The History of Minas Morgul | Tolkien Explained

[@eimanb3887]

Currently going through another Tolkien phase, and this is by far the most amazing content to watch. Thank you for making it so enjoyable!

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks so much! Glad to help you in your Tolkien binging! :)

[@seeteasea5497]

I must admit, Tolkien’s world is so intriguing to me, but I struggled to read The Fellowship so this channel gets me deep into the lore in the best way possible for me

[@eimanb3887]

@@seeteasea5497 the exact same thing with me. I love Tolkien's work, but I struggle to read the books. I have picked it up three times and yet have never managed to read more than 10 pages, but recently I've started once more. These videos have allowed me to learn so much without even having read the books :P

[@seeteasea5497]

@@eimanb3887 I know what you mean, I even tried the audiobooks but the constant songs are more painful in that media. The work is fantastic and the lore is incredible, it’s just the style that trips me

[@eimanb3887]

@@seeteasea5497 definitely! Seeing as his style of writing is so different to modern day writing it can seem difficult, but the lore is unmatched. Every time I go through a Tolkien phase, i love it soo much.

[@thetruth4654]

The Minas Morgul scene in LOTR Return of the Ring is one of my favorite scenes in the entire trilogy. It was such a great way to bring the witch king into action.

[@Endme264]

Wait til you read the minas morgul chapter. Bro...

[@ggsimmonds1]

Wish we could've saw more of the city

[@AMcGrath82]

Not sure if I missed it in the video, but the term "Minas Ithil" means "Tower of the Moon" while "Minas Morgul" means "Tower of Sorcery." The consistency is profound, here: "Ithilien" means "Forest of the Moon" while "Morgul blades" are "sorcerous blades." It gives the language a great deal of authenticity. Worth noting.

[@t.b.cont.]

Yeah the language was basically the first thing Tolkien wrote, all the rest was technically a justification for coming up with several new languages lol. He was a total language nerd, he helped write the Oxford dictionary

[@emilinebelle7811]

You guys are on fire. Thanks so much. It took me years, my whole family were Tolkien nerds but I felt it was above me. Currently getting into it and both of your comments just make me giddy with happiness. Total fan now. What a damn genius he was.

[@mrD66M]

Same as ithildin (the elf drawing upon magical doors using a variety of mithril) which can only be seen by moonlight, same shape as it was when made

[@TheMorningNapalm]

The video shows us the translation for Minas Morgul. Can't remember about Minas Ithil.

[@josephmort4039]

It’s almost like a professional linguist wrote the books.

[@nightdrive89]

I've always been fascinated by Minas Morgul, and the thought of what horrors might lurk within its walls. For me, all the mysteries is one reason why I keep coming back to Tolkien's world.

[@imperialwhovian3461]

LOTRO did a great job with depicting many.of the horrors tbaf betel the people trapped there as well as what actually happened to Eanor

[@alanguages]

It would have been great to see Minas Ithil re-established again. It would show even after all the horrors, the light came back and conquered the darkness Minas Morgul was.

[@fromthecheapseats7126]

For some reason I thought it was worse than Barad-Dur.

[@joycejulep9115]

Exactly! Our minds fill in the horrific details, which in a way helps us participate in the story

[@jodo__]

Honestly Nerd of the Rings is some of the best content on KZbin.

[@chadhagans6687]

The miniature Jackson used in the LOR films were incredible. Hauntingly beautiful.

[@AmbientWorlds]

I have a Minas Morgul video coming out in July! I’ll link this for my subscribers who’d like to learn more about the lore! All the best!

[@NerdoftheRings]

Awesome! Can’t wait to see and hear it! 😁

[@alanmike6883]

@@NerdoftheRings What do you think would've happened if isengard had conquered helms deep before the forces under the theoden arrived?

[@ashertony1]

Really enjoyed the depiction of Minas Ithil in the Shadow of War game. Made it believable that people would actually have wanted to live there at that point.

[@ashertony1]

Robert Inglis' reading of the description of the Morgul Vale in the audiobook is so chilling. I still get goosebumps to this when I hear it.

[@allent1152]

I recently started playing Middle Earth Shadow of war and minas morgul plays a big role in the games plot, its cool being able to go there and see it in game like that. It even has the green glow from the ringwraiths and the witch king that take it over. I've been interested in its story ever since I watched the movies.

