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Key of Orthanc

The key Gandalf demanded of Saruman and the Ents finally took from him

Other names

keys of Orthanc

ca. 1 min

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In briefanswer capsule

The key to the tower of Orthanc, held by Saruman since Beren, Steward of Gondor, gave him the keys in Third Age 2759 and let him dwell in Isengard. After the fall of Isengard Gandalf demanded the key and Saruman's staff as pledges of his conduct; Saruman refused, and Gandalf broke his staff and cast him from the order. Later the Ents made Saruman lock the tower and surrender the keys before he left. Treebeard kept them with Quickbeam, and when Aragorn came north after his crowning Quickbeam gave him two great black keys on a ring of steel.

Time anchorfrom Third Age 2759Open in the master timeline

Provenance

  1. Saruman — Third Age 2759 – Third Age 3019 (Received the keys from Beren, Steward of Gondor, in 2759; refused to surrender them to Gandalf; made by the Ents to lock the tower and give them up.)
  2. Aragorn — from Third Age 3019 (Quickbeam handed the two great black keys to Aragorn on his return north after the coronation.)

Sources

Cite this page

Legendarium (2026): „Key of Orthanc“. Last updated September 6, 2026. https://www.legendarium.page/objects/key-of-orthanc/

APA
Legendarium. (2026). Key of Orthanc. Last updated September 6, 2026. https://www.legendarium.page/objects/key-of-orthanc/
MLA
„Key of Orthanc“. Legendarium, 2026, https://www.legendarium.page/objects/key-of-orthanc/. Last updated September 6, 2026.
BibTeX
@misc{legendarium-key-of-orthanc-en,
  title        = {Key of Orthanc},
  author       = {{Legendarium}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.legendarium.page/objects/key-of-orthanc/}},
  note         = {Last updated September 6, 2026}
}