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In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given at the beginning of the late Third Age to an enormous and by then very ancient underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or ''mansions'', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains. There, for many thousands of years prior to that time, had lived the Dwarf clan known as the Longbeards. Moria's original name, that given it by the dwarves in their own language, was Khazad-dûm, which translates as ''The Dwarrow Delf'', "dwarrows" Being an archaic English plural of "dwarf", and "Delf" an archaic alternative to "Delving", from the verb "Delve", to dig. Such was its size and fame that throughout its long history Khazad-dûm was well-known by many peoples of North-western Middle-Earth, who translated it's name into their own languages; ''Hadhodrond'' (pronounced HATH-o-drond, with "th" as in ''this'') by the Sindar, ''Casarrondo'' by the Noldor and ''Phurunargian'' in the Common Speech, Khazad-dûm earned its later sobriquet Moria, meaning "Black Chasm" or "Black Pit", from Sindarin ''mor''="black" and ''iâ''="void, abyss, pit".,〔(Etymology of "Moria". ), Tolkien Gateway〕 after it was abandoned by the Dwarves following the emergence in its depths of a demonic entity of great power, The Balrog. It has been suggested that Tolkien—an ardent Catholic—may have used this name as a reference to the mountains of Moriah, where (according to the book of Genesis) Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Isaac. However, Tolkien categorically denied such derivations, saying that "As to ''Moria''…it means…Black Chasm (Sindarin ). …As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever."〔Tolkien, J.R.R. Draft of a letter to a Mr. Rang. Letter #297, August 1967〕 ==Literature== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moria (Middle-earth)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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