[@hariharanc3306]

One of the best games I've ever played. I don't even care that it deviates from the lore (which was intentional), it's just too fun with its gameplay and also how the story unfolds

[@allent1152]

@@hariharanc3306 I agree, Talions story is just badass too.

[@scottjoseph7556]

After just replaying and 100% Shadow of War again I love that we saw Minis Ithil and then Minas Morgul cause its something we havent seen all that much of in other games/movies/books. Its meant to be a whole city but we really only see the main tower and gate.

[@offroader9965]

These vids are a great way to get your weekend started!!

[@gingerwitch33]

I've read every Tolkien book I can get my hand on at least two times but it's always nice to hear the lore explained rather than to just have to read it

[@NerdoftheRings]

What theory video would you like to see me make on either Rings of Power or War of the Rohirrim? Black Sword? Possible storylines for WOTR? Galadriel's arc in ROP?

[@evanairnomad4361]

Rohirrim all the way…

[@tyska2277]

One day a history of gondolin maybe

[@Ilovetea543]

Same here rohirrim or history or Gondolin

[@schmittyvonbaun8418]

I think its best to ignore rop as existing. More than likely gonna end up like Picard, dead

[@istari0]

War of the Rohirrim please. Going over the history leading up to it so we understand better the positions of the major players would be very interesting. RoP just looks worse every time something new comes out.

[@Aurora-qn2dx]

0:08 / 5:18 best artwork ever. Minas Morgul scene in the films is in my top 5 favorite scenes in the trillogy.

[@LieutenantLettuce]

I think that a super interesting video you could make is a 'What If' video on what if Faramir was sent to Rivandel instead of Boromir.

[@MrPiestro]

Most likely he would help Mithrandir and follow his counsels. Would he be able to help stop Merry and Pippin from being captured? Would Sam and Frodo have split up? Would make an excellent video!

[@LieutenantLettuce]

@@MrPiestro To make it even more interesting, you could look at what Boromir would be doing back in Minas Tirith. Would he be put in charge of the Ithilian Rangers? If Frodo and Sam still split up from the fellowship, would they encounter Boromir? Would he try to take the ring if he found out that they had it? On top of that, without Boromir the fellowship wouldn't split up(at least not in the same way) meaning that Merry and Pippin wouldn't find Treebeard, and the Ents wouldn't raid Isengard. The Huorns wouldn't come to Theoden's aid at Helms Deep. What would happen instead of all of that?

[@andrewvincent7299]

@@LieutenantLettuce Eru Illuvitar works in mysterious ways. It had to be his hand in helping guide the forces of good just like he did with Frodo and Gollum in Mount Doom.

[@sauron3488]

In its prime, Minas Ithil was a beautiful place.

[@jefferybushnik3057]

I don't think I could have resisted saying "the Gondor/Mordor bordor".

[@gurentgc3546]

Really loved the minas Ithil intro in the game Shadows of War. Excellent game.

[@ambroseeng4950]

One of the things that make my weekends better. Appreciate all of it!

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks so much! Glad I could bring some Tolkien nerdiness to your weekends! :)

[@rahulj71]

The more I watch these videos more I realize the vastness of Tolkein's world. Simply spectacular and amazing. Thank You.

[@andreasriegler6589]

Your choice of images is so on point for the content, especially when Minas Ithil turned into Minas Morgul it felt like a cold shower

[@BrickLi]

I'm definitely gonna have fun watching this video for extra details in my LEGO Minas Morgul MOC!

[@rangerofthenorth1970]

This is another great and interesting video, I really love your history videos, pls make more videos about great cities and civilazations! Gondolin, Erebor, Valinor, Mordor.... Minas Morgul without a doubt one of the creepiest places in all of Middleearth! One of the creepiest lines for me was just a simple line when Wich King challenged King of Gondor, whose name now I cannot remember was when he entered Minas Morgul and was never seen again! And whenever I watched movies I always look at the doors of the city and I always wonder what lies behind it! And I will always be gratefull for Lotr Conquest for we have seen it from the inside! That was really fun for me! Nerd another great video, once again big congrats on 600k subs!

[@mccalltrader]

Yes it is Ya gotta check out “in deep geeks” channel, his LOTR content is top notch

[@Pokelemon3434]

@@mccalltrader dude I think everyone is already subscribed to him, nerd and geek are the two best lotr channels

[@NerdoftheRings]

You’ll love our upcoming livestream! I’m gonna have Robert on sometime soon. Love chatting with him!

