Posted: July 13, 1999 at 06:44:18: by Stephen Geard
: : : 13. When the Dwarves of beautiful Khazad-Dum built their Western door, why did they allow it to be inscribed with the insulting name of "Moria" ("Black Pit"), a name that would only be earned long years afterwards?: : This one has worried me from time to time. I have always thought "Moria" out of place, "Hardhodrond" would have been more likely. Does Tolkien address the question anywhere. : What does "Hardhodrond" mean. I briefly looked but didn't find the root words listed to translate it. My library is scant. And as for what to call Moria, what's wrong with Khazad-Dum? I see Moria as being a derisive epithet applied by the Elves to Khazad-Dum after the release of the Balrog. Over a number of years it apparently supplanted the true Dwarvish name. "Hadhad" was the closest the Sindar could get in their own language to "Khazad," the Dwarves own name for themselves. Thus Hadhadrond exactly translates "Khazad-dum".
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