November 1, 2002

Re: The Mines of Moria
Fili

Moria was an ancient Dwarf-dwelling, and the password and the ithilidin writing are in the West tongue of the Elder Days, when many were at peace, and the Moria gates would often be open and you would not need to know the password. And the dwarves had the elves help them (they were friends way back then) and because they wanted their gates to be protected against invaders (had there happened to be any).


P.S. Gimli didn't know the password because Narvi (the dwarf who made the gates had passed from Middle Earth long before.