Peter Jackson's film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are incredible masterpieces of detail, serving both as a loving tribute to JRR Tolkien's epic novels and as a demonstration of the incredible skills possessed by the artisans of the Wētā Workshop. Although there are many differences between Lord of the Rings films and books, the creative spirit on display shows a deep reverence for Tolkien's legend. The films bring Middle Earth to life so we can see how powerful magical items abound. Lord of the Ringscarried by mighty heroes and little hobbits.
The heart of The Lord of the Ringsand to a lesser extent The Hobbitis a story about how the most innocent hero can succeed against a seemingly impregnable evil. The history of Middle Earth is full of humble heroes who defeated Dark Lords like Morgoth, or other mighty battles that serve as a parallel to the spiritual conflicts they represent. As befits such an epic, the heroes of Middle Earth carry swords with legacies as epic as the battles in the films themselves.
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Wheelbarrow blades
Forged by the Dúnedain, wielded by Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, and Samwise Gamgee
In The Fellowship of the RingAragorn gives these daggers to the hobbits at Weathertop before the Nazgûl attack. Frodo lost his in that confrontation, although it was soon replaced by the sword of his uncle, Sting. Samwise's was lost when rescuing Frodo from Cirith Ungol. Peregrin served him well at the Black Gate, where he wounded a troll. However, perhaps the most famous of these blades was the one Meriadoc used against the Witch-King of Angmar at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Meriadoc participated in that battle alongside Éowyn, princess of Rohan. Just as the Lord of the Nazgûl was about to kill her, Meriadoc thrust his Barrow blade into the back of the monster's leg. Though every other blade had failed, this one was forged by the men of Cardolan, one of the splinter kingdoms of old Arnor, to fight against the hosts of Angmar, and so was able to injure the Witch-King enough for Éowyn to deliver the killing blow.
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Herugrim
Forged by the men of Rohan, wielded by Théoden King
Herugrim is the sword of Théoden, King of Rohan. After Théoden was freed from the evil influence of the traitor Saruman the White, Gandalf returned his sword to him, and Théoden was clearly comforted by the weight of the blade in his hand. Herugrim served the king well in the fights at Hornburg and the Fields of Pelennorwhere he killed many orcs and Haradrim; Unfortunately, Rohan's steel was no match for the cursed Witch-King of Angmar.
"Herugrim" is an Old English name meaning "very fierce" or "cruel" (through Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary). Although JRR Tolkien created the languages spoken by the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth, he based the language of Rohan on that spoken by real-world Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century AD, which he studied extensively; in Tolkien's translation of the epic poem Beowulfwhere the word is used to describe the fight between Beowulf and the mother of the monster Grendel, he translated it as “fell,” meaning “from a terrible evil” or “deadly.”
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Éowyn's Sword
Forged by the men of Rohan, wielded by Éowyn
The sword that adorned the hand of the White Lady of Rohan was a normal blade in every way except one. It was a simple, straight-bladed, one-handed sword, like thousands of others that had been wielded by the men and women of Rohan for centuries. However, in Éowyn's hands, it became the instrument of a prophecy thousands of years in the making.
"Your destiny is still far away, and it will not fall by the hand of man."
The Nazgûl, Sauron's Ringwraiths, were led by the sadistic Witch-King, who in the early 14th century of the Third Age forged Angmar, his own kingdom of evil, from where he worked to destroy the kingdom of Arnor. In 1974 of the Third Age, the armies of the Witch King were defeated by an army led by the ancient elven hero Glorfindel; Seeing the Witch-King disappear from the field, Glorfindel prophesied, "Your destiny is still far away, and it will not fall by the hand of man."
In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-King and his forces were about to destroy the city of Minas Tirith. Although the Rohirrim's valiant counterattack forced the orc horde and Haradrim to divide their focus, the Witch-King hunted down the king of Rohan, Théoden, and overthrew him, hoping that his death would break the Rohirrim. However, Éowyn, who had ridden with the Rohirrim against Théoden's direct order, was present to defend her uncle, and she killed the Sorcerer King with a single blowthough his blade broke as it pierced his twisted, undead body.
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Hadhafang
Forged by the Elves of the First Age, wielded by Elrond and Arwen
An original creation from the Peter Jackson filmsHadhafang (Sindarin for "crowd cleaver") is the name of the sword Elrond carried in the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring; his daughter Arwen is also seen carrying him as she fends off the Nazgûl while carrying the injured Frodo Baggins across Bruinen's Ford. Elrond also wields Hadhafang in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies when fighting the Ringwraiths.
Advertising material for The Fellowship of the Ring film indicates that Hadhafang was an elven sword that saw glory during the Fall of Gondolincarried by the elven princess Idril Celebrindal, daughter of High King Turgon. Idril, who married the noble human warrior Tuor, was actually Elrond's paternal grandmother, although she left west for Valinor seven years before his birth.
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Gúthwinë
Forged by the men of Rohan, wielded by Éomer
Gúthwinë was the blade of Éomer, nephew of Théoden and brother of Éowyn. Éomer exercised it with great effect when he led the attack of the Rohirrim to break the siege of Helm's Deep, as well as in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
"Gúthwinë" is a Rohanese word meaning "battle friend". Tolkien scholars theorize that the etymology is a compound of Old English"face" ("war" or "battle") and "wine" ("friend"). Bosworth-Toller Old English Dictionary defines "face-wine" as "comrade".
