Mount Doom
|
This article or section needs expansion and/or modification. Please help the wiki by expanding it. |
| Mount Doom | |
|---|---|
| Mountain | |
 | |
| "Mount Doom" by Alan Lee | |
| General Information | |
| Pronunciation | S, [oˈrodruɪn] |
| Other names | Orodruin, Amon Amarth (S) |
| Location | Mordor |
| Type | Mountain |
| History | |
| Events | Forging and destruction of the One Ring |
| Gallery | Images of Mount Doom |
Mount Doom, or Orodruin, was a volcano in Mordor.
History
Melkor created Mount Doom in the First Age, and the name "Mordor" may have been given to the surrounding land before Sauron settled there because of its eruptions.[1] When Sauron chose the land of Mordor as his dwelling-place in the Second Age, Orodruin was the reason for his choice. He "used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging." The most famous result of his forging, and in fact the only one we know of for sure, was the One Ring.
The mountain erupted in S.A. 3429, signalling Sauron's attack on Gondor and it took the name Amon Amarth, "Mount Doom".
In T.A. 2954, Mount Doom reawakened and the last inhabitants of Ithilien terrified fled over Anduin.[2] From then on it erupted sporadically until the end of the Age.
The Fellowship of the Ring's quest in the War of the Ring was to destroy the Ring at Mount Doom.
Geography
It stood alone in an empty plain, the Plateau of Gorgoroth and was connected to the Dark Tower with Sauron's Road, rising about 4500 feet with its base about 3000 feet tall.[3][4] The Road approached the east side of the base at a causeway and then wound up like a snake; at that point, the Road seemed damaged by the lava and re-repaired several times.[4]
Inside its cone, were the Sammath Naur leading to the Crack of Doom, a fiery chasm where the One Ring was forged.
Etymology
"Mount Doom" is the Common Speech translation of Amon Amarth in Gondor,[5] from amon ("hill")[6] and amarth ("fate, doom").[7][8]
The name was given because the volcano was linked in ancient and little-understood prophecies with the final end of the Third Age, when the One Ring was found again.[5]
Its original Sindarin name was Orodruin, glossed as "burning mountain"[9] and "mountain of the red flame".[10] The name likely consists of orod ("mountain") + ruin ("fiery red").[11]
Theories
According to Karen Fonstad, Mount Doom was obviously a stratovolcano, composited by alternating layers of ash and lava. Towering at only 4500ft, it was relatively short.[4]
Portrayal in adaptations
2001-03: The Lord of the Rings (film series):
- 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. It was not permitted to film the summit of Ngauruhoe because it is sacred to the Maori of the region. However, some scenes which showed the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the actual slopes of Mount Ruapehu.
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game):
- The last level takes place within Mount Doom where the player controls Frodo and must cast Gollum into the lava.
2022: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:
_-_Eruption_of_Orodruin.jpg)
- 1 September: A Shadow of the Past:
- During the late Second Age, Orodruin is shown within the Southlands to be a dormant volcano with a snow cap. Its slopes are covered with forests and the surrounding plateau is inhabited by the Southlanders.
- 30 September: Udûn:
- After the battle of Tirharad, Waldreg activates a mechanism at the ruins of the Watchtower of Ostirith, triggering a flood of water to travel to Orodruin though underground Orc-made tunnels. The collision between the flood and the fires of Orodruin results in a volcanic eruption, which destroys the Southlands.
- 7 October: The Eye:
- After the eruption of Orodruin, the Southlanders flee the Plateau of Gorgoroth. During this escape, Ontamo is killed, Queen Regent Míriel is blinded and Isildur is supposedly lost amidst the flames.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XIII. Last Writings", p. 390, note 14
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)
- ↑ Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "Orodruin"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth, p. 146
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pp. 768-9
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entry amon
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 114, entry S amarth
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entry amarth
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "On Translation"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 769
- ↑ Compound Sindarin Names in Middle-earth at Tolkiendil.com (accessed 14 July 2011)
