Durin's Tower upon the peak, by David Greset
Zirakzigil, also called Silvertine and Celebdil (Sindarin: celeb, 'Silver' + -dil, 'point') by the Elves, was a peak in the Misty Mountains of Middle-earth, known as the location where Gandalf's fight with Durin's Bane ended.
Description[]
Zirakzigil was one of the great peaks in the Misty Mountains. On its peak stood Durin's Tower. It was one of the three Mountains of Moria, along with Caradhras and the Fanuidhol, under which lay the ancient Dwarf realm of Khazad-dûm.[1]
History[]
Gandalf's fight against Durin's Bane atop Zirakzigil, as depicted by John Howe
The Dwarves called the mountain-summit Zirakzigil. In ancient times, they built the Endless Stair - a spiral staircase of many thousand steps - from the roots of the mountain up to its peak. On an eyrie atop the mountain they built Durin's Tower. By the end of the Third Age, the stair and the tower were remembered only in legend.
Then, on January 23, 3019, Gandalf and the Balrog climbed the Endless Stair to the summit of the Silvertine. There they fought the Battle of the Peak, which lasted three days. During the battle, Durin's Tower was destroyed and the stairs were blocked. The Balrog of Moria was finally destroyed. Gandalf the Grey died and was soon returned to life as Gandalf the White. Gandalf was rescued from the Silvertine by Gwaihir the Windlord on February 17, 3019.[2]
Etymology[]
A tine is a point or prong. Celebdil is derived from celeb meaning "silver"[3] and til[4] (modified to -dil) meaning "horn," or "point." The translation of Zirakzigil is most likely "silver spike," but it is not clear which element means "silver" and which means "spike." A note written by J.R.R. Tolkien proposed that zirak meant "silver" and zigil meant "spike" but a later note said the reverse - that zigil meant "silver" and zirak meant "spike."[5]
In adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers[]
Silvertine as seen from the slopes above the Dimrill Dale in The Lord of the Rings Online. The jagged remains of Durin's Tower are visible on the peak.
Durin's Tower, at the peak of Zirakzigil, is shown as the location of Gandalf's final struggle against Durin's Bane in the second film of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The miniature built for the peak and its ruins was among the films' smaller environment-miniatures, at thirteen feet tall.[6]
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
Zirakzigil appears as a playable location in the Moria region of The Lord of the Rings Online.
Behind the scenes[]
- In a 1968 letter, Tolkien identifies the Swiss Silberhorn as it appeared to him when camping near Mürren in 1911 as "the Silvertine (Celebdil) of my dreams".
- In the movie adaptation, the battle between the Balrog and Gandalf took place in ferocious blizzard, while it was under clear sky and the Sun was up high in the book.
Gallery[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ዚራክዚጊል |
| Arabic | زيراكيزيجيل |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Зіракзігіл |
| Bengali | জিরাজিগিল |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Зиракзигил |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 西拉克西吉爾 |
| Danish | Zirak-zigil (Sølvertinden) |
| Greek | Ζαζακζίγκιλ |
| Gujarati | ઝિરાક્ઝીગિલ |
| Hebrew | זיראכזיגיל |
| Hindi | ज़ीराक्ज़िगिल |
| Japanese | ジラクジギル |
| Kannada | ಜಿರಾಕ್ಜಿಗಿಲ್ |
| Kazakh | Зиракзигил (Cyrillic) Zïrakzïgïl (Latin) |
| Korean | 지라 지길 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Зиракзигил |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Зиракзигил |
| Marathi | जिराकजिगिल |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Зиракзигил |
| Nepalese | ज़िरक्ज़िगिल |
| Persian | زیراك زیگیل |
| Punjabi | ਜ਼ੀਰਾਕੇਜ਼ਿੱਗਿਲ |
| Russian | Зиракзигиль |
| Serbian | Зирак-Зигил (Cyrillic) Zirak-Zigil (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | සිරක්සිගිල් |
| Tamil | சிரக்சிகில் |
| Telugu | జిరకేజిగిల్ |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Зіракзіґіл |
| Urdu | زیراکزیگیل |
| Yiddish | זיראַקזיגיל |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "The Misty Mountains"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter V: "The White Rider"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 7: The Treason of Isengard, VIII: "The Ring Goes South"
- ↑ Mary MacLachlan in Gary Russell's The Art of The Two Towers, Introduction, pg. 11