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Glamdring
Forged by the Elves of Gondolin, wielded by Gandalf
Glamdring was forged in the early days of the world and was the sword of Turgon, the elven king who founded the mighty city of Gondolin after the Noldor elves fled Valinor for Middle Earth. Glamdring probably got its name, which translates as "enemy hammer", as Turgon fought Morgoth's hordes during the siege that destroyed Gondolin. This battle also cost Turgon his life; As he commanded the elven armies from the top of the city's tallest tower, Morgoth's dragons toppled it and Turgon died beneath the rubble.
The sword was lost when Gondolin was burned, but at some point it was taken to Eriador or other eastern parts of Middle Earth, as it survived the destruction of the region of Beleriand. For six millennia, the blade remained in obscurity, until it was recovered from a horde of trolls along the Great Road of Eriador by Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, and company. Gandalf the Gray took it as his personal bladeand he used it against many enemies, including to kill the balrog known as Durin's Bane, until he finally departed Middle Earth at the beginning of the Fourth Age.
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Orcrist
Forged by the Elves of Gondolin, wielded by Thorin Oakenshield
Orcrist, whose name means "goblin cleaver", was a companion blade to Glamdring, forged at the same time and possibly even carried by Turgon or one of his lords during the fight to defend Gondolin. The sword was lost at the same time and was even found with its counterpart by Thorin Oakenshield's company. Thorin took the blade for himself; Although the dwarf king was reluctant to carry an elven blade, he found it quite useful when his company was harassed by goblins while crossing the Misty Mountains.
Unfortunately for Thorin, Orcrist was taken from him when he and his company were captured by Thranduil's elves in Mirkwood. Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil, carried Orcrist for a time after this, using him against Bolg and his orcs when they attacked Laketown, and again during the Battle of the Five Armies; he returned it to Thorin during the battle, allowing him to use it against his enemy Azog the Defiler. After his death, Thorin was buried in Erebor with Orcrist on his chest.
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Sting
Forged by the Elves of the First Age, wielded by Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee
An ancient and unremarkable long knife, Sting was forged by elves, probably in the First Age. Whatever its true origins, it was part of the troll horde plundered by Thorin's company, and was taken in by the hobbit Bilbo Bagginsin whose hand the blade served more like a short sword.
Sting got his name because Bilbo used him to fight the spiders of Mirkwood and rescue Thorin and the other dwarves. Upon Bilbo's return to Hobbit Village after Smaug's death, he displayed the blade above his cloak, where it remained for fifty years, until Bilbo took it with him to Rivendell. Bilbo then presented it to Frodo when his nephew arrived there carrying the One Ring; Frodo carried the blade with him for the rest of his journey to Mordor. His gardener, Samwise Gamgee, also gave birth to Sting when he rescued Frodo from Shelob and Cirith Ungol's orcs.
"Sting is my name, I am the spider's bane."
In The Lord of the Rings films, Sting bears an inscription in Sindarin: "Maegnas aen be nin dagnir in yngyl im”, which translates as “Sting is my name, I am the bane of the spider”. The Hobbit trilogy of films shows that Sting has an unadorned blade, it is implied that elves - whether from Mirkwood or Rivendell - engraved the blade to honor Bilbo.
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Narsil
Forged by the dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, wielded by Elendil and Isildur
Forged deep in the First Age, Narsil was probably carried by many Elven hands in the wars against Morgoth and later against his servant Sauron, but if he performed any notable feats in these conflicts, no scholar has recorded them. The sword finally reached the hands of Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnorat the end of the Second Era.
In the fateful Battle of Dagorlad, where the Last Alliance of Elves and Men stood against Sauron, Narsil shone in Elendil's hands with the light of the Sun and Moon, befitting his name, which is translated from the elven language Quenya to "red and white flame." However, that flame failed Elendil in the end, as Narsil broke beneath him when he fell under a mighty blow from Sauron's war mace.
Elendil's son Isildur took Narsil's broken fist and severed the finger on which Sauron wore the One Ring, destroying the Dark Lord's physical form. After this victory, Isildur carried Narsil's fragments with him until his death in the Fields of Lis. The fragments were then taken to Rivendell, where they were kept safe in Rivendell for three thousand years under the watchful eye of Elrond, as he had prophesied they would. the blade must be reforged when the One Ring was found and Sauron again threatened Middle Earth.
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Andúril
Reforged by the Elves of Imladris, wielded by Aragorn
Although it was he who foresaw the need for Narsil to be reforgedElrond Half-Elf was reluctant to do so, even as he and the rest of the Sages realized that Sauron was once again gathering power in Mordor. It took the heartfelt plea of Elrond's daughter Arwen, who was worried that Elrond's own apathy would lead him to abandon his beloved Aragorn in his time of greatest need.
Receiving Andúril, however, helped convince Aragorn that it was time for him to claim his legacy as Isildur's heir.
Reluctantly, Elrond took Narsil's shards and reforged them, naming the new blade Andúril, "the flame of the West". Riding hard, Elrond met Aragorn at the camp at Dunharrow, where he was preparing to ride to war with the Rohirrim. Receiving Andúril, however, helped convince Aragorn that it was time for him to claim his legacy as Isildur's heir, and so he took the new blade first to the Paths of the Dead, then to the Siege of Gondor, and then to the final confrontation. . of the War of the Ring in front of the Black Gates of Mordor.
(Sources: Bosworth-Toller Old English Dictionary)