Summary
Black Soul Gems are powerful and controversial artifacts in theElder Scrollsuniverse, designed to trap the souls of sentient beings, collectively known as “black souls.” Soul trapping itself dates back to at leastThe Elder Scrolls' First Era, where binding a soul to an unhatched egg was a common practice in Black Marsh before it was banned. Black Soul Gems, however, were created in the Third Era as a way to more efficiently trap the souls of sentient beings, all while those souls remain conscious within the gem.
With the most recent game in the series,The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, taking place in the Fourth Era where Black Soul Gems are more accessible, this means Black Soul Gems have an extensive history that is worth exploring. From the genesis of soul trapping to the experiments with developing more effective means of doing so, Black Soul Gems have proven themselves to be one of the most prominent forces in theElder Scrollsuniverse.
The Dark Origins of Black Soul Gems in The Elder Scrolls
Molag Bal, Mannimarco, and the Corruption of Soul Magic
While Black Soul Gems have shown up throughoutThe Elder Scrolls' history, their origin is ultimately traced back toMolag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination and Harvester of Souls himself. According toThe Elder Scrollslore, Molag Bal infuses part of his power into these gems, making them capable of trapping the souls of mortals. From there, they are refined in Coldharbour, Molag Bal’s realm, which enhances their potency and sets them apart from standard soul gems.
In the Second Era, both Mannimarco (a powerful Altmer necromancer who founded theOrder of the Black Worm) and Vastarie (an Altmer necromancer and scholar who worked alongside Mannimarco) played a key role in bringing Black Soul Gems to the forefront. Vastarie was the first to return from Coldharbour with them, while Mannimarco saw them as tools for power. Vastarie, on the other hand, believed they had more ethical uses, which makes her involvement all the more interesting given where the gems eventually end up in the broader lore.
While Black Soul Gems have shown up throughoutThe Elder Scrolls' history, their origin is ultimately traced back to Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination and Harvester of Souls himself.
Later,Sotha Sil(one of the three Tribunal gods of Morrowind, alongside Almalexia and Vivec) took things in a different direction. In the Clockwork City, he reverse-engineered soul gems into something resembling Black Soul Gems to fuel experiments that transferred souls into mechanical constructs. These eventually led to the creation of Factotums — artificial beings designed to serve as workers, assistants, and even companions within the Clockwork City — though most of the experiments reportedly ended in madness. As a result, the Clockwork Apostles banned Black Soul Gem research altogether, not because it wasn’t effective, but because it was too unstable to control.
How Black Soul Gems Bypass Arkay’s Divine Protection
Black Soul Gemsare technically defiant of Arkay, the god who protects the natural cycle of life and death. According toElder Scrollslore, Arkay’s divine influence prevents mortal souls from being trapped without consent, but necromancers like Mannimarco found a way around that. By dealing with the Ideal Masters (powerful entities tied to the Soul Cairn), they gained access to soul gems that could bypass Arkay. That’s where Black Soul Gems come in, which essentially act as loopholes.
By the time of the Third Era, Mannimarco and the Order of the Black Worm had figured out how to create Black Soul Gems themselves. The key was a strange event called the Shade of the Revenant, linked to the Necromancer’s Moon. If aGrand Soul Gemwas placed on a specific altar during this event and a Soul Trap spell was cast, the gem would become a Black Soul Gem. This ritual became central to their dark arts, both for trapping souls and for doing so in ways that openly defied the natural order Arkay was meant to uphold.
