his youth and was greatly impressed by them.

==References==
* ''[[The Hobbit]]'', [[Over Hill and Under Hill]]
* ''[[The Hobbit]]'', [[Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire]]
* ''[[The Hobbit]]'', [[Riddles in the Dark]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[Many Meetings]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[The Council of Elrond]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[The Ring goes South]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[A Journey in the Dark]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[The Bridge of Khazad-dûm]]
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', [[Lothlórien (chapter)|Lothlórien]]
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[Appendix A]]
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[Appendix B]]
* ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', [[Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan]]
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', [[Of Aulë and Yavanna]]
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', [[Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor]]
* [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]], ''[[The Atlas of Middle-earth]]''

[[category:Mountain ranges]]
[[Category:Rhovanion]]
[[Category:Eriador]]
[[Category:Orc-Dwellings]]
[[Category:Dwarven Realms]]

Tolkien Gateway - User contributions [en]

Misty Mountains