It is one of the most famous artifacts in the history of Middle-earth.
A gem that is the pride of the dwarves who would discover it.
But could it possibly have a much longer history - tying back to the earliest days of the world?
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the Arkenstone
and whether or not it could have been one of the Silmarils.
In 1999 TA, less than 20 years after being driven out of Khazad-dum by Durin’s Bane, King Thrain I
founds the kingdom of Erebor under the Lonely Mountain. There is found a great
jewel - the Arkenstone - the Heart of the Mountain. A quote from the hobbit reads:
The great jewel shone before his feet of its own inner light, and yet, cut and fashioned by the
dwarves, who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long ago, it took all light that fell
upon it and-changes it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow.
Two centuries later, in 2210 TA, having heard that the majority of Khazad-dum’s survivors
had gathered in the grey mountains, King Thorin I decides to relocate, abandoning the Lonely
Mountain. He takes the Arkenstone and his people to the grey mountains. The Arkenstone would reside
with the king’s line in the grey mountains for over 300 years. When the dwarves are again driven
from their home - this time by dragons - King Thror, the grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield
and the survivors return to the Lonely Mountain (2590 TA) and the Arkenstone is home once again.
After 160 years of incredible prosperity, Erebor is sacked by the dragon Smaug (2770 TA), and the
Arkenstone is lost. For 71 years, it would lie among the vast treasure hoard of the fire-drake.
Finally, in 2941, Bilbo Baggins would come across the Arkenstone
as he makes his way into the lair of the dragon. The hobbit keeps the gem a secret from Thorin,
who swears an oath to take revenge on anyone who would keep it from him.
After witnessing Thorin’s greed and unwillingness to negotiate with the Men
and Elves, Bilbo sneaks out of Erebor and gives the jewel to Bard and Thranduil, in hopes that it
would avoid bloodshed. The value of the Arkenstone is incredible, as we know it could be considered a
1/14th share of the entire massive treasure of Erebor. After the battle of five armies,
Bard places the Arkenstone on the breast of Thorin Oakenshield in his tomb. Nearly 1000 years after
it was first uncovered, the Heart of the Mountain is once again buried in the depths of Erebor.
Now that we know the relatively brief history of the Arkenstone, we arrive at the big
question - could this gem have had a much longer and deeper history? It is described as a globe
with a thousand facets, shining like silver in firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under
the stars, like rain upon the moon. Could it be that this gem, which gave off its own light,
was in fact one of the famous silmarils, which shone with the light of the Two Trees of Valinor?
As we turn our attention to this question, we will look at the cases both for and against this
theory. Likely the most common and most compelling theory is that the Arkenstone is specifically the
silmaril of Maedhros. After the War of Wrath and Morgoth’s defeat, the remaining two silmarils are
taken from the dark lord, and Feanor’s remaining sons Maedhros and Maglor, driven by their oath,
steal the silmarils. Having finally taken possession after years of dark deeds in pursuit of
the gems, their hands are burned by the silmarils. In their despair, Maglor casts his silmaril
into the sea and Maedhros casts himself and his silmaril into a fiery chasm. The theory
goes that this silmaril having been thrown into a fiery pit, it would, over 5000 years later,
be found in the Lonely Mountain - what some hypothesize is actually an inactive volcano.
Personally, I love this theory. The idea that a silmaril would re-emerge in the Third Age,
become the most important artifact of Durin’s Folk,
and play a huge role in The Hobbit. The idea that there would be yet another connective thread from
the beginning of Arda to the third age is one that I and many others find incredibly intriguing.
However, as much as I love this theory, I must acknowledge that the Arkenstone almost certainly
is not a silmaril. First, we are told that the silmarils will not suffer the touch of evil or
mortal hands. As we saw with Maedhros, his evil deeds caused the silmaril to burn his hand.
We are never told of anyone being burned by the Arkenstone, even if their intentions were
not pure. In addition, everyone we see handle the Arkenstone - dwarf, man, or hobbit - is
mortal. The only mortal who successfully handled a Silmaril was Beren, who shortly afterward had his
hand bitten off. Later, when he recovers the same silmaril, it is part of the Nauglamir necklace,
so it’s possible that he didn’t touch the actual gem itself, nor did the dwarves who had stolen it.
Another thing to consider is geography. While we don’t know exactly where the fiery chasm was,
we know that it would have been in Beleriand where Maedhros and Maglor took possession of the gems.
As there is so much wanton destruction from the War of Wrath, enough for Beleriand to sink into
the sea, it’s quite likely that the fiery pit is indeed in Beleriand. This means that
the Arkenstone would have had to somehow travel a great distance, and the Lonely
Mountain would have to have been volcanic, yet die out long before the dwarves settled there.
Another very important point is that we are told The Dwarves worked the stone into a multifaceted
jewel. We know from The Silmarillion that the silmarils are actually indestructible. Meaning
there’s no way the dwarves could have altered its shape or chipped away at a jewel of Feanor.
Finally, and perhaps the most conclusive evidence that the Arkenstone is not a Silmaril comes from
Tolkien himself. Of the three silmarils, we know one dwells in the sky as the Star of Earendil.
When it comes to the one Maglor casts into the sea and the one that Maedhros casts into the fiery
chasm, Tolkien says they would remain lost until the very end of the world. As the Arkenstone pops
up for a thousand years in the third age, having been wielded by many mortals, and it’s location
known for the foreseeable future, it is fairly safe to say that the Arkenstone is not a silmaril.
In the end, I think it’s still a fun theory, and interesting to traverse the implications
of the Arkenstone being a silmaril. As I’ve always said, the mysteries of Middle-earth
are part of what make it so interesting. The fact that Tolkien created a world with such
depth and such incredible connections from past to future, but also a world where some things
are just their own thing, or left a mystery, make Tolkiens world feel so incredibly real.
Are there other mysteries or theories of Middle-earth you’d like me to cover here
on the channel? Let me know in the comments. as always i want to say a huge thank you to
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