Mount Gundabad was a Northern Orc stronghold situated at the northern end of the Misty Mountains, located to the east of the ancient realm of Angmar.
History[]
Dwarves of Durin's Folk, including Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad shortly after the Awakening of the Elves in the Years of the Trees. Mount Gundabad then became a sacred place to the Dwarves.[1]
In the middle of the Second Age, however, Orcs (ruled over by the servants of Sauron) invaded the mountains and took Gundabad. The site would not be cleansed until very late in the Second Age, possibly around or after the fall of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring.[2]
In the Third Age, the Northern Orcs again claimed it, which was one of the reasons for the Dwarves special hatred of them. After the fall of Angmar, Gundabad remained an Orc-hold, until it was cleansed of Orcs during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. However, hordes of Orcs seem to have trickled back to this hotly contested strong point and fortified it anew before the events of The Hobbit, menacing Wilderland for yet another time. It was from here the great Northern Orcs present at the Battle of Five Armies attacked and marched. Their leader, Bolg son of Azog, was the supreme commander of the Orcs from Gundabad, and presumably the northern Misty Mountains.[3][4]
In adaptations[]
The Hobbit film trilogy[]
In The Hobbit film trilogy, Gundabad plays a key role in the series storyline. It is portrayed as a tall fortress tower in the middle of a remote mountain range. Hidden cauldrons of fire light up the tower with a dim red glow. The tower is surrounded by sharp angled cliffs.
The fortress is home to Bolg and his father Azog the Defiler, as well as an army of Gundabad Orcs. As eventually revealed in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Gundabad is a stronghold with connections to the Angmar kingdom that was destroyed long ago. In the aftermath, Gundabad Orcs like Azog began to take residence in Moria before forging an alliance with Sauron, in his Necromancer guise at Dol Guldur, in an attempt to revive Angmar through Smaug taking the Lonely Mountain. But when Thorin II reclaims the Lonely Mountain, Sauron is forced to send the Orc army he amassed to the Lonely Mountain. On route at the start of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Azog instructs his son Bolg to bring out an additional Orc army from Gundabad itself.
Legolas and Tauriel follow Bolg north to Gundabad. Once they arrive at the remote fortress they stop, and wait on a ridgeline above the "Red Tower". During their wait Legolas reveals that his mother died at Gundabad during the war.
For a while the area seems deserted, but without warning, huge bats start to swarm the tower. Legolas realizes that these bats are bred for war. Suddenly, Bolg appears on a precipice and bellows out a signal. A huge army of Orcs swarm out and start to march south, towards the Lonely Mountain.
Tauriel and Legolas witness the army of Gundabad Orcs emerging from the mountain, and they rush to warn the armies at Dale.
Video games[]
- The video game The Lord of the Rings: War in the North was the first to depict Mount Gundabad in any form.
- Games Workshop's miniature of Bolg gives his full title as "Castellan of Mount Gundabad."
- In The Lord of the Rings Online, Gundabad features as a significant location.
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Afrikaans | Berg Gundabad |
Albanian | Mali Gundabad |
Amharic | ጎንዳባድ ተራራ |
Arabic | جبل جونداباد |
Armenian | Գունդաբադ լեռ |
Assamese | মাউণ্ট গুণ্ডাবাদ |
Asturian | Monte Gundabad |
Azerbaijani | Gundabad dağı |
Basque | Gundabad mendia |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Гара Гундабад |
Bengali | গুন্দাবাদ পর্বত |
Bhojpuri | माउंट गुंडाबाद |
Bosnian | Brdo Gundabad |
Breton | Menez Gundabad |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Планина Гундабад |
Catalan | Mont Gundabad |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | 剛達巴山脈 |
Croatian | Brdo Gundabad |
Corsican | Muntagna Gundabad |
Czech | Hora Gundabad |
Danish | Gundabad Bjerget |
Dutch | Gundabadberg |
