The Great Forge of Mandalore and the Mines of Moria
Textual Ruins and the Technological Transition of History
One of the many nerdy questions that occupies my brain when watching any action-packed movie or series is “Why are forges so sick?” Every time I see the [insert legendary weapon or armor here] glow red or yellow, stoked by the artificial wind of the forge bellows and the slow mo shot of the still hot metal being beaten by the blacksmith’s hammer, accompanied by some epic score, my body grows tense with anticipation. Newly forged items mean transition, whether for a character, a culture, or even the history of the world itself. Think about Aragorn and the reforging of Andúril. That sword has a rich history and is instilled with power and authority that brings with it the ability to change the trajectory of the direction of Middle-earth. Aragorn frequently utilizes Andúril as a badge to prove his status as King. His revealing of himself and the sword reforged to Sauron through one of the palantír literally moved an army, which allowed Frodo and Sam to venture closer to Mt. Doom thus ensuring the Dark Lord’s defeat.
If you’re a gamer and enjoy a good RPG, I’d put money on the fact that you felt a certain kinda way when you finally collected enough of the right materials, scoured the lands for ungodly amounts of gold, and reached the appropriate level to craft that piece of equipment you’ve been working at since the beginning of your playthrough. Now, unless you’re one of the elites who just grinds to get all the epic and legendary equipment for the sake of completion, us normies usually have a more simple purpose for forging [insert legendary weapon or armor here]. We need a certain stat buff to survive the next dungeon; perhaps our old weapon looked cooler, and we need to make a particular item to unlock the cosmetic transmogrifier; or maybe, just maybe if we craft this item, we can finally defeat The Butcher in a Nightmare Dungeon (shoutout to all my Diablo IV shut-ins). Whatever the purpose for our forging, these items are usually in service to completing the next step on our virtual quests.
Forges and the goods that are produced by them usually symbolize the means to progress, making transition possible. However, progress and transition does not necessarily mean flourishing. So, what happens when entire cultures orient their foundations around the forge? Further, what does it mean when these cultures are lost to war and tragedy? And how can the Dwarves of Middle-earth and the Mandalorians of the Star Wars universe give us insights into these questions?
In The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 7 “The Spies,” the Mandalorian landing crew ends up retreating to underground caverns to escape the attack of a kaiju-like lizard. This retreat leads the group to The Great Forge of Mandalore, the once center of their civilization. As I watched this episode, I could not help but think of the Fellowship’s journey into Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring – specifically the Peter Jackson movie. The Fellowship, like the Mandlorians, are attempting to locate and enter a particular earthen dwelling. Eventually, both are successful, but not without the nudging of giant monsters. And sure, Gandalf recites the password to enter Moria before The Watcher in the Water attacks the Fellowship, but it is this assault that pushes the party into the mines and traps them within. Once forced to travel the length of the abandoned Dwarf city, the Fellowship comes to a crossroads and Gandalf doesn’t remember which way to take. After a while, Gandalf decides to follow his nose, which leads the group to the great halls of the Dwarrowdelf. We get a similar sense of awe when the Mandalorians enter the cavern that contains the ruins of The Great Forge. In both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Mandalorian, there is a wide shot from below, showing the enormity of the structures. Both Moria and The Great Forge are also lit in a grayish green, making the parallel between the two moments that much more striking.
Now, I am not the first to make this connection. In preparing to write this Tolkien Pop! article, I went searching for anyone else who might have possibly seen similarities between the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and the Mandalorians. The YouTube channel Generation Tech Shorts has a great sixty-second video on this connection. You can watch the video here. He even points out that the Balrog and the Mythosaur are ancient horned beasts and draws a parallel between mithril and beskar. Another YouTube channel Generation Films actually has a video that compares and contrasts mithril and beskar that you can also watch here.
