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. Be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss
next week’s big video on Turin Turambar as we celebrate my 100th video and passing
250,000 subscribers here on Nerd of the Rings!
Yup, I found that quite surprising when I learned that too. Sadly it was lost when Numenor sank, would have been an awesome heirloom of the first age had it survived.
Funnily enough, as I recall Narsil, the sword of Elendil was not even a particularly famous blade. As far as I am aware it was just some sword Telchar, the famed Dwarf-smith made that happened to pass on through time to Elendil. It's only claim to fame was its maker, not any deeds using it or famous owners prior to Elendil.
Ironic that Thingol's sword goes to the Numenoreans, as I didn't get the impression Thingol was exactly the biggest fan of humans (just ask Beren).
I didn’t know offhand that Thingol’s blade was the possession of the Numenorean Kings, but wouldn’t Ar-Pharazon have had it with him? Otherwise I could see Elendil or Isildur may have taken it with them? However, not surprising Elros had it since his mother was Thingol’s granddaughter. Or Gil-Galad could’ve helped facilitate that.
Also the Bow of Bregor.
And
myTuor's axe!