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Dol Guldur, also known as the hill of sorcery, was an ancient fortress that had been occupied once by the Elves of the Woodland Realm but was overrun by Orcs, spiders and other foul creatures during the Third Age after Sauron returned to Middle-earth and used the fortress as a base. The Dark Lord used it as his base of operations during Thorin Oakenshield's quest for Erebor. Sauron summoned many orcs from Gundabad for his army.
History[]
Early history[]
It is unknown how the fortress was built, whether the Elves of Mirkwood built it or some other civilization but the fortress was known to be occupied at one point by the Elves of Mirkwood. The Elves began to increase tension with their kin, the Elves of Lothlórien, and retreated north, making the borders of the Woodland Realm much smaller.[1]
The Necromancer[]
Sauron made Dol Guldur his abode after his return
At some point after his defeat during the War of the Last Alliance[2], Sauron the Dark Lord of Middle-earth returned in astral form and took up residence in Dol Guldur. He began to grow in black magic and Great Spiders, spawn of Ungoliant, began to breed in the cess pits of the fortress, spreading darkness upon the wood around Dol Guldur.[1]
After the Battle of Azanulbizar, Thorin's father Thráin was taken by Orcs from Moria and was believed dead by many of his kin. The Orcs eventually took him to Dol Guldur where he was driven crazy over time.[3] Gandalf the Grey entered Dol Guldur at some point and found Thráin who gave him a map of the Lonely Mountain and a key to the hidden door of Erebor to give to Thorin.[4] Gandalf didn't see the Necromancer due to the spell of concealment that the sorcerer placed on the fortress.
During the Quest for Erebor, Radagast the Brown began noticing the sickness beginning to sweep through Mirkwood and began to investigate. He encountered the Great Spiders before investigating the fortress itself. He fought the Witch King of Angmar in the fortress and managed to steal one of his Morgul-blades. He then saw the Necromancer in the distance, an inky black and green mist speaking in black speech. Radagast fled the fortress to find Gandalf the Grey and warn him.[5]
Gandalf warned the White Council of the findings in Mirkwood and showed them the Morgul-blade but Saruman dismissed the Necromancer as a "mere human dabbling in Black Magic" and nothing more. This information did not suffice for Gandalf as there was enough evidence to make him worry that the enemy of Middle-earth had once again returned.[5] The Morgul-blade was suspicious enough as well as the fact that the Necromancer had chosen a fortress so close to the Gladden Fields where the One Ring had been lost so many years ago.[1] Galadriel agreed with Gandalf that something was amiss and some time later when the Company of Thorin Oakenshield was about to enter Mirkwood, Galadriel spoke to Gandalf through his mind told him to investigate the High Fells of Rhudaur where the ringwraiths had been buried.[4]
Gandalf enters Dol Guldur[]
Gandalf discovered the legions of Orcs and Wargs being prepared to attack Erebor
After investigating the now empty tombs in the High Fells, Gandalf and Radagast decided to go to Dol Guldur and investigate there. After arriving at the entrance Gandalf told Radagast to go to Galadriel and get help. When Radagast asked Gandalf if it was a trap and the grey wizard told him that it was undoubtedly so. Gandalf attempted to lift the spell of concealment as he walked through. As he was lifting the spell he was spotted by Azog and Ragash. Ragash told his master that the wizard would definitely lift the spell and find them and Azog agreed.[4] Gandalf was attacked by a mentally crazy Thráin and after a short chase, Gandalf held the Dwarf down and purged the darkness from his mind. Thráin talked to Gandalf for a while before the pair were attacked by Azog and his minions. Gandalf asked where Azog's master was and Azog deflected the question by showing the wizard the legion of Orcs and Wargs below in the cess pits. Gandalf blinded the Orcs and ran away from them with Thráin. After losing the Orc pursuers, they were confronted by the Necromancer who swallowed up Thráin in a black swirl of power.[3] Gandalf defended himself with a ball of light, powered by his staff, but it wasn't enough to stop the darkness and the Necromancer melted his staff, revealing his identity as Sauron to the wizard. Gandalf was locked up in a cage to watch Azog marching out with an army, heading towards the Lonely Mountain.[4]
Battle of Dol Guldur[]
After receiving word from Radagast, Galadriel called White Council together and they infiltrated Dol Guldur.[6] She managed to rescue Gandalf from the Torturer of Dol Guldur who was about to cut off his finger and take his ring.[7] As she took Gandalf away from that area, she was surrounded by the ringwraiths but Elrond and Saruman came to her aid, fighting off the wraiths. Sauron revealed himself to the White Council and Galadriel used her power to banish the Dark Lord from the fortress and he went back to Mordor with the nine.[6]
Dol Guldur was relatively abandoned after Sauron and his powers returned to Mordor and the battle for the mountain was lost by Azog, his whole force being slaughtered.[6]
War of the Ring[]
At some point Sauron would send forces back to Dol Guldur and the fortress would serve as a strategic outpost for the battles in the north during the War of the Ring. Galadriel and Elrond would once again attack the fortress following Sauron's final defeat and they would effectively end its evil days in Middle-earth.[8]
Geography[]
Dol Guldur was located in the south-west portion of Mirkwood which had long been abandoned by the Woodland Elves. The entrance to Dol Guldur was a long narrow bridge that crossed a chasm and ended in the guard house. Going up the steps and through some passageways would eventually lead you to the courtyard which was where the initial battle with the ringwraiths and the White Council took place. There was also multiple towers including the south tower which was where Sauron appeared and was banished by Galadriel. There was an entrance in the courtyard which served as the main entrance to the passageways and dungeons of which there were endless amounts.[9]
Notable Locations[]
- Dol Guldur guard house
- Dol Guldur south tower
- Dol Guldur courtyard
Trivia[]
- There was known to be a Palantir in Dol Guldur which was possibly seen by Gandalf during his investigation of the fortress.[10]
Behind the Scenes[]
Dol Guldur was not a part of Tolkien's The Hobbit but no explanation for why Gandalf was gone is given in the book and so therefore the inclusion of the fortress in the films doesn't change too much while also serving as a great setup for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Appearances[]
- The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: The Movie Storybook
- The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
Non-canon[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Visual Companion
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Extended Edition
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- ↑ The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Extended Edition
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
- ↑ The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Chronicles: Art & Design
- ↑ The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: The Art of War - The Palantir was part of the filmed set, making it's existence canon but not necessarily Gandalf's vision of Smaug.