Keys of Orthanc

The Key of Orthanc (commonly referred to in the plural as "keys") granted entry to the impenetrable tower of Orthanc. The two great keys were black, intricate in shape, and secured together on a steel ring.The Lord of the Rings, Vol. III: The Return of the King, Book Two, Ch. VI: "Many Partings"
== History ==
Orthanc was built between SA 3320 and SA 3430.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Second Age" Presumably as the tower was completed, its doors and the keys that unlocked them were fashioned.
 
During the rule of the early Stewards of Gondor in the Third Age, the depopulation of Calenardhon continued. Eventually, Orthanc became deserted, and after it was locked its two keys were removed to Minas Tirith, to be kept by the Stewards.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, "The Palantíri"
 
In TA 2510,Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, "The Battles of the Fords of Isen" Calenardhon became the kingdom of Rohan, though Gondor retained control of Isengard and Orthanc. During this time, Isengard was manned by a small troop of Gondorians led by a hereditary captain. Nonetheless, the keys were still kept by the ruling Steward.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan"
 
Over time, while retaining the keys, the Stewards forsook the tower as their thoughts looked eastwards. Eventually Isengard came under the control of the Dunlendings who led numerous raids on the Westfold. The Dunlendings were eventually starved out in the great famine after the Long Winter. King Fréaláf and the Steward Beren welcomed Saruman's offer to take command of Isengard and in TA 2759,The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards" Beren gave the key of Orthanc to the wizard so that he could act as warden of the tower on Gondor's behalf.
After the destruction of Isengard by the Ents, Gandalf told Saruman that if he handed over the key of Orthanc and his staff, he might soon be pardoned and receive both back. Saruman did not surrender them.The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers, Book Three, Ch. X: "The Voice of Saruman"
 
A week before August 22, TA 3019,The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years" when Aragorn II Elessar and his company arrived at Orthanc, Saruman had departed Isengard with Gríma Wormtongue. However, before he left, Treebeard had made him lock the tower and hand over the key of Orthanc.
 
After the fall of Sauron, one of King Elessar's first tasks in the re-ordering of his realm was the restoration of Orthanc. He ordered that the palantír recovered from Saruman be returned to the tower. Having access with the key of Orthanc, it was then that the tower was searched and many secrets were revealed, such as the Elendilmir.
==Behind the scenes==
While Tolkien capitalized the term Key of Orthanc,The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers, Book Three, Ch. X: "The Voice of Saruman", "But you will first surrender to me the Key of Orthanc, and your staff...He has the Key of Orthanc." it is clear from other passages that there were two keys to the great tower. It may be possible that Tolkien used the singular term to formally refer to the steel ring as a whole (connecting the two keys as one).
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Sleutels van Orthanc
Albanian 	Çelësat e Orthanc
Arabic 	اورثانك مفاتيح
Armenian 	Որտհանկ ստեղները
Assamese 	অ'থানকৰ চাবি
Asturian 	Llaves de Orthanc
Azerbaijani 	Orthancın Açarları
Basque 	Orthanc-en gakoak
Belarusian Cyrillic	Артханк ключы
Bengali 	অর্থনকে এর কীগুলি
Breton 	Alc'hwezioù Orthanc
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Ключове на Ортанк
Catalan 	Claus de Orthanc
Cornish 	Alhwedhow Orthanc
Croatian 	Orthanc ključevi
Czech 	Orthanc klíče
Danish 	Orthancs nøgler
Dutch 	Sleutels van Orthanc
Estonian 	Orthanc võtmed
Filipino 	Mga Susi ng Orthanc
Finnish 	Orthanc avaimet
French 	Clés d'Orthanc
Galician 	Chaves de Orthanc
German 	Schlüssel von Orthanc
Greek 	Κλειδιά του Ορθανκ
Gujarati 	ઓર્થાન્કની ચાવીઓ
Hebrew 	מפתחות האורתאנק
Hindi 	ऑर्थेंक की कुंजी
Hungarian 	Orthanc kulcsai
Indonesian 	Kunci-kunci Orthanc
Irish Gaelic 	Eochracha Orthanc
Italian 	Chiavi del Orthanc
Kannada 	ಆರ್ಥಂಕ್ ಕೀಗಳು
Kazakh 	Ортанк пернелер (Cyrillic) Ortank perneler (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Ортанк ачкычтар
Latin 	Claves de Orthanc
Latvian 	Orthanc atslēgas
Lithuanian 	Orthanc raktai
Luxembourgish 	Schlësselen vun Orthanc
Macedonian Cyrillic	Ортанк клучеви
Malaysian 	Kekunci-kekunci Orthanc
Maltese 	Ċwievet ta 'Orthanc
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Ортанк түлхүүрүүд
Nepalese 	ॐर्थन्च कुञ्जीहरू
Norwegian 	Orthancs nøkler
Occitan 	Claus de Orthanc
Polish 	Klucze Orthank
Portuguese 	Chaves do Orthanc
Romanian 	Cheile Orthanc
Russian 	Ключи Ортанк
Sardinian 	Chielas de Orthanc
Scottish Gaelic 	Iuchraichean Orthanc
Sicilian 	Chiavi di Orthanc
Sinhalese 	ඕතෑන්ක් යතුරු
Slovak 	Kľúče od Orthanc
Slovenian 	Orthanc tipke
Somali 	Fureyaasha Orthanc
Spanish 	Llaves de Orthanc
Sundanese 	Konci-konci Orthanc
Swahili 	Funguo za Orthanc
Swedish 	Orthancs nycklar
Tamil 	ஆர்த்தங்க் விசைகள்
Telugu 	ఆర్థంక్ కీలు
Thai 	กุญแจของออร์ธังค์
Turkish 	Ortank Anahtarları
Turkmen 	Ortank Açarlar
Venetian 	Ciaves de Orthanc
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Ключі Ортанка
Vietnamese 	Các phím của Orthanc
Welsh 	Allweddi Orthanc
Yiddish 	שליסלען פון אָרטהאַנק
==References==
de:Schlüssel von Orthanc
Category:Objects
Category:Isengard
Category:Gondor