The Lord of the Rings: Moria drawn by Tolkien himself

Among the mythical moments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the arrival at Moria. This sequence has stimulated the imagination of millions of readers and thousands of role-players. In a few lines, Tolkien manages to create a unique atmosphere and to unfold his universe rich in details. Readers of The Hobbitrediscover a place they thought they knew. The setting allows for a new enigma, as the author loves them so much, and the adventurers face a new creature: the Water Watcher, which many still call the Kraken today. But if this scene is so special, it is also because it was dear to Tolkien's heart, who had himself made a surprising painting.

Moria, its gates and its monsters

When the Fellowship of the Ring heads to Mount Doom to destroy Sauron's One Ring, Frodo must choose a path: either over the mountain of Caradhras or through the mines of Moria. He chooses the mines. The Fellowship is then momentarily stranded at the edge of the pool, in front of Durin's Gates, which mark the western entrance to the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dém, also known as Moria. Once the gates were constantly open and guarded by a company of dwarven warriors, they are now closed. To open them, Gandalf must solve the riddle engraved above the doors.

The doors and their enigma refer to entire sections of Tolkien's universe. This access is the fruit of the collaboration between the knowledge of the two peoples. The dwarf Narvi made the doors, and the elf Celebrimbor (whom we discuss in more detail here) engraved secret inscriptions in Ithildin,a substance created from Mithril that only becomes visible in the light of stars or the moon. The riddle that opens the door is hidden in a short text: “Speak, friend, and enter.” The password is contained in this inscription, for it is none other than mellon, meaning “friend” in Sindarin (an Elvish language). However, In the midst of this lovely moment of “elfin-nanic” poetry, the heroes of the Community of the Ring are suddenly attacked by a fearsome creature.

Indeed, when Gandalf has just opened the door, a series of gigantic tentacles emerge from the pond and try to catch the adventurers to drown them, or even devour them.In the book, neither Frodo nor Gandalf can tell whether there was one creature or several. As Gandalf says, “Something has come or been cast out of the dark waters beneath the mountains. There are things older and more abominable than Orcs in the depths of the world.” Gandalf also notes that the Watcher primarily attacked Frodo, the Ring-bearer. But that's not all:Tolkien had actually imagined a completely different interaction between the creature and the Dwarves.

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The entrance to Moria is the lair of a creature

Once the Fellowship arrives in Moria, they discover the Book of Mazarbul, a chronicle written by the famous dwarf Balin, who had accompanied Thorin, Bilbo and Gandalfin their quest to free Erebor from the dragon Smaug. The book chronicles the Dwarves' attempt to retake Moria, and their failure. The scribe writes: “We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. […] The pool rises to the wall of the West Gate. The Water Watcher has taken it. We cannot get out.” Through this passage, Tolkien makes us understand that the pond located in front of Durin's Gates now communicates with the interior of Moria.

Thus, in addition to being besieged by the Orcs and having seen a Balrog emerge from the depths to attack them, The Dwarves have also seen the waters of the pool flood parts of Khazad-d’m. The creature that is the Watcher is relatively unknown. It is known, however, that it can either crawl into the mine itself, or send its tentacles into the mine to block the passage, or worse, catch and devour the inhabitants of the Dwarven city.

Durin's Gates and the Pond according to Tolkien

This interaction between the exterior and interior of Moria was clearly a crucial element for Tolkien. Although the author drew very few elements of his universe himself,However, he took the time to create a whole watercolor detailing how this synergy between the pond and the depths of the dwarven mine works. Thus, in the painting that you can discover below, you will see that it was important for Tolkien to show the tiny dimension of the door compared to the mountain at the foot of which it is located.At this scale, the pond suddenly seems much larger, deeper and, frankly, disturbing.

The drawing could well terrify the thalassophobes among you, because here, the depths of the pond are so dark that they do not even allow a glimpse of the famous Watcher. However, at the bottom of the water, we can make out an entrance, or at least a chasm, at least twice as wide as the door itself,which sinks into invisible and unimaginable depths. It is probably here that Tolkien imagines the access point of the monster(s), which can come at leisure to devour the visitors or return to attack the poor inhabitants of Moria, condemned to a certain and atrocious death. The most surprising thing about this drawing is that the artist has extended it by adding a second part that continues to make the waters go down underground, without us being able to see the end of it.

And if you liked this article, don't hesitate to discover our different articles on Tolkien's little-known paintings, such as Smaug by Tolkien or Sauron by Tolkien, right here.