The Mithril

Mithril, known in the Elvish tongue as Moria-silver and in the Common Speech as true-silver, was a metal of extraordinary rarity and value, found in the Third Age only in the deep mines of Moria. Its worth was ten times that of gold, and by the time of the War of the Ring it had become beyond price, for little remained above ground and even the Orcs dared not delve for it. The Dwarves had a secret name for it which they never revealed to outsiders, but its Elvish name, mithril, was known throughout Middle-earth.

Properties and Uses

Mithril possessed a combination of qualities that made it unmatched among metals. It could be beaten like copper and polished like glass, yet when the Dwarves worked it they could produce an alloy that was light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty resembled that of common silver, but unlike silver it never tarnished or grew dim. The Elves valued it highly and used it to create ithildin, or starmoon, a substance that mirrored only starlight and moonlight and was used to inscribe the hidden Doors of Durin at the West-gate of Moria. The Doors themselves were wrought with ithildin that slept until touched by one who spoke the forgotten words of opening. The most famous piece of mithril-work in the story was the corslet of mithril-rings that Thorin Oakenshield gave to Bilbo Baggins. Gandalf later revealed that its worth was greater than the value of the entire Shire and everything in it, a kingly gift that Bilbo himself may not have fully understood. Frodo wore this mail-coat hidden beneath his clothes throughout his journey, and it saved his life when an Orc spear-thrust at the Chamber of Mazarbul would have skewered a wild boar, and again when an arrow from the Morgul-road glanced off it. The Guards of the Citadel of Minas Tirith wore helms wrought of mithril, heirlooms from the glory of old days that gleamed with a flame of silver.

The Foundation and Ruin of Moria

Mithril was the foundation of the Dwarves' wealth in Khazad-dûm. The lodes led north towards Caradhras and down into darkness, and the Dwarves delved ever deeper in their search for it. But their greed proved their destruction: they disturbed that from which they fled, Durin's Bane, the Balrog of Morgoth. The Orcs later gathered nearly all the mithril that had been brought to light and gave it in tribute to Sauron, who coveted it. By the time of the Fellowship's journey, the upper halls of Moria had been plundered by Orcs, and no one dared to seek the shafts and treasuries in the deep places, which were drowned in water or shadowed by fear. Gimli the Dwarf, hearing of the mithril-coat, was startled into silence, recognizing it as a gift worthy of a king.

Narrative Significance

Mithril serves as a tangible symbol of the lost glory of the Dwarves and the ruin caused by their overreaching. Its extreme value—the price of an entire land—underscores the magnitude of the gifts Bilbo and Frodo received and the peril they carried unknowingly. The metal's unique properties, especially its use in ithildin for the hidden Doors, also tie directly to the plot, as the password "mellon" opens the way into Moria. The fact that Sauron covets mithril and receives it as tribute from the Orcs further demonstrates the reach of his power and the corruption of even the most precious things under his shadow.