The entrance to the Paths of the Dead
The Paths of the Dead was a haunted pass through the White Mountains. The paths started at the Dark Door at the end of the long valley of Harrowdale, beyond the Firienfeld and the forest of Dimholt, wedged in between the mountains Irensaga, Starkhorn, and the Dwimorberg.
Contents
History
After the Dark Door, the Paths went under the Dwimorberg, past another door where Aragorn and company found the remains of Baldor, son of the second King of Rohan, Brego. The Paths then continued past forgotten cities, emerging at the southern end of the White Mountains in Morthond vale, near the Stone of Erech.
In the Second Age, a people related to the Dunlendings had lived in the White Mountains, and they had for a time served the Dark Lord Sauron. They later swore allegiance to Isildur of Gondor and Arnor, but betrayed him during the War of the Last Alliance and refused to fight on either side. For this reason, Isildur cursed them, proclaiming that, if the Alliance triumphed, they would linger in the mountains until one of his heirs called them again to fight against Sauron.
Isildur's curse succeeded: their people dwindled and eventually died out, until only their ghosts remained at the end of the Third Age. When Aragorn and company took the Paths of the Dead and, deep within the mountains, summoned them to the Stone of Erech, their shades followed him. At the Stone at midnight, Aragorn unfurled his banner, declared himself the heir of Isildur, and commanded the dead to aid him.[1] In this they obeyed, and defeated the armies of the Corsairs of Umbar who were attacking the landings in southern Gondor. (Supposedly, the only weapon that they required was fear, driving their enemies to cast themselves madly into the sea.) When those foes were defeated and Aragorn could claim the black ships of the Corsairs for his own, he declared that the curse was lifted, and the dead departed forever. When the dead had gone, the men of southern Gondor joined Aragorn in the ships and sailed to the aid of Minas Tirith.[2]
Portrayal in adaptations
Peter Jackson's The Return of the King
In the theatrical release of Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the battle with the Corsairs occurrs off-screen and the Army of the Dead accompanies Aragorn to Minas Tirith to defeat Sauron's Orcs, after which Aragorn declares their curse lifted.
The Paths are depicted with an unnatural mist, mass crypts, and piles of skulls. As Aragorn and company travels through, Legolas senses the Dead closing in behind them. When entering a vast clearing in front of a necropolis, the Army of the Dead appears and surrounds them until Aragorn threatens them with a reforged Narsil, holding them to their oaths. The Dead refuse at first, but later reappear by a river and agree to fight for Aragorn. The Stone of Erech is not featured.
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Paaie van die Dooie |
| Albanian | Shtigjet e të Vdekurit |
| Amharic | ሙታንን ዱካዎች |
| Arabic | مسارات للموتى |
| Armenian | Պատհս ոֆ տհե Դեադ |
| Basque | Hildakoen Bidezidorrak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Сцежкамі Мёртвых |
| Bengali | ডেড এর পাথ |
| Bosnian | Staze Mrtvih |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Пътища на мъртвите |
| Catalan | Camins dels Morts |
| Cebuano | mga alagianan sa mga Patay |
| Chichewa | Njira kwa akufa |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 亡者之路 |
| Corsican | Spassighjate di i Mortu |
| Croatian | Staze Mrtvih |
| Czech | Stezky mrtvých |
| Danish | De Dødes Stier |
| Dutch | Paden van de Doden |
| Esperanto | Vojoj de la Mortintoj |
| Estonian | Surnudе rajad |
| Filipino | Landas ng mga Patay |
| Finnish | Kuolleiden kulkutiet |
| French | Chemin des Morts |
| Frisian | Paden fan 'e Deaden |
| Galician | Sendas dos Mortos |
| German | Pfade der Toten |
| Greek | Μονοπάτια των νεκρών |
| Gujarati | ડેડ ઓફ પાથ |
| Haitian Creole | Chemins moun mouri |
| Hawaiian | Ala o ka poe make |
| Hebrew | נתיבי המתים |
| Hindi | मृतकों के रास्तों |
| Hungarian | Holtak ösvénye |
| Icelandic | Slóðir Dauðra |
| Indonesian | Jalan kematian |
| Irish Gaelic | Cosáin na Marbh |
| Italian | Sentieri dei Morti |
| Japanese | 死者の道 |
| Javanese | Dalan saka ing antarane wong mati ? |
| Kannada | ಸತ್ತವರ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳು |
| Kazakh | Өлі жолдар (Cyrillic) Öli joldar (Latin) |
| Korean | 죽음의 경로 |
| Kurdish | Riyên ji nav Miriyan (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | өлгөндөрдүн жолдору ? |
| Laotian | ເສັ້ນທາງຂອງການຕາຍ |
| Latvian | Mirušo takas |
| Lithuanian | Keliai Mirusiųjų |
| Luxembourgish | Bunne vun de Verstuerwen |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | патеки на мртвите |
| Malagasy | Lalan'ny ny Maty |
| Malaysian | Jalan-jalan mati ? |
| Malayalam | മരിച്ചവരുടെ പാതകളെ |
| Maltese | Mogħdijiet tal-mejjet |
| Marathi | मृत मार्ग |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Сөнөсөн замаар ? |
| Nepalese | मृतकहरूको बाटो |
| Norwegian | De dødes stier |
| Persian | راههای مردگان |
| Polish | Ścieżka Umarłych |
| Portuguese | Sendas dos Mortos |
| Punjabi | ਮਰੇ ਦੇ ਮਾਰਗ |
| Querétaro Otomi | Senderos ya Animä |
| Romanian | Cărările Morții |
| Russian | Тропы мертвых |
| Serbian | Стазе мртвих (Cyrillic) Prolazu mrtvih (Latin) |
| Sesotho | Bafu tsa Litsela |
| Scottish Gaelic | Frith-rathaidean nam Marbh |
| Shona | Makwara Vakafa |
| Sindhi | مردار جا رستا |
| Sinhalese | මළවුන්ගේ පථ |
| Slovak | Cesty mŕtvych |
| Slovenian | Poti od Mrtvih |
| Somalian | Waddooyinka Dhimatay |
| Swahili | Mapito ya Wafu |
| Swedish | Sökvägarna för Döda |
| Tajik Cyrillic | мурдагон Роҳчаҳо |
| Tamil | டெட் பாதைகள் |
| Telugu | డెడ్ యొక్క మార్గాలు |
| Thai | เส้นทางแห่งความตาย |
| Turkish | Ölülerin Yolları |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | шляху мертвих |
| Uzbek | Марҳумлар йўллари (Cyrillic) Marhumlar yo'llari (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Con đường của người chết |
| Welsh | Llwybrau y Meirw |
| Yiddish | פּאַטס פון די טויט |
| Yoruba | Awọn ọna ti awọn okú |
References
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. II: "The Passing of the Grey Company"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. IX: "The Last Debate"
