Orodruin

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For the band, see Orodruin (band)

Orodruin, or Mount Doom, is a fictional volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe. Located in the heart of the black land of Mordor and approximately 4,500 feet (1.4 km) high, it is the site where the One Ring was originally forged by the Dark Lord Sauron and represents the endpoint of Frodo Baggins's quest to destroy the Ring which is recounted in The Lord of the Rings.

Orodruin is Sindarin for "fiery mountain". The Sindarin equivalent of the name Mount Doom is Amon Amarth, meaning "mountain of fate". Tolkien is reported to have identified Mordor, and in particular a phrase transcribed as "Emyn Anar", with the volcano of Stromboli off Sicily.[1]

When Sauron began searching Middle-earth during the Second Age for a permanent dwelling place, his attention was immediately drawn to Mordor, and especially to Orodruin, whose power he believed he could use to his advantage. He subsequently established his kingdom based around Orodruin and "used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging". The most famous of Sauron's creations forged at Mount Doom is the very powerful One Ring, which he made in the fires of the Sammath Naur (or Cracks of Doom), a chasm located deep within the mountain. It is said in The Lord of the Rings that the materials of which the Ring is made are so durable and the enchantments with which it is imbued so powerful that it can only be destroyed in those same Cracks of Doom; even the fire of Ancalagon the Black, greatest of dragons, could not destroy the One Ring.

Orodruin is implied to be far more than just an ordinary volcano; it responds to Sauron's commands and his presence, lapsing into dormancy when he is away from Mordor and becoming active again when he returns. Its activity is also apparently connected to Sauron's personal power. When Sauron is defeated at the end of the Third Age, the volcano erupts violently one final time and then ceases all activity permanently.

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[edit] Film representations

Mount Doom as depicted in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
Mount Doom as depicted in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Mount Doom was represented by Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu, both active volcanoes in New Zealand. 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 Māori of the region. However, some scenes on the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the slopes of another nearby volcano, Mount Ruapehu.[2]

[edit] Influences

The phrase "crack of doom" is sometimes thought to have been taken from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. This is possibly a reference to the common phrase "crack of dawn", a saying is to indicate the time being very early in the morning, and approaching the beginning of the day. That is, the mountain's name could be a reference to the beginning of Sauron's rule, and the "doom" that would have inevitably accompanied it. Another possible source of the name is a short story by Algernon Blackwood.[3]

Viking metal band Amon Amarth takes their name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kilby, Clyde S & Plotz, Dick (1968), “Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 TSA Meeting”, Niekas (Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, USA) (no. 19): 39-40  Referred to at tolkienguide.com and by another publication of the Niekas editor.
  2. ^ The Making of the Movie Trilogy (The Lord of the Rings), Brian Sibley, Houghton Mifflin (2002)
  3. ^ Nelson, Dale. Possible Echoes of Blackwood and Dunsany in Tolkien's Fantasy. Tolkien Studies - Volume 1, 2004, pp. 177-181

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Larsen, Kristine. Sauron, Mount Doom, and Elvish Moths: The Influence of Tolkien on Modern Science. Tolkien Studies - Volume 4, 2007, pp. 223-234
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Mountains from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium
Ranges:
Notable peaks:
Notable passes: