Gollum's cave as depicted in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Gollum's cave was the dwelling place of Gollum, otherwise known as Sméagol, from TA 2470 onwards. It was where Bilbo Baggins found the One Ring by chance, which Gollum owned, and took it.
Description[]
The cave was located in the depths of the Misty Mountains near Goblin-town. It was close to the goblin-hall by following an estimated thirty miles of long, dark, and narrow tunnel.[1][2]
The cave housed a small subterranean lake of ice cold water in which sat a tiny island which supplied Gollum with a small amount of protection from nearby Goblin-town. This lake harbored a species of blind fish, Gollum's main food source throughout the years he spent there.
History[]
After being exiled from his family of Stoors in the late twenty-third century of the Third Age, Gollum sought shelter from the Sun under the nearby mountain range, the Misty Mountains. Following the flow of an underground stream, he made his way to a dark cave and made his home there. He soon found out that Orcs were living close by and used the network of tunnels adjoining his. When he felt bold and hungry enough, Gollum, using his magic ring to become invisible, throttled them and ate them.
In TA 2941, Bilbo Baggins and his company of Dwarves were journeying through the Misty Mountains and were taken by surprise as a group of Orcs jumped upon them, causing a great mass of confusion amongst the Dwarves. During their escape from Goblin-town, Bilbo would then have to fend for himself after falling and being missed in the darkness. He soon stumbled upon this cave after finding the One Ring and subsequently met Gollum. Gollum, afraid of Bilbo's Elvish dagger, didn't attack as he normally would have done. Instead, he spoke to Bilbo and ended up taking part in a riddle-game with the hobbit. If Gollum won, he would kill and eat Bilbo, and if Bilbo won, Gollum would show him the way out. After Gollum lost the riddle-game and discovered the loss of the Ring, he became enraged and tried to kill Bilbo. However, Bilbo put on the Ring and used it to follow Gollum to the exit of the cave.[3]
After Bilbo's escape with the Ring, Gollum remained in the cave for a long time. However, he eventually left and wandered Middle-earth, trying to find Bilbo and reclaim his One Ring for himself once again.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Grot van Gollum |
| Albanian | Shpella e Gollumit |
| Armenian | Գոլումի քարայր |
| Asturian | Cueva de Gollum |
| Azerbaijani | Gollumın mağara |
| Basque | Gollumken haitzuloa ? |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Пещерата на Голум |
| Catalan | Cova de Gollum |
| Croatian | Gollumovu pećinu |
| Czech | Gollumova jeskyně |
| Danish | Gollums hule |
| Dutch | Grot van Gollum |
| Esperanto | Kaverno de Gollum |
| Estonian | Gollumi koobas |
| Finnish | Gollumin luola |
| French | Grotte de Gollum |
| Friulian | Caverne di Gollum |
| Galician | Cova de Gollum |
| Georgian | გოლუმის მღვიმე |
| German | Höhle von Gollum |
| Greek | Σπήλαιο του Γκόλουμ |
| Haitian Creole | Gròt de Gollum |
| Hebrew | מערת של גולום |
| Hindi | गोलम की गुफा |
| Hungarian | Gollum barlangja |
| Icelandic | Gollums hellir |
| Indonesian | Gua Gollum |
| Italian | La grotta di Gollum |
| Korean | 골룸의 동굴 |
| Latin | Spelunca de Gollum |
| Latvian | Golluma ala |
| Luxembourgish | Höhl vun Gollum |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Пештера на Голлум |
| Maltese | Grotta ta 'Gollum |
| Norwegian | Gollums grotte |
| Occitan | Cauna de Gollum |
| Polish | Jaskinia Golluma |
| Portuguese | Caverna de Gollum |
| Romanian | Peștera din Gollum |
| Sardinian | Cueva de Gollum |
| Serbian | Голлумова пећина (Cyrillic) Gollumova pećina (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Grotta di Gollum |
| Slovak | Gollumova jaskyňa |
| Slovenian | Gollumova jama |
| Spanish | Caverna de Gollum |
| Swedish | Gollums grotta |
| Telugu | గోళ్ళుమ్ గుహ |
| Turkish | Gollum'in mağarası |
| Turkmen | Gollumyň gowagy |
| Welsh | Ogof y Gollum |
| Yiddish | הייל פון גאָללום |
| Yotuba | Iho Gollum |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Hobbit, "Over Hill and Under Hill: Goblin-town"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Introduction"
- ↑ The Hobbit, Chapter V: "Riddles in the Dark"