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The Mines of Moria is home to one of the most well-known scenes throughout the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Many events pave the way to the famous scene of Gandalf holding off the Balrog as the rest of the fellowship escapes. Leading up to this scene, it’s learned that Gandalf is very reluctant to pass through the mines, but he never explains why to the others.
Earlier in The Fellowship of the Ring, before the company takes the Pass of Caradhras, Gimli makes a comment to Gandalf that they’re taking the long way to Mordor and suggests traveling through the mines instead. Gimli explains to Gandalf that his cousin, Balin, who is seen in The Hobbit films, would warmly welcome them as they pass through the mines.
LOTR: What Happened To The Mines Of Moria After The War Of The One Ring?
Once Sauron was defeated and Aragorn was crowned the King of Gondor, changes came to the Mines of Moria.
However, Gandalf makes it clear that he wouldn’t travel through Moria unless he had no other choice, suggesting he may know something the rest do not. But he doesn’t give the fellowship a reason for this. This begs the question, did Gandalf know the mines had fallen?
Did Gandalf Know The Mines Of Moria Had Fallen?
In The Lord of the Rings, Gimli had no idea the Mines of Moria had fallen, which is why he suggested taking the road through Moria. But Gandalf’s reaction to Gimli’s suggestion makes it seem like Gandalf knew something terrible had happened inside the mines.
Gandalf didn’t know that the Mines of Moria had fallen. He mentions he had been through Moria before, but it was before it had been resettled, which means it would not have had the chance to be overrun yet. All that was known about the mines was that the dwarves had gone silent.
Similarly in the book, Gandalf was still ignorant of the fall of Moria. He had traveled through Moria before (in search of Thrain, father of Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit), but never encountered anything to suggest the dwarven kingdom had been overrun with orcs.
When Did Moria Fall?
The fall of Moria that’s detailed in The Lord of the Rings isn’t the first time this great dwarven kingdom has fallen. It’s seen its ups and downs over the years, with one of the most notable taking place sometime before The Hobbit. This was when the Balrog was first awoken and slaughtered King Durin VI and all of his dwarves, giving it the name of Durin’s Bane.
But the fall of Moria seen in The Lord of the Rings is just as significant and happened relatively near the events of The War of the Ring.
After The Hobbit took place, Balin, Gimli’s cousin, led a group of dwarves to reclaim the mines. The kingdom Balin set out to restore was very successful at first. However, the dwarves, although aware that Durin’s Bane lived within the mines, didn’t pay it any mind. They drove out any remaining orcs and even recovered dwarven treasure thought to be lost to the mines, such as Durin’s Axe.
Unlike King Durin VI, whose kingdom fell because of the Balrog, Balin’s kingdom fell because invading orcs swarmed Moria, outnumbering the dwarves. This happened roughly 25 years before The Fellowship of the Ring.
Why Was Gandalf Reluctant To Go Through The Mines?
If Gandalf didn’t know that the Mines of Moria had fallen, there was no reason for him to suspect a swarm of orcs would attack the fellowship during their journey. Yet he was still reluctant to take the road through Moria. So why didn’t Gandalf want to travel through the mines?
In The Fellowship of the Ring movie, it’s heavily implied by Saruman that Gandalf knows something lurks in the Mines of Moria. This would explain why he doesn’t want to lead the fellowship through the mines. Gandalf doesn’t want to put anyone at risk.
Moria…You fear to go into those mines. The dwarves delved too greedily and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum…shadow and flame.
Saruman is referring to the Balrog that lives within the Mines of Moria. Although he had traveled through Moria sometime before Balin reclaimed it, much else isn’t said about Gandalf’s first journey through the mines. But his first trip would have been when Gandalf discovered the Balrog was in Moria.
Having known the Balrog was still living in Moria and how it devastated Durin’s kingdom, it’s no surprise Gandalf feared the mines, especially since no one had heard from Balin or any of the other dwarves in nearly 25 years. After all, it’s not hard to put two and two together. This was exactly why he was reluctant to travel through them in the first place in The Lord of the Rings.
But, unfortunately, Saruman didn’t give the group much of a choice when he cast a spell to bring down the mountain while they were traveling through the Pass of Caradhras. The fellowship ended up taking the route Gandalf was hesitant about, encountering not only the Balrog but a swarm of orcs when they ventured into the Mines of Moria.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