Rather than just making cool connections between arguably the most famous fantasy series and arguably the most popular sci-fi series, I want to explore where these two forging cultures stand in their cultural context at the time that both The Lord of the Rings and The Mandalorian take place. When the members of the Fellowship are forced to take the road to Moria because of various roadblocks, they enter a Dwarven city in decline. If we know Sindarin (one of the Elvish languages that Tolkien invented) as well as Dwarvish, we can catch a glimpse of how Tolkien and others in Middle-earth viewed the life of the once great Mansion of the Dwarves. In Sindarin, Moria translates to “The Black Pit.” Its original name given by the Dwarves when it was built in the First Age by Durin the Deathless, the OG daddy of the Dwarves, was Khazad-dûm, which means “Dwarrowdelf” or “City of the Dwarves.” Pretty straightforward, right? Tolkien tends to do this sort of thing. Not only does he give multiple names in multiple invented languages (which usually includes an etymological history of development for each name), in many places he gives the person, place, or thing an obvious name such as the King of Eagles Thorondor, which translates to (spoiler alert) “King of the Eagles.” This name develops from an ancient root meaning “come swooping down.” There’s a point to this linguistic digression, so allow me to land this eagle *budum ts*. When it comes to reading Tolkien, you have to pay attention to the details. This is not to say that you are required to learn Tolkien’s invented languages and their history to enjoy his stories or “understand” his work, but unearthing these details have the potential to deeply enrich one’s experience when they enter the world of Arda.
Not only does this linguistic clue give us insight into the current state of Moria from its once magnificent standing as Khazad-dûm, but it also provides us a window into Tolkien’s theme of time. Tolkien saw the world as a world in decline. If you want to truly see the heights of civilization both in Middle-earth and in our primary world, you have to look backwards. As the world gets older it becomes less beautiful and good. Another indicator of Tolkien’s worldview of decline is in a concept that he borrowed from Old English called orþanc enta geweorc, which translates to “the cunning work of giants.” Throughout Tolkien’s works, his characters stumble upon or into these great ruins that point to a better age now gone. Tolkien scholar, Dr. Michael Drout calls these literary instances “textual ruins.” Not only are they ruins that more knowledgeable characters in the books take for granted and less knowledgeable characters discover in amazement, but they are textual ruins for us readers that serve a similar purpose. Some of us who are returning to the pages of The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time will know the significance of Moria and it being a remnant of what Khazad-dûm once was. Newcomers will enter the halls of the abandoned Dwarrowdelf with awe and wonder.
Elements of orþanc enta geweorc are present in The Mandalorian. For veteran Star Wars fans, the history of Mandalore, the glory of The Great Forge, and the diaspora of Mandalorians (another detail in history that is shared with the Dwarves) are probably well know even amongst issues of canon, but for us newbies, hearing The Armorer talk of The Great Forge as she crafts weapons and armor out of beskar in a makeshift yet impressive forge in the humble dwellings of the Mandalorians-on-the-move induces a level of interest in the wider galaxy and the history of Mandalore. The Mandalorian gives its viewers the opportunity to enter into the once great epicenter of the Mandalorian capital and encounter the remnants of The Great Forge. We get a sense of the vastness of Mandalore, contributing to our understanding of just how great it was at its height along with just how far it has fallen and how far the Mandalorians have to go to properly rebuild their planet and society – if it is even possible. The Re-Colinization of Moria, led by Balin the Dwarf in the Third Age, was unsuccessful in their attempt at restoring Khazad-dûm to its former glory or at least something reminiscent of that glory. Both Moria and Mandalore were occupied by monsters and enemies upon their respective revisits. Further, both the Fellowship and the Mandalorians defeated their enemies. As of Season 3, The Mandalorians now occupy Mandalore once more and baptize their younglings in the waters. In the Fourth Age, Durin VII retakes Moria and forges on until the race of Dwarves end. Will the Mandalorians experience such a renewal?
Time will tell what lies in store for the Mandalorians. For the Dwarves, however, that story is over, and we know how it ends. Although The Mandalorian is still very much open to creating new possibilities and the history of Dwarves of Middle-earth has concluded, both the lives of the Mandalorians and Dwarves are and were reliant on the transitionary power of their craftmanship. Each rose to glory and power on multiple occasions through the discovery and honing of materials that brought each culture to societal heights that were admired and coveted by many. It was this rise to renown that also led each to both war and ruin. As in our primary world, complex and rational beings have a complicated relationship with advanced technology. Daniel Headrick puts it well in the preface to his book Technology: A World History: “For all its ability to provide increasing ease for the world’s inhabitants, the case for technology’s drawbacks is a powerful one, showing the tensions produced by the universal human capacity to invent.”[1] As we nerd out about the legendary armor of the Mandalorians or the mithril of the Dwarves, let us not forget that in all their beauty they also contain the potential for incredibly destructive power – power that led to the death and fall many times over for each fictional race. In our own time of seemingly advanced technology, what can we learn from Hiroshima, Chernobyl, and 9/11? And how will we fair in the transition of human history?
[1] Headrick, Daniel R. Technology: A World History. Oxford University Press, 2009. vii.
Excellent!