Objects in Tolkien's world

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Tolkien's world
characters
Regions and places
Languages ​​and scripts
Objects

The English writer JRR Tolkien designed the fantasy world Arda , the most famous continent of which is Middle-earth . It is the setting of the novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954/55) and the works The Silmarillion (1977) and the News from Middle-earth (1980) published after his death . In his works, Tolkien created this comprehensive world with its own history and languages, peoples, myths and sagas that build on one another. Many of the fictional objects in Tolkien's world have a special, often mythically charged meaning, which is also shown in the fact that they often have “speaking” names that indicate their origin, their properties or their destiny.

Tolkien set new standards by inventing and describing a whole world as a single author. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern fantasy literature, which shaped his role model significantly.

The world of Arda, described by JRR Tolkien in several novels , is one of the most complex world creations in fantastic literature. Some of the fictional locations on Arda - especially on the continent of Middle-earth - are so well-known that they are common property of popular culture . In the different languages ​​and scripts in Tolkien's world there are different names and designations for many places.

The following list refers exclusively to the novels and writings of Tolkien. The three-part film adaptation of the novel The Lord of the Rings (see The Lord of the Rings ) presents some contexts differently.

If there are deviations between the two German translations of The Lord of the Rings, the spelling of proper names and some other contexts is based on the older one by Margaret Carroux , as this was created in collaboration with Tolkien. The differences to the translation by Wolfgang Krege are indicated in some cases.

Word origin

For word origin following should be noted. Many strange-sounding words and names appear in the stories about Middle-earth. Since Sindarin , an Elven language developed by Tolkien, was predominantly spoken in Middle-earth , the names of people or objects and the place names on this page mainly come from this language. Should a designation of the other Elven language, Quenya, come from, this is indicated by a (Q.). The personal names can also come from other language creations from Tolkien's world.

Trinkets / heirlooms

Rings of Power

There are 20 rings of power: 3 elven rings, 7 dwarven rings, 9 human rings and one ring of the dark ruler. All rings of power except the One Ring are set with stones. They are central to The Lord of the Rings . With the exception of the One Ring , all Rings of Power are made by the Noldor Elves in the forges of Eregion ; the later nine rings of men and the seven rings of the dwarves even under the direct leadership of Sauron , who pretends to be a friend of the elves under the false name Annatar (Q.) (" Lord of the gifts "). Celebrimbor in particular makes the majority of the rings on the advice of Annatar.

When Sauron conquers Eregion, he takes the nine rings and through the torture of Celebrimbor also learns where the seven rings are. Only the three rings remain hidden from Sauron. The Dark Ruler later redistributes the sixteen rings he had conquered in order to bind the kings of men and dwarves to his will.

The one ring

The One Ring (also known as the Master Ring , Ring of Power or Isildur's Curse ) is secretly forged in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor by the dark ruler Sauron in the Second Age . He allows a large part of his own power to flow into the ring to give it power and to rule the other rings of power . However, with this act the Dark Ruler is irrevocably bound to the fate of the ring and thus perishes when the ring is destroyed.

The inscription engraved on the inside and outside of the ring reads in the Black Language :

The one ring

"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"

"A ring to enslave them, to find them all,
to drift into darkness and to bind them forever"

This inscription is only visible under the influence of great heat. The text is part of a longer poem.

“Three rings for the elven kings high in the light,
seven for the dwarf rulers in their stone halls,
the mortals, forever subject to death, nine,
one for the dark lord on a dark throne
In the land of Mordor, where the shadows threaten.
A ring to enslave them, to find them all, to be driven
into darkness and to bind forever

In the land of Mordor, where the shadows threaten. "

- Translation from the English original by Ebba-Margareta von Freymann

The One Ring has the power to subdue these other rings and corrupt their bearers and ultimately make them servants of Sauron. The ring can change its size, seems to have a will of its own and tries to get to Sauron when he is not wearing it. If a wearer over whom he has power slips the ring over his finger, he becomes invisible. The wearer himself is then in a shadowy world and is in contact with Sauron. He and the ringwraiths can locate him . He also makes the true form of the ringwraiths visible when they are nearby. Its power and influence over the wearer are so great that it represents a danger even to respectable people and their best friends. In addition, if it is in its possession for a long time, it extends the life of its wearer considerably, as in the case of the creature Gollum, who received an unnaturally long life through the One Ring.