[@thranduiloropherion7256]

His name is Eärnur the last king of Gondor before Aragorn took up the throne again.

[@rayrosario9600]

well done, art and commentary is concise and very entertaining. Thanks for what you do.

[@BossGaming-vg6zh]

5:09 Nerd Of The Rings I’m not kidding right after you said “it becomes a foul and wicked place” I got an ad for Disney Land where (I am not joking) the first line of the ad was: THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH

[@CybershamanX]

The thing that piques my curiosity the most about Minas Ithil/Morgal is the rotating topmost portion of the tower. Was it used to study/worship (honor)/absorb the light of the moon/stars? I've had no real luck finding specific information about it. Since Tokien approached his legendarium as if he were studying/translating ancient texts, I suppose we could simply chalk it up to him once again leaving some things a mystery due to the lack of specific texts that talk about it. 😉

[@jaysgamingcorner8539]

Another great video. Minas Morgul looked awesome in the film, just how I'd imagine a villain's fortress to be.

[@terranceedwards4750]

This video reminds me more coherently of the timeline you're teaching about the history of middle earth, probably honed in through your own interests in Numenor, and the return of a legendary king to men, and a foreseeable rise apart from corruption. For me, Tolkien's motives are becoming more clear the more you teach.

[@tonybaker1268]

7:24 this is my favorite LOTR artwork of all time. From my favorite chapter of my favorite book.

[@AndrewCarlisle11B]

Interesting the change of ownership and that Aragorn decided against it's occupation. That's why I love these videos, learn something new every time.

[@MADDROBB]

New subscriber here! Been binge watching your videos non stop the past couple of weeks. Amazing quality

[@seeteasea5497]

Love these videos. Managed to just about get through The Fellowship but it was a real struggle. I love Tolkien’s world and this channel is my favourite way to take a deep dive into the lore

[@kingarthur7051]

I really love the art you use in your videos

[@mr.awesomeausten3456]

I watch a lot of KZbin videos, but this is now-by far-my favorite; one show to rule them all…

[@kalvorax]

love the history of Minas Morgul. Shadow of War (yes yes i know its no canon, unfortunately) makes it great to be able to run around the city and even climb to the top of the tower after Act 3

[@christophergrimm9996]

If it is not canon, then I have been lied to.

[@eongrobler]

The videos in my feed I'm the most glad to see! 🤩🔥 Thank you so much for all your hard work Matt - so thorough and enjoyable! 💪

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks so much for watching! Glad I could bring some Tolkien nerdiness to your week! :)

[@reca2489]

Ok, I've just spontaneously stopped eating and started applauding at your video. Truly a masterful piece, eorthy of Tolkien's work, my friend, you bow to no one.

[@Michijere77]

Thank you for posting the art!

[@bassybgaming3388]

The way you end lore videos is absolutely beautiful

[@RazorFang18]

Every time I watch these videos, I get so many chills and goosebumps, very well done. :D

[@SunnyLovetts]

Fascinating quality content! As always 😃

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks so much! Happy Saturday!

[@MrBrunoUSA]

i have started working my wy through LOTR via youtube and several of your explanatory videos have come up. thanks for all the work you have done in providing backgrounds for some of he people and places that inhabit Tolkien's wor;d

[@Tier1GearEDCReviews]

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this video along with many others…👍🏼👍🏼

[@Arashmickey]

The narration is great but I could watch these videos just for the artwork. It's fun to see the images from the old ME card game again.

[@rmattbill]

Thanks!

[@NerdoftheRings]

Thanks so much! Glad you are enjoying the vids!

[@ImperialistFan]

Quote Boromir "This city was once the jewel of our kingdom, a place of light, and beauty, and music, and so it shall be once more"!

[@VoiceoftheRings]

Excellent History Video! Enjoyed it a lot!

[@lorcankelly8871]

Ooh been waiting for this for a while. Please dol amroth next thanks

[@NerdoftheRings]

Another great location! I'll add it to my list!

