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The Doors of Durin or West-gate were built in the dark cliffs of the Silvertine mountain and protected the entrance to what became the Orc-hold of Moria, once the Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm. 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[]

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]

Darrell Sweet -The West-Door of Moria

Depiction of Gandalf and others at the Door of Durin by Darrell Sweet

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.

Moria gate

The inscription on the door to Moria, with interpretation

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.

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[]

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