The power to corrupt and deceive inherent in the ring is inseparable from the nature and fate of the ring. As long as the ring exists, it follows its own will, even if it seems to serve its owner. In a certain way, the ring seeks absolute control over the wearer in order to return to Sauron, its only true master, for just as the power of the ring originally comes from Sauron, so is the will of the Saurons, who can only control the ring through deception to the Noldor of Eregion . In this way he cheats and corrupts one owner after another, with the powerful falling for him the fastest.

The ring is the central object of desire in the Lord of the Rings , because the wearer expects it to have all-encompassing power. Since it can only be destroyed in the place where it was created, Frodo Baggins sets out with eight companions to reach the Doom Mountain and there to throw the ring into the eternal fire. After this task is completed, Sauron also loses his remaining power, and with it the ability to create a physical form.

According to Sauron, the bearers of the One Ring were : Isildur , Déagol, Gollum , Bilbo Baggins , Frodo Baggins and Samweis Gamgee . Other figures who openly coveted the ring were Saruman , Denethor, and Boromir . Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee are the only ones who have voluntarily given up the One Ring . In addition, Tom Bombadil takes the ring briefly in his hand and puts it on his little finger, but is completely immune to its effects. The magician Gandalf lets Frodo give him the ring to put it to the acid test, but does not put it on his finger.

The three rings of the elves

These three rings are the only of the 20 large rings that were never touched by Sauron and thus remain pure from his influence. They were created by Celebrimbor in Eregion around 1590 of the Second Age . The three rings show their power by preserving and preserving the beauty of all things. When the Elves' war against Sauron begins, Galadriel advises Celebrimbor to hide the rings. She receives from him Nenya , the ring of water made from adamant and mithril . Vilya (the mightiest of the three rings), the ring of air made of a blue sapphire and gold , and Narya , the ring of fire adorned with a ruby , he entrusts to Gil-galad . He then hands them over to Elrond and Círdan before he dies. At the end of the third age, Gandalf reveals that he is the keeper of Narya , for Círdan gave him the ring so that he could better endure the heavy burden that awaited him. When the One Ring is destroyed, the power of the three is also extinguished, and their bearers, Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel, leave Middle-earth.

The nine rings of the people

The greatest successes are achieved by the nine rings of the people, because the ring bearers, who were among others princes of Númenoran (Q.) descent, slowly transform into Nazgûl (ring spirits , also called Úlairi (Q.)) and become the most loyal servants of Sauron. Their leader is the Witch King of Angmar.

The seven rings of the dwarfs

Like the nine rings of men, they are distributed with the idea of ​​submitting their owners to the will of Sauron. However, the power of the seven rings fails because of the stubbornness of the dwarfs . They neither bow to Sauron's will, nor do they fade away as spirits, like humans. The rings, however, increase their wearer's greed for gold and other precious objects. For example, on the bottom of the seven dwarf treasures there was supposed to have been a gold ring (like the ring of Alberich in the Nibelungenhort ). Later four of the rings are destroyed by dragons , the other three are recaptured by Sauron. There are no detailed descriptions of the destruction of the four dwarf rings. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Gandalf tells that dragon fire can melt the rings. The only known bearers of dwarf rings were Thorin Eichenschild's father Thrain and his grandfather Thror. This ring, the Durin III. was given, was the first of the dwarf rings in the dwarven tradition and was made by the elven smiths like the three rings of the elves. However, Sauron had helped create it, so his evil power was undoubtedly on this ring. It was also the last free ring next to the three Elven rings until it was taken from Thrain under torture in Dol Guldur .

Creations of Feanor

The Silmaril

The Silmarilli (Q.), meaning 'Shimmering jewels from silima (Q.)', were three gemstones created by Feanor in the period after Melkor (Elvish: Morgoth) was detached . The jewels sacred by Varda contained the light of the two trees and were the most elaborate that an Elf could ever create.

Through Feanor's oath, which he then swore, the fate of his sons and their houses were woven into the Silmaril that Melkor had stolen. Melkor fled to Middle-earth and had the precious stones worked into his iron crown. They stayed there for more than 400 years until Beren and Lúthien were able to steal one of the Silmaril from Melkor, since Thingol demanded it as the bride price.

After Lúthien's death it was given to her son Dior. He was slain by Feanor's sons, but his daughter Elwing managed to escape with the Silmaril. Later , with the help of the jewel , she and Eearendil , the navigator, found the sea route to Aman. There the Silmaril was tied to Eearendil's forehead, and from then on it moved as a star across the sky. It is from this star that the light from Galadriel's vial also comes .

The other Silmaril eventually fell to the last two surviving sons of Feanor. But since they had already become unclean through many bad deeds, the Silmaril seared their flesh, whereupon Maedhros plunged into a fiery abyss and Maglor threw the stone into the sea. The last two Silmaril passed into the elements fire and water and were thus banished from the world.

The Palantíri

The seven palantíri 'those who see far away', also known as the 'seeing stones' or the 'seven stones', were created in Aman by Feanor in the age of the “two trees” and were later given to Amandil by Númenor . After the fall of Númenor, Elendil took them into exile in Middle-earth . The Palantíri showed scenes far away in space and time, but also had connections with each other, so that they also made communication possible over great distances. With their help, the rulers ruled the two great kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor , founded by Elendil in Middle-earth .

The palantíri were not in public use, not even on Númenor . In Middle-earth they were kept in guarded rooms, high up in mighty towers, only kings and rulers and their appointed guardians had access to them and they were never publicly consulted or displayed. Originally, a total of seven stones had reached Middle-earth. They were divided between the northern (Arnor) and the southern kingdom (Gondor). The stones of Gondor were in the tower of Orthanc in the valley of Isengard , in Minas Anor (older name of the city of Minas Tirith ), in Osgiliath and Minas Ithil (older name of the city of Minas Morgul ), while the Palantíri Arnors in a tower on the Amon Sûl on the Wetterspitze and in the former royal city of Annúminas . The seventh stone was in the Elostirion tower on the Tower Mountains in Eriador near the Gray Harrows, but it was not freely usable, it only looked towards the sea in the west. It is said that through this stone Elendil could sometimes see the distant shores of Tol Eressa in Aman, where the master stone was located.

In the third age, the two usable stones of the northern kingdom were lost in the war against Angmar (Eisenheim) when King Arvedui (Last King) was shipwrecked in the Ice Bay of Forochel. In a civil war, the Osgiliath Stone fell into the Anduin , and when Minas Ithil was lost to the Nazgûl , it became too risky to use the remaining two stones because one could not be sure whether Sauron owned the Ithil Stone, one reasonable fear that later turned out to be true. This stone was believed to have been destroyed in the fall of Barad-dûr at the end of the third age. After Denethor's suicide, the stone of Minas Tirith could only be made to show something other than “two hands consuming each other in flames” with a great effort of will. In the fourth age, King Elessar ( Aragorn ) could only use the Orthanc stone.

Arnor's heirlooms

Barahir's ring

Barahir was the father of Beren in the First Age. He saved Finrod Felagund in the Dagor Bragollach and received Finrod's coat of arms as a gift. With this ring, Beren asks Finrod to fulfill his oath and support him on his journey. It shows two entwined snakes and a golden crown and is set with green emeralds . It was taken as heirloom to Númenor (Q.) (Beren was the great-grandfather of Elrond and Elros , the latter being the first to ascend the throne of Númenor under the name of Tar-Minyatur) and so passed into the hands of Elendil and Isildur . Therefore, Barahir's ring is one of the heirlooms of Isildur's house, which Aragorn also belongs to and who eventually wears it.

The scepter of Annúminas

The scepter of Annúminas was one of the heirlooms of Isildur's house, namely the staff of the lords of Andúnie. It was a silver staff and was the symbol of the ruling house of the northern kingdom of men ( Arnor ). After the northern kingdom fell apart, the scepter and fragments of Narsil were kept at Elrond in Rivendell . He gave it to King Elessar (Q.) at his wedding. Annúminas refers to the name of the first capital of Arnor .

The Elendilmir

The Elendilmir (Q.) 'Elendil Star' is considered to be one of the most valuable pieces of jewelry in Middle-earth , not found among the treasures of Saruman until the end of the Third Age after the victory over Sauron by Gimli and Aragorn .

“Next to it was an invaluable piece of jewelry that had long been lamented as lost forever; Elendilmir, the white star made of Elvish crystal on a browband made of mithril , came to Elendil from Silmarien and accepted it as a sign of royal rule in the Northern Kingdom. "

- JRR Tolkien : News from Middle-earth.

Since he is lost in Isildur's death, a copy is made in Imladris for his son Valandil, which is then worn by all kings and leaders of this line. But it does not have the same power as the lost heirloom. The Elendilmir is also called Elendil's Star and Star of the Northern Kingdom . The fact that Isildur wore it on the day of his death was his undoing, because although he used the one ring that made him invisible, the radiance of Elendilmir was visible to the orcs as a red glow. But Isildur lost the ring in the sword fields, so that it was seen by the orcs and hit by their arrows and went down in the floods of Sir Ninglor ('Sword River ').

The Elessar

The Elessar (Q.) 'Elbenstein' or 'Sternenstein' was a green jewel in which the light of the sun was captured in the color of light-flooded leaves. It was made by Celebrimbor in Gondolin for Turgon's daughter Idril. Their son Earendil finally took the stone with him when he left Middle-earth.

In the Third Age, Gandalf , one of the Maiar, brought a green gem of the same name to Middle-earth on behalf of Yavanna and gave it to Galadriel , who was to keep it for Aragorn . Galadriel lent this stone to Aragorn, whom she herself called Elessar, on his first visit to Lothlórien with clothes specially made for him, so that he could adequately face Arwen, who was there, and thus finally win her heart. So Arwen and Aragorn got engaged in 2980 on Cerin Amroth (Hill of Amroth), where they exchanged two pieces of jewelry: She gave him the necklace with the evening star and he gave her Barahir's ring as a sign of their mutual promise of loyalty. Aragorn returned the Elessar stone and clothing, but Galadriel later gave the stone to Arwen, who in turn gave it to Aragorn. Finally Aragorn carried the stone as King Elessar.

Tolkien makes no clear statement about the origin of this stone. On the one hand, the production of a second stone, also by Celebrimbor, is described; on the other hand, the possibility is mentioned that it could also be Earendil's stone.

The Horn of Gondor

The horn of Gondor is the silver-shod horn of a wild ox that is said to have been an aurochs of the Vala Orome. Since the time of Vorondil (Faithful Friend) the Hunter, father of the first ruling Truchsessen of Gondor , it has been an heirloom of the House of Truchsessen and is always worn by the firstborn son. Apparently it is modeled after the Valaróma (Orome's hunting horn), because it is said that the call of the horn does not go unheard when it resounds within the borders of Gondor. The same applies to Orome's horn, which could be heard all over Middle-earth when he was blowing it there.

Boromir wears it last on his journey with the community of the ring . It is smashed in half when Boromir falls in a battle with several Uruk-hai on the Parth Galen 'green grasslands' near the Rauros, the great waterfall of the Anduin. Aragorn , Legolas and Gimli put the split horn with them in Boromir's death boat, and it is washed ashore on the bank of the Anduins, from where it is brought to Denethor II , who thus learns of his son's death.

Dwarf craft

The Nauglamír

The Nauglamír, 'dwarf jewel', is a gold neck jewelry created by the dwarfs of the Ered Luin for Finrod . It is decorated with many precious stones and gives the wearer grace and beauty. The Nauglamír survived the fall of Nargothrond and is later brought from Húrin to Doriath , to King Thingol . Thingol instructs the dwarves of Nogrod to set the necklace again and to incorporate the Silmaril captured by Beren, but overwhelmed by the beauty of the piece of jewelry, they kill him to get the jewelry. But the nauglamir can be recovered and brought back to Menegroth. After the abolition of the ban belt around Doriath and the associated sacking of Menegroth, the Nauglamír falls back to the dwarves. It is later stolen from the dwarves again, this time by Beren near Sarn Athrad. After the reconquest, the Nauglamír is worn by Luthien for a few years . With her death in the year 506 of the First Age, the Nauglamir passed to Dior. After Dior is killed, it is brought to safety by Elwing and remains intact until Earendil and Elwings travel to Aman . When Eearendil ascends to heaven, he wears the Nauglamír around his neck. But the Silmaril is tied to his forehead.

The Arkenstein

The Arkenstein, also known as the Arkenjuwel , is a large, white gemstone found by Thrain I deep below the Erebor, which is why it is also known as the "heart of the mountain". It shines from an inner light. When Smaug chased away the dwarves in 2770 of the Third Age and killed many of them, the Arkenstone remained under the mountain, where it was finally found in 2941 of the Third Age by Bilbo Baggins while exploring the Dragon Lair. Bilbo keeps it a secret and uses it to bring about an understanding between Thorin , the wood elves and humans, with the idea of ​​preventing a war for the treasure. But the elves, men and dwarves are attacked by Bolg, the son of Azog and Thorin is killed in the battle of the five armies. The Arkenstein is given to Thorin von Bard, the general of the people from Seestadt, in the grave. In The Hobbit , Tolkien writes the following about the Arkenstein:

“And now Thorin spoke of the Arken Jewel of Thrains and urged them to look for him in every corner. "Because my father's ark jewel," he said, "is worth more than a whole river of gold, and for me it is generally beyond all values."

And when Bilbo took him out and showed:

“Even the Elven King, used to the sight of exquisite beauty, stood up in amazement. Bard too looked and was amazed and did not say a word. It was as if a sphere had been filled with moonlight and hung in front of them in a net that had been woven from the rays of cool, glittering stars. "

- JRR Tolkien : The Hobbit.

Magical items

Angainor

Angainor (Q.) 'Tormenting iron fetter' or 'tormentor' is the name of the chain that the Vala Aule made from a fusion of six metals. This alloy, which is called tilkal, is an indestructible material and was used twice to put Melkor in shackles and to bind it for a long time. The name Tilkal is a combination of the first letters of the six metals used.

  • Tambe (copper), Ílsa (silver), Latúken (tin), Kanu (lead), Anga (iron) and Laure (gold).

This alloy shimmers, depending on the incidence of light, light green or red and can neither be broken nor pierced.

Galadriel's vial

Galadriel's vial was a glass vessel that shone brightly in times of need and was given to Frodo by Galadriel when he left Lórien . It contained the light of Eearendil , who had taken one of the Silmaril to Valinor and asked for help in the fight against Melkor . Frodo's companion Samwise Gamgee uses the vial as in its fight against the spider Shelob . Only in Mount Doom , the center of Sauron's power, does the vial fail. The light of the vial is amplified by the hope and courage of the wearer and helps Frodo stay strong despite the one ring . Frodo takes her across the sea as he sails west.

Galadriel's mirror

Galadriel's Mirror is a wide, shallow, silver pool of water that stands in Caras Galadhon (City of Trees). If there is water in the pool, Galadriel can visualize scenes in it that can take place in a distant place and at another time. However, no one can judge whether the scenes seen actually actually happened or will happen. Few have ever looked in this mirror.

During the ring community's stay in the land of Lórien, Galadriel allows Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee to take a look in their mirror, and through their own visionary gift they get the same images.

Thorin's card

In the book The Hobbit , Gandalf brings the dwarf king Thorin Eichenschild a parchment, which is also known as Thorin's card . It shows the mountain Erebor ('Lonely Mountain') and the image of a dragon as well as a secret side entrance to the former dwarf mine. In the Dwarven runic writing there are also a few words: "Five feet high the door, and three fit next to each other". The map seems to be nothing more than a simple description of the location, but later, when Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarfs stop at Elrond's house on their journey , their real secret is revealed. Because in addition to the visible dwarf runes, it contains a second inscription in so-called moon runes, which can only be deciphered on a certain day in moonlight. "Stand by the gray stone when the throttle strikes and the last ray of sunshine falls on the keyhole on Durin's day." Only with this hint is it possible to open the secret entrance to the mine.

weapons

Disgraceful

Aeglos ' peak of snow' is the spear of Gil-galad , the high king of the Noldor , who carried it in the Battle of Dagorlad (the Battle of the Last Alliance ) and was therefore feared by the hosts of Sauron . It is not known what happened to Aeglos after the death of Gil-galad in the fight against Sauron. Aeglos is also the name for a white gorse plant that grew on the slopes of Amon Rûdh ('bald mountain') in Beleriand .

Belthronding

Belthronding, 'powerful thunderous voice', because of the loud whirring emitted by both the bowstring and the shot arrow, is the name of the bow of Voel Longbow , the captain of the Doriath border guards in Beleriand. The arch made of black yew wood was placed in the grave of Turin and the elf Gwindor after his death. It is reported that no one except Evidence Cúthalion was able to draw this bow.

Dramborleg

Dramborleg 'sharpness' is the great ax of the man Tuor , who prefers the ax to a sword, because " with Tuor's ax one could strike a heavy blow as with a club and split it as with a sword ". The ax later passed to Tuor's grandson Elros , the first king of Númenor , and thus became one of the most important heirlooms of the royal house of Númenor. Dramborleg is lost in the sinking of Númenor.

Swords

Anglachel / Gurthang

The sword Anglachel 'Iron of the Flaming Star' is forged from meteorite metal by the dark elf Eol and paid as a tribute to King Thingol .

In search of his friend Túrin , Document Anglachel receives from Thingol's armory, even if the Queen Melian warns him of the disaster that the blade could bring. In fact, Túrin accidentally kills his friend with the same sword as evidence finds him. Anglachel's blade then becomes dull and turns black. In Nargothrond , Túrin has it dragged and gives it the name Gurthang , which translates as "death iron ".

Gurthang shatters when Túrin, after defeating the dragon Glaurung, throws himself into the point of the sword out of grief.

“There he drew his sword, which he now had all his own, and said: 'Hail, Gurthang! You know no master and no loyalty, only against the hand that moves you. You do not spurn any blood. So is Túrin Turambar acceptable to you, and will you put an end to me quickly? '
And from the blade spoke a cold voice that answered him: 'Truly, I will drink your blood with joy, so that I may forget the blood of my lord, and the brandirs of the wrongly slain. I want to kill you quickly. '"

Anguriel

Anguirel 'Eisenewigstern' is Anglachel's sister sword, which was also forged by Eol. However, he carries this sword made of meteorite steel himself.

Aranrúth

Aranrúth 'King's Wrath' is the sword of Thingol, King of the Sindar in Doriath . It later came to Elros through his great-granddaughter Elwing and thus became an heirloom of the kings of Númenor . It is lost during the fall of Númenor.

Glamdring

Glamdring 'Feindhammer' or 'Orkhammer', called 'bat' by the orcs , is a sword forged by the Elves Gondolins and carried by Turgon, their master, until his death, which later falls into the possession of Gandalf . In the Hobbit he finds this in a troll's cave, together with the "sister blades" Orcrist and Stich. Glamdring, like the latter, has the property of glowing bluish near orcs.

With Glamdring, Gandalf defeats the Balrog in Moria and fights with him in the War of the Ring.

Orcrist

The Orcrist sword 'Orkspalter', called "walker" by the orcs, is forged in gondolin just like its sister blades Glamdring and Stich. When the weapons are found in the cave of the frozen trolls , Thorin Oakenshield takes Orcrist for himself. Thorin is killed in the Battle of the Five Armies at the foot of Mount Erebor. Orcrist is placed on his grave in his honor. Since then it has been warning of attacks by the orcs, because the blade shines blue when they are nearby.

Narsil / Andúril

Narsil (Q.) 'moon of fire' or 'sun-moon' is the sword of Elendil . It is forged by the master blacksmith Nogrods , the dwarf Telchar, during the First Age. Its name is derived from the Elvish Anar "sun" or Nar "fire" and Isil "moon" or Sil "shimmer", because its shine is said to come close to that of the sun and the moon. Narsil helps the people and elves of the Last Alliance to victory against Mordor in the Battle of Dagorlad . In the fight with Sauron it breaks, Elendil is killed.

Isildur then grabs the broken sword and uses the rest of the blade to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. This comes into the possession of Isildur, who does not destroy him against Elrond's advice. With this event the Third Age begins, in which the Lord of the Rings is set.

The heirs of Isildur up to Aragorn carry the broken sword as a reminder of the battle of the Last Alliance . In Rivendell the sword is forged anew by Elrond's smiths and is given the name Andúril "West Gleam", Aragorn calls it "Flame of the West". Aragorn takes it when the community of the Ring leaves Rivendell to destroy the One Ring . He uses it to prove to the army of the undead on the paths of the dead that he, as the rightful heir of Elendil, is able to free them from their curse if they fight for him and thereby fulfill their broken oath.

In the film adaptation of Peter Jackson , the fragments of Narsil are kept by Elrond in Rivendell for 3,000 years and only handed over to Aragorn as Andúril von Elrond immediately before leaving for the undead.

Ringil

Ringil 'Eisglanz' or 'Froststern' is the name of the sword of Fingolfin , the High King of the Noldor , with which he inflicts seven wounds on the dark ruler Melkor and inflicts another deep injury on his foot as he dies.

Gúthwine

Gúthwine (Rohirrisch for 'friend of battle') is the sword of Éomer , the eighteenth king of the people of Rohan.

Herugrim

Herugrim (Rohirrisch for 'Grim Sword') was the sword of Théoden of Rohan . Gríma Wormtongue kept it in a chest until the king reclaimed it after Saruman's corruption was healed.

Knives or daggers

Angrist

Angrist 'Eisenspalter' is a dagger that comes from the dwarf forge Telchars von Nogrod and was worn by Curufin, a son of Feanor . How it got into his hands is unclear. When Curufin and his brother attack Beren and Lúthien , Curufin loses the knife to Beren, who takes it to Angband and cuts one of the Silmaril from Melkor's iron crown. This is where Angrist's strength shows, because Beren removes the Silmaril from the metal without much effort. When the human tries to cut a second Silmaril from the crown, Angrist breaks.

Sting

The sword stab ( called "sting" in Walter Scherf's translation of The Hobbit ) was forged in Gondolin in the First Age and is used in numerous battles. For many it is more like a big knife . Elvish blacksmithing makes it, like Glamdring and Orcrist, able to glow blue when orcs are around.

At the end of the Third Age, Bilbo Baggins came into possession of the sword when he was on the way to Erebor with Gandalf and the thirteen dwarves .

During the War of the Ring, he hands Stich together with the chain mail made of Mithril to his nephew Frodo when he starts his journey to Mount Doom . Stitch Frodo (in Moria ) does a good job here. Stich's ability to cut spider webs particularly well in the Cirith Ungol spider pass also saves the hobbits' lives. Sam , who first takes it from the unconscious Frodo and finally gets it from Frodo, can make a decisive contribution to the success of the adventure with the help of Stich.

Morgul knife

Morgul knives (also called Morgul blades) are magical weapons of the Nazgûl . Two victims of the blades are known from Tolkien's universe:

  1. Frodo Baggins, wounded on the Weathertop, but survived. Though physically healed, the injury from the Morgul Blade is believed to be one of the reasons Frodo left Middle-earth at the beginning of the Fourth Age.
  2. Boromir I, the eleventh ruling stewardess of Gondor, who suffered a Morgul wound in the war for Osgiliath and died as a result.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion. ISBN 3-608-93521-5 , p. 386 f.
  2. JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion. ISBN 3-608-93521-5 , p. 387 f.
  3. The Lord of the Rings. - Appendices: III Durin's people. P. 1192.
  4. The sources of the saga of Isildur's death. In: News from Middle-earth. P. 367.
  5. Part Three - The Doom on the Schwertelfelden. In: News from Middle-earth. Pp. 363/364.
  6. JRR Tolkien: News from Middle-earth. ISBN 3-608-87501-8 , p. 333 ff.
  7. Robert Foster : The great Middle Earth Lexicon. ISBN 3-404-20453-0 , p. 212.
  8. The Little Hobbit: A Thief in the Night. P. 293/298.
  9. JRR Tolkien: The Children of Húrin. ISBN 978-3-608-93603-2 , p. 167.
  10. Famous and well-known weapons in Middle-earth on tolkienwelt.de