Esperanto | Monto Gundabad |
Estonian | Gundabadi mägi |
Faroese | Gundabadfjall |
Filipino | Bundok Gundabad |
Finnish | Gundabadin vuori |
French | Mont Gundabad |
Galician | Monte Gundabad |
Georgian | გუნდაბადის პიკი |
German | Berg Gundabad |
Greek | Όρος Γκούνταμπαντ |
Gujarati | માઉન્ટ ગુંદાબાદ |
Hawaiian | Mauna Gundabad |
Hebrew | ג'בל גונדאבאד |
Haitian Creole | Mòn Gundabad |
Hindi | गुंडबड पर्वत |
Hungarian | Gundabad-hegy |
Icelandic | Gundabadfjall |
Indonesian | Gunung Gundabad |
Irish Gaelic | Sliabh Gundabad |
Italian | Monte Gundabad |
Japanese | グンダバード山 |
Javanese | Gunung Gundabad |
Kannada | ಗುಂದಬಾದ್ ಪರ್ವತ |
Kazakh | Тауына Гұндабад (Cyrillic) Tawına Gundabad (Latin) |
Konkani | माउंट गुंडाबाद |
Korean | 군다바드 산 |
Kurdish | ماونت گوندە ئاباد (Sorani) Çiyayê Gundabad (Kurmanji) |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Тоо Гундабад |
Laotian | ພູກູນດາບາດ |
Latin | Mons Gundabad |
Latvian | Gundabad smaile |
Lithuanian | Gundabad viršukalnė |
Luxembourgish | Montéierung Gundabad |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Гундабад Гора |
Maithili | गुंडाबाद पर्वत |
Malayalam | ഗുണ്ടാബാദ് പർവ്വതം |
Malaysian | Gunung Gundabad |
Manx | Beinn Gundabad |
Maori | Maunga Gundabad |
Marathi | गुंडाबाद पर्वत |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Монт Гундабад |
Nepalese | गुन्डाबाद पर्वत |
Norwegian | Gundabadfjellet |
Occitan | Mont Gundabad |
Old English | Gundabad Beorg |
Pashto | غر عونداباد |
Persian | کوه گونداباد |
Polish | Góra Gundabad |
Portuguese | Monte Gundabad (Brazil) |
Punjabi | ਪਹਾੜ ਗੁਨ੍ਦਬਦ |
Romanian | Muntele Gundabad |
Romansh | Muntogna Gundabad |
Russian | гора Гундабад |
Samoan | Mauga Gundabad |
Sanskrit | गुंडबड पर्वत |
Sardinian | Monte Gundabad |
Scottish Gaelic | Beinn Gundabad |
Serbian | Гундабад гора (Cyrillic) Gundabad gora (Latin) |
Sicilian | Munti Gundabad |
Sindhi | مائونٽ گند آباد |
Sinhalese | ගුන්ඩාබාද් කන්ද |
Slovak | Hora Gundabad |
Slovenian | Gora Gundabad |
Somali | Buurta Gundabad |
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Monte Gundabad |
Sundanese | Gunung Gundabad |
Swahili | Mlima Gundabad |
Swedish | Gundabadberget |
Tagalog | Bundok ng Gundabad |
Tajik Cyrillic | Маунт Гундабад |
Tamil | குண்டாபாத் மலை |
Telugu | గుండాబాద్ పర్వతం |
Turkish | Gundabad Dağı |
Turkmen | Gundabad Dagy |
Urdu | کوہ گوندآباڈ |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Гора Ґундабад |
Uzbek | Гундабад чўққиси (Cyrillic) Gundabad choʻqqisi (Latin) |
Venetian | Monte Gundabad |
Vietnamese | Núi Gundabad |
Walloon | Mont Gundabad |
Welsh | Mynydd Gundabad |
Xhosa | Entabeni Gundabad |
Yiddish | מעמד הר גונדאַבאַד |
Yoruba | Òkè Gundabad |
Zazaki | Gundabad Koyê |
Zulu | Entabeni Gundabad |
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
Mountain Ranges of Arda |
---|
Ash Mountains |
Blue Mountains |
Echoriad |
Ephel Dúath |
Ered Gorgoroth |
Ered Lómin |
Ered Wethrin |
Grey Mountains (north) |
Grey Mountains (south) |
Iron Hills |
Iron Mountains | |
Dwarven realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
---|---|
Years of the Trees and First Age: | Amon Rûdh | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Narukuthûn | Blue Mountains |
Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Belegost | Nogrod | Mount Gundabad | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Dunland |
Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Blue Mountains | Iron Hills |
Realms of the Dark Lords | |
---|---|
Years of the Trees | Utumno |
First Age | Dor-na-Daerachas |
Second Age | Mount Gundabad • Mordor |
Third Age | Witch-realm of Angmar • Mordor |
Fortresses | |
Beleriand | Angband • Tol-in-Gaurhoth |
Middle-earth | Barad-dûr • Black Gate • Carn Dûm • Dol Guldur • Durthang • Minas Morgul • Tower of Cirith Ungol • Towers of the Teeth |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, III: Durin's Folk
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Part XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth]], chapter X: "Of Dwarves and Men"
- ↑ The Hobbit, chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst"
- ↑ The Hobbit, chapter XVIII: "The Return Journey"