Morgul Pass

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The Morgul Pass is a fictional passageway in The Lord of the Rings.

The Morgul Pass is the main pass from the Morgul Vale into Mordor. The Morgul Pass was at the far eastern end of the Morgul Vale. The Mountains of Shadow were relatively low at that point. The Morgul-road ran through the valley past Minas Morgul and over the Morgul Pass. The road then ran down into Mordor and crossed Gorgoroth to Mount Doom and Barad-dûr.The Pass of Cirith Ungol was high above the Morgul Pass, on the northern side of the Morgul Vale. In Mordor, the road from Cirith Ungol came down to join the Morgul-road.

[edit] Etymology

The Morgul Pass was so called because it was located in the Morgul Vale. The word morgul means "black magic." The element mor means "black, dark." The element gûl means "sorcery, magic" from the stem ngol or nólë meaning "long study, lore, knowledge."

The pass was also called the Nameless Pass, presumably by those who did not wish to utter the evil name of Morgul.

[edit] Sources

• The Two Towers: "The Black Gate Is Closed," p. 250; "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol," p. 319

• The Return of the King: "The Black Gate Opens," p. 161; "The Tower of Cirith Ungol," p. 176