The Swords of Middle Earth

by Calenrauko

The works of Tolkien, such as The Lord of the Rings, have a lot of warfare. Moreover, with warfare comes weapons. The most well known type of weapon is probably the sword. Tolkien gave some of the swords names, and maybe even a small story or history to the sword. All swords though, played some part in the history of Middle-earth. The main swords are listed below, along with a definition of a sword.

What is a sword? A sword is a type of weapon that consists of a long blade, a point to thrust on the end of it, and a hilt for gripping. There are many types of swords, such as the cutlass, scimitar, and katana, which each take their unique shape and purposes.

Narsil- Narsil was the sword of King Elendil. It was forged by Telchar of Nogrod during the First Age of Middle-earth. It is unknown who its first owner was, although probably given to the prince of the Noldor, then to Elros, then passed through the lines of Kings in Númenór. During the Siege on Barad-dur, after Elendil had received the sword, he wielded it greatly. When Sauron killed Elendil, Narsil was broken. It was then that Isildur, who was Elendil’s son, picked up the shards of Narsil and cut the Ring off Sauron’s hand. After passing through the Ages, it was reforged as Anduril. During the time that it was Narsil it was five feet in length, from pommel to tip, and could only be wielded by a warrior such as Elendil. Its inscription reads “Narsil essenya, macil meletya Telchar carneron Navarotesse,” meaning “Narsil is my name, a mighty sword; Telchar made me in Nogrod.” Its name means “Light of the sun” and “Light of the moon.”

Sting- Sting was made by the Elves of the First Age. It was used as either a long dagger, or a short sword. It was lost during the Fall of Gondolin, the same battle when Glamdring (the sword of Gandalf) was taken. In the Third Age, it was found by Bilbo in a troll-hoard, during his Quest on the Lonely Mountain. During his stay in Rivendell, he gave Sting to Frodo. Frodo did not battle very many Orcs, as his battle was with himself and the Ring. However, Sting was very helpful to the Fellowship, because it could glow blue when Orcs were close. After Frodo and Sam broke off from the Fellowship, Sting was used even less. Sam used it to mortally wound Shelob, rescue Frodo, and wound Gollum. After the One Ring was destroyed, Sting was rescued at the same time when Frodo and Sam were. Before leaving to the Undying Lands, Frodo gave Sting to Sam. Sting was 22 inches from pommel to tip. On the blade there is the inscription “Maegnas aen estar nin- dagnir in yngyl im,” which is tra nslated to “Sting is my name- I am the spider’s bane.”

Hadhafang- Hadhafang was originally the sword of Idril, the daughter of King Turgon of Gondolin. After marrying Tuor, Idril gave the sword to their son Eärendil, who in turn gave it to his son, Elrond. Elrond used Hadhafang during the Siege on Barad-dur. When his daughter Arwen, was born, he gave the sword to her. Both Idril and Arwen were daughters of Lords, and both married mortal men. During the War of the Ring Arwen carried Hadhafang with her to fight the Nazgul. The inscription on the blade reads “Aen Estar Hadhafang I chathol hen, thand arod dan I thang an I arwen,” which translates to “This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady.”

Note: Hadhafang was never in the books, nor mentioned by Tolkien. The sword, and its history, were created for the movies only.

Herugrim- Herugrim was the sword of the King of Rohan. Many kings had used Herugrim in battle before Théoden. It was similar to a normal Rohirrim sword, being a one-handed sword, and about 3 feet in length. The blade was undecorated, but the pommel and guard were. The guard was decorated in the shape of two horses’ heads, and was made of bronze.

Glamdring- Glamdring was the sword of King Turgon. It was long and two-handed. During the Fall of Gondolin Glamdring was lost, but it turned up thousands of years later in a troll-hoard. Sting was in this same troll-hoard. Gandalf the Grey claimed it there. Glamdring translates to “Foe-hammer”. The inscription is “Turgon aran Gondolin tortha, Gar a matha I vegil Glamdring gud daedheloth, dam an Glamhoth,” which means “Turgon King of Gondolin wields, has and holds the sword Glamdring, Foe of Morgoth’s realm, hammer to the Orcs.”

Anduril- Anduril, the Flame of the West, was the greatest of all the swords forged in Tolkien’s works. Anduril was forged from the Shards of Narsil for Aragorn, the Heir of Isildur. Narsil could only be reforged, and made into Anduril, when the Time of the King had come. Aragorn accepted the sword, and with it the duty to become King of Gondor and Arnor. Aragorn took Anduril, and with it, he went through the Paths of the Dead. He convinced the King of the Dead to fight for him, and fight the Dead did. The Siege of Gondor was a victory for the Men of the West, and only because of Anduril. Anduril was much the same as Narsil. The most noticeable difference is the inscription on the blade. In Quenya, it reads “Anar. Nanye Anduril I ne Narsil I macil Elendilo. Lercuvanten I moli Mordoreo. Isil.” This translates to “Sun. I am Anduril who was Narsil the sword of Elendil. Let the thralls of Mordor flee me. Moon.”

References
Wikipedia
The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith