The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Made in or after II 3441;1 fell out of use after 8 March III 3019
Location
Leading into the Paths of the Dead beneath the Dwimorberg
Race
Division
Culture
Settlements
The Gate led into the Paths of the Dead
Important peaks
The Gate lay beneath the Haunted Mountain of the Dwimorberg
Other names

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 28 July 2019
  • Updates planned: 1

Gate of the Dead

The gate that led beneath the Dwimorberg

The dark and foreboding arch that guarded the way into the Paths of the Dead beneath the Dwimorberg, the Haunted Mountain. Those Paths were haunted by the shades of the Oathbreakers, after they were cursed by Isildur for breaking their allegiance to him. The Gate was closed to mortal Men throughout the Third Age; in all that time only one Man dared to pass it - Baldor of Rohan - and he was lost. Only at the end of that Age, as foretold in ancient prophecy, did Aragorn succeed in walking the haunted Paths and allowing the Dead to finally fulfil their broken oath.

Tolkien did not intend the form Gate of the Dead to appear in the text of The Lord of the Rings. He corrected it to Door of the Dead, but this change was not put into place until many years later, and so earlier editions of the book contain a reference to the Gate, rather than the Door, of the Dead.


Notes

1

II 3441 is the date of the final victory of the Last Alliance, bringing down a curse on the Men of the Mountains who had sworn to aid Isildur but failed to fulfil their oath. This is therefore the earliest point at which they might have made the Gate of the Dead, but in principle it might have been some time - perhaps even decades - until this cursed people established themselves in the Paths of the Dead and made the Gate in the mountainside.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 28 July 2019
  • Updates planned: 1

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2010, 2019. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Your Free Personality Test, the free personality test online
Get real insights into who you are. Try a free personality test from Your Free Personality Test today.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry