From the forges of the elves to the smithies of the Dwarves, mighty swords of great deeds
were forged in Middle-earth.
Their attributes would become as legendary as the actions of their masters - from glowing
blue to being carved from meteorite to housing the malice of their maker.
Today on Nerd of the Rings, we’re talking about the most famous swords in the History of Middle-earth.
First off, we will talk about two of the most mysterious and short-lived of Arda’s weapons.
In the First Age, Eol, the dark elf, came upon a meteorite and from it forged two swords
These swords had glowing black blades and could easily slice through iron.
When Eol and his family dwell in Nan Elmoth with King Thingol’s permission, he gifts
Thingol Anglachel in payment for letting them live in the king’s lands.
Thingol would not bear the sword himself, however.
He preferred his own, which we will come to shortly.
But also, Queen Melian warned him that the malice of its maker was within the very blade itself.
While Anglachel would lie in wait in Thingol’s armory, it’s mate, whose name meant Iron
of the Eternal Star would be wielded by it’s creator, until it is stolen by his son Maeglin.
Presumably, Maeglin takes it with him to the hidden city of Gondolin.
What happens to it then, we never know for certain.
Anglachel, which means Flaming Iron, would eventually be given to a worthy elf of Doriath.
Beleg Strongbow asks for the blade when he is tasked with seeking out Turin Turambar.
After multiple meetings with his friend, he later discovers that Turin has been taken captive by orcs.
After rescuing Turin, who is in a state of semi-conscious delirium, Beleg accidentally
pricks Turin while cutting his bonds.
Turin flies into a rage, thinking the orcs had returned to torment him.
He wrestles Anglachel from Beleg and slays his friend.
We are told that it is the malice of its maker that dwells within the blade that caused Beleg’s
prick of Turin.
After the tragic slaying, Anglachel’s edges become dull, and it ceases to glow - the blade
itself is said to be mourning over the death of its master.
Later, after Turin comes to the realm of Nargothrond, the elven smiths help him to reforge the sword,
now calling it Gurthang - Iron of Death.
He would carry the blade through the rest of his adventures - including using it to
kill Glaurung - the father of all dragons.
In the end, Gurthang would die with it’s new master.
Through a series of tragic events, Turin turns to the blade itself to end his life:
And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer:
As Turin casts himself upon the blade, it breaks, and would be buried with him.
As for Thingol, his sword was named Aranruth - King’s Ire.
While forged in the First Age, it would last far into the Second.
After Thingol’s death in 502 FA, Aranruth would be passed down through his descendents.
In 506, the sword is saved from the Second Kinslaying by Elwing.
She would pass it on to her son, Elros, brother of Elrond.
Elros would wield it as the First King of Numenor and it would become an heirloom of
his kingdom until it is lost when the island of Numenor is destroyed.
Now we come to three of the most famous blades in all the tales of Middle-earth: Glamdring, Orcrist, and Sting.
These three blades were forged in Gondolin during the First Age and all three were known
to glow blue when in the presence of orcs.
Glamdring or the Foe-hammer was the sword of King Turgon.
It’s mate, Orcrist or goblin-cleaver, was likely either wielded by Turgon himself or
a high ranking lord of Gondolin.
The third of the Gondolin blades was actually a knife, whose owner is unknown.
The deeds of Glamdring and Orcrist would be known far and wide by the orcs of the First Age.
Glamdring they called “Beater” and Orcrist “Biter”.
These swords would pass into legend with the Fall of Gondolin in 510 FA.
Whether by plunder after plunder, or by direct travel, these blades come to the Misty Mountains.
It would be over 6000 years after their disappearance that they would be found in the Trollshaws
of Eriador - in the cave of three trolls.
Glamdring would pass to the possession of Gandalf, Orcrist would be wielded by Thorin
Oakenshield for a time, and the dagger would come to Bilbo Baggins.
The orcs of the Misty Mountains are stricken with fear at the sight of these swords - swords
which had come out of legend to draw blood once more.
While Gandalf would carry Glamdring for the rest of his days in Middle-earth, Orcrist
is taken from Thorin when the group is captured by the elves of Mirkwood.
After the Battle of Five Armies and Thorin’s death, Thranduil places Orcrist upon Thorin’s
tomb where, ever after, it would gleam in the dark warning the dwarves of Erebor if
enemies approached the Kingdom Under the Mountain.
As for the dagger, Bilbo would use the blade throughout his adventure.
The first time, however, is when he is attacked by a spider of Mirkwood.
He frees himself from his cocoon and kills the spider, leading him to name his blade “Sting”.
Bilbo would gift the blade to Frodo, along with his Mithril coat, as his cousin sets
out from Rivendell on his own adventure.
After the fall of Sauron, Frodo gives Sting to Samwise.
Whether the blade came with Sam when he would sail west decades later - or remain in Middle-earth
as an heirloom of his family, we can only guess.
Before we get to the Flame of the West, we should mention some other blades we know,
though their tales are short.
Herugrim is the blade of King Theoden, which means “very fierce or cruel, savage” in Rohirric.
His nephew Eomer wields Guthwine (gooth-ween-uh), meaning battle-friend.
These men and their blades would do great deeds in the War of the Ring.
In the First Age, the great elf king Fingolfin wields the sword Ringil as he challenges Morgoth
to single combat.
The blade glitters like ice as it wounds the dark lord seven times before Fingolfin falls in the battle.
From that moment on, Morgoth walks with a limp due to his injuries from the legendary
duel with Fingolfin.
The morgul-blade was used by the Witch-king to stab Frodo Baggins on weathertop.
This blade was both poisonous and magical - as it threatened to pull it’s victim into the wraith world.
Even after being healed by Elrond, Frodo would become seriously ill on the anniversary of
the stabbing every year until being cured by sailing to Valinor.
The Daggers of Westernesse were weapons forged by the Dunedain of Cardolan (one of the three
realms of the former Arnor).
These blades were specially made to fight against the armies of the Witch-King, who
was at war with the Dunedain during the middle of the Third Age.
At least four of these daggers were buried with the last prince of Cardolan, who dies in 1409.
Over 1600 years later, four hobbits become lost in this area, now known as the barrow-downs
and are captured by a barrow-wight in this very tomb.
After Tom Bombadil saves the hobbits, he gives them each one of these daggers.
While Frodo’s would be broken by the Witch-King at the Ford of Bruinen, the others would be
carried throughout the war of the ring.
Merry would use his to stab the Witch-King in the back of the knee, breaking the spell
holding his body together and allowing Eowyn to kill the Lord of the Nazgul.
Finally, we have the great sword of men - Narsil as it was called when it first enters the story.
It was said to have been made in the First Age by the great smith Telchar - a dwarf of
Nogrod in the Blue Mountains.
Among his other works were the knife Angrist - which Beren used to pry a silmaril from
Morgoth’s crown, and the Dragon-helm of Dor-lomin.
Nothing is said of Narsil during the First Age or even most of the Second.
It only enters history when it comes to Elendil.
Elendil uses the blade in the battles of Dagorlad and the Siege of Barad-dur.
As Elendil and Gil-galad fight with Sauron, they are both killed, though Sauron is thrown down as well.
Narsil is broken in two under the body of Elendil as he falls.
Isildur, Elendil’s son, takes up the sword and used the shard to cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron.
In the year 2 of the Third Age, Isildur’s company is attacked in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.
Shortly before Isildur is killed, his esquire - Ohtar - rescues the shards of Narsil and
bears them away to Rivendell, where Isildur’s youngest son was fostered.
There the shards would remain, until the One Ring was found again and Sauron returned.
At that time, Narsil is reforged for Elendil’s heir - Aragorn, son of Arathorn, as he is
about to set out from Rivendell for the War of the Ring.
Aragorn takes up the Sword that was Broken and names it Anduril - Flame of the West - and
would wield it for the rest of his days a hero of the war against Sauron and as the
High King of Gondor and Arnor.
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