[@Sun.Shine-]

Speaking of the evil slytherin vibes it has, i often think of living in Dragonstone though! The vibe is 😍

[@mustang_orbit170]

Great Information as always. Amazing scene in ROTK when the Orcs march out with the WitchKing perched above. Your videos add to the appreciation. Toybiz made a detailed line of LOTR figures and I would have liked them to produce a multi-Orc boxset of this scene.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Minas Morgul is a Sindarin name. It means "Tower of Sorcery". It is compound of minas ("tower") and morgul ("black sorcery"), Morgul is a compound of mor(n) ("black") and Gul ("sorcery, black arts"). Minas Ithil is another a Sindarin name. It means "Tower of the Moon" or "Tower of the Rising Moon". It is compound of minas ("tower") and ithil ("moon"). In Orkish, Minas Morgul was known as Dushgoi.

[@cheezzwhizz]

Love these video so glad i found this channel :) currnetly lookign for a a vid that explains how the dragons aka worms learned to talk or was that just for the movie adaption ?

[@NerdoftheRings]

There’s a couple vids on dragons, but not on the ability to speak. That’s in the books as well. Actually, the eagles speak as well in the books. Here’s a vid on the dragons of the first age and what we know of their origins: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpXOeaFpl65jY7M

[@EchelonDnB]

So pleased to find this video! I've been fascinated by Minas Morgul and the Morgul Vale (actually, ALL of the not-so-nice areas of Middle-Earth - Houses of Lamentation - the name of that place alone gets the old imagination cranking LOL...) ever since I first read LotR back in 1983. Your knowledge and research is amazing and I love the amount detail that goes into each vid. :)

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

Amazing video and the images you use are just gorgeous

[@hafizhkemalhilmyawan6894]

Currently playing shadow of war and this content very relatable

[@CounciloftheRings]

Another great topic!

[@samuelstuart3856]

I love your videos since they do such a good job on telling the lore of Tolkiens world. You should consider doing a video on the entire known history of Gondor as well from its founding to its history into the fourth age.

[@CaLemLiza]

Any lore/theories about the Two Watchers of cirith ungol? Dont know why but im fascinated by them. there seems to be no other things like them in tolkiens world?

[@NerdoftheRings]

A great topic for a future vid I think! I’ll have to look into them more. Very mysterious objects for sure. Another one of those things we didn’t fully get in the films aside from a quick shot

[@Nervii_Champion]

Your videos are amazing, there are many mysteries* in Tolkien's universe, as with other fantasy universes, and even our own. There are many ways to interpret them too, and I find your videos to be on par with any other Lord of The Rings channels. Great work. I especially liked the video about the Dead Marshes and how Tolkien drew inspiration from what he saw during World War 1.

[@Comicsluvr]

I'm glad I found your channel because I am also a huge Tolkien Nerd. Have a sub. Expect to see comments as I binge your channel in the coming weeks!

[@Silversmith70]

Dang Shadow of War was a great game! Loved playing in that city.

[@FXGreggan.]

Wish you'd make an unabridged version of the silmarillion explained in fully like these videos :)

[@Admiralkirk95]

Nice use of Shadow of wars depiction of Minas Ithil and Morgul. It was once a great city, turned to a city of horror and death and you get to see and fight in both depictions.... even if The Shadow of Mordor games are noncannon it was nice to see this city transform and from what it was, to what it became. Almost a paralel to Talions character through the story. Corrupted only finding peace after Saurons death, just as Minas Ithil would eventually return after Saurons defeat.

[@shadowlord1418]

I mean so are the movies. Personally i like shadow of wars lore

[@KingOfStopMotion]

What music did you use when you spoke about Anarion and Isildur's fiefdoms? It soubds epic af!

[@DEATH-THE-GOAT]

An other excellent video from NOTR 😀👍

[@Warboy83]

One thing for sure, we will see many movies in future as so many stories needs to be unfolded

[@Jeff-cn9up]

"Where should we build a city?" "How about in the mountains around Mordor?" "Can the forces of Sauron get through the mountains to the city there?" "Sure, but they'll be afraid to attack." "Doesn't he still have those 9 immortal, invulnerable wraiths, the leader of which destroyed Arnor?" "It'll be fine."

[@erikbender1967]

Loved it keep up the good work.

[@cicknobb5321]

Thanks Nerd!!

[@Enerdhil]

Nice way to start off the climb to 700K subs.👍

[@dylanmabe8883]

I want u to know I absolutely love these videos. I hope to god u do not stop until u have absolutely nothing else to talk about in terms of Tolkien’s writing. Love u man

[@antr7493]

such a beautiful complicated story🖖

[@rizwan1983]

I didn't know that Boromir receives a morgul wound. Are there any details as to how it happened and how he was saved?

