Language of the Moria password in The Fellowship of the Ring

At the gates of Moria there is a riddle on the door. "Speak Friend and Enter".

Frodo then asks Gandalf "What is the elven word for 'Friend'?" who replies and the door opens.

Given Moria is a dwarven mine, why would the door require an elven password?

Best Answer

That gate to Moria was created in the "Second Age" of Middle Earth, and was used to trade mithril with the Noldorian Elves of Eregion. Relations between the Elves and the Dwarves were more cordial in the Second Age. The inscription and password on the gate created by Celebrimbor, the leader of the Noldor, hence is in elvish. Celebrimbor also forged the 3 Elvish rings of power.

[This is all in the Silmarillion]

In The Fellowship of the Ring, the inscription on the door reads:

Im Narvi hain echant. Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin

"I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Eregion drew these signs"

(taken from Wikipedia, I hope it is accurate). So Narvi the dwarf built the gate, and Celebrimbor drew the lettering and the cast the spell which only opens when the password is given.

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What is the password to enter the Mines of Moria?

Even though the doors were crafted by Dwarves and mark the entrance of a Dwarvish homestead, the scripture on them is written in Elvish. The riddle reads "speak friend, and enter," with the answer being "Mellon," the Elvish word for friend.

What language is written on the door to Moria?

The inscription was a riddle: "speak friend and enter." The answer was a password in an Elvish language that would cause the Doors to swing open. Gandalf eventually solved the riddle, remembering the Elvish word for friend, mellon.

What does Gandalf realize the password to the door to Moria is?

In The Fellowship of the Ring, when the party was at the gates of Moria, Gandalf tries to open the doors by speaking bespoke paswords. The password is actually "Mellon " but he tries various other phrases first.

What does Gandalf say in Moria?

The silver lines grow bright, outling a door formed of two columns beneath an arch, with a star in the center.] Gandalf: "It reads 'The Doors of Durin \u2014 Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. '"

The Walls of Moria LOTR 1.14 [HD 1080p]

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