Caradhras

Infobox LOTR place
place_name = "Caradhras"
place_description= peak
place_built= Morgoth, when the Misty Mountains were raised
place_realm = The Misty Mountains
In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Middle-earth", Caradhras, also called the Redhorn (the literal English translation of the Sindarin name), is one of the mightiest peaks in the Misty Mountains. It is the last pass south of Rivendell until the Gap of Rohan.

The Redhorn Pass attempted by the Nine Walkers on their quest for Mount Doom lay beneath its slopes, linking the former Noldorin realm of Eregion in the west to the Dimrill Dale and hence the Vale of Anduin in the east.

After the fall of Khazad-dûm, this pass was predominantly used by Elves travelling between Lórien and Eriador.

Caradhras ("Barazinbar" in Khuzdul, the language of the Dwarves) was one of the Mountains of Moria, the three mountains beneath which the great Dwarf palace of Khazad-dûm was built. Caradhras was also the site on Middle-earth where "mithril" was found. It was here, though, that miners found Durin's Bane, the Balrog of Moria.

Caradhras was called "the Cruel" by the Dwarves and had long had a bad reputation. The Redhorn Pass (also called the "Redhorn Gate") was known to be treacherous. It was on this pass that Celebrían, the wife of Elrond, was captured by Orcs. This was also the pass used by the Hobbits migrating from Gladden Fields into Eriador.

Caradhras is reminiscent (in form and meaning) of the Greek word χαράδρα ("kharadra"), which means "mountain stream [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout.reflang=greek;layout.reflookup=xara%2Fdrh;doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%23113336 www.perseus.tufts.edu, "Perseus Project: A Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell and Scott"] ] ."

References