[@bozkurt3019]

This is another Boromir. Our Boromir never became steward.

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

@@bozkurt3019 Boromir and Denethor both are hereditary/historical names. The first known bearers were actually elves in the First Age, I believe.

[@LaffeeTaffeeGG]

I absolutely love how the city is described in the books by Tolkien. It's just this massive ghostly white city emanating oddly bright pale light that doesn't actually illuminate anything. Windows and entryways are just empty black voids, the city is dead quiet, and the "head" of the pinnacle spins slowly left, and then slowly right. We never see or hear what actually goes on in the city, it just exists. It feels less like a city and more like a giant monster. It's so utterly ominous and creepy.

[@sylvanaire]

Thank you! I always wondered what happened to Minas Morgul after the War of the Ring & how Faramir & Eowyn were able to live nearby it. 👍👍😄

[@garytwinem5275]

Have you ever done the history of Barad-dûr? That would be a cool video.

[@phupatchfourth]

Whats ur soundtrack starting from 0.24 of the video onwards…really love the soundtrack been followed almost all your video

[@star_wars_miniatures]

Great video!!

[@jamiegregg9211]

cool vid Matt enjoyed it

[@dazedoracle9645]

After rings of power I've learned to appreciate shadow of war alot more.

[@datadash8378]

How was rings of power

[@untruelie2640]

I have a question, perhaps someone can answer it: Isn't the distance between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul that's shown at 4:48 (and in similar depictions, including the movies) far to short? According to the "official" map in The Lord of the Rings, the distance is about 40 miles or 64 kilometers. The mountains are probably not as high as the Himalaya, perhaps between 3,000 and 5,000 meters (the Ephel Duath were probably even lower than the Ered Nimrais, since they had no snowcaps). So shouldn't the respective other mountain range only be visible as a somewhat distant shadow on the horizon? Not to mention the cities who were even smaller and would probably not have been visible, at least not from the other side of the large Anduin valley. Or am I wrong?

[@DreadArkive]

Minus Morgul always reminds me of The House of Silence from William Hope Hodgson's novel The Night Land.

[@legothoron1]

Interesting learning the names of some of these places before the names we know them well by

[@jeremygreenwood1021]

Lovely art. Thank you.

[@hannakowalska6253]

Thanks to you and Tolkien I want create my own book. And when did you get that Dark music in The background?

[@NoxForest]

Minas Morgul looks so beautiful. The Dead City.

[@jeffreed671]

When time means nothing to the enemy.. they eventually will find you at your weakest and gain land

[@lullc]

Please talk about history of Mordor, how it was build and what happened with it in fourth age

[@evanairnomad4361]

I never thought about the fact that the line of kings ended in Isildur’s own city…sad way of putting it!

[@Alaedious]

Thank you! This was great! 🥰😍

[@charlienorway]

Love this place, Minas Morgul was cool.

[@annaroselarsen4218]

Awesome video

[@ianpatterson6552]

When Frodo, Sam and Gollum travel south to enter Cirith Ungol they encounter a defaced statue of a presumably early King of Gondor. Was it Anarion?

[@j-mc5201]

A Cirith Ungol video would be cool

[@corvlud]

Quite an informative video, as usual. Still, there's one question occurred me after reading the book and watching the PJ's Trilogy: what is the nature of that strange light beam coming from Minas Morgul main tower?

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

It's an interpretation of a somewhat vague passage in the books talking about the WItch king magically using light and loud noise to summon his armies.

[@davidbarclaycooper2737]

What made the numoreans so potent for places like Isengard and other notable places. It would be interesting to know their construction techniques

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

Men of the line of Elros, Elrond's brother. Who in turn had elves, men AND Maia/Istari in their ancestry. (Earendil and Elwing, Beren and Luthien, Thingol and Melian, Tuor and Idril, etc.). They had some powers and capabilities, especially in the the early "Less-sullied" days, that normal men would not. Long life among them i.e. time to figure these things out in study. These cities are reminiscent of greater cities of elves of old like Gondolin.

[@nugget_man5142]

My Birthday was wednesday and so with my brirhday money im gonna buy the extended movies!

[@LadyGaladrielOfLothlorien]

I have suggestion for the next video: What will happen, if Thranduil takes the ring?

[@gandalfthechad]

One of the best looking city imo

[@RNG2266-d8b]

Minas ithil in middle earth shadow of war was a very good depiction of what it once was