Theweapons and armour of Middle-earth are all those mentionedJ. R. R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earthfantasy writings, such asThe Hobbit,The Lord of the Rings andThe Silmarillion.[1][2]
Tolkien modelled his fictional warfare on theAncient andEarly Medieval periods of history. His depiction of weapons and armour particularly reflectNorthern European culture as seen inBeowulf and theNorse sagas. Tolkien established this relationship inThe Fall of Gondolin, the first story inhis legendarium to be written. In this story, theElves ofGondolin use themail armour,swords,shields,spears,axes andbows of Northern European warfare.In Tolkien's writings, such Medieval weapons and armour are used by his fictionalraces, includingElves,Dwarves,Men,Hobbits, andOrcs.[2]
As in his sources, Tolkien's characters oftengave names to their weapons, sometimes withrunic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power.[1]
Tolkien devisedseveralconstructed languages with terms for types of weapons.
Swords symbolized physical prowess in battle for Tolkien, following Northern European culture.[1] Tolkien writes thatElves andDwarves produced the best swords (and other war gear) and that Elvish swords glowed blue in the presence ofOrcs. Elves generally used straight swords while Orcs generally used curved swords. Both races have exceptions: Egalmoth ofGondolin used a curved sword and theUruk-hai ofIsengard used short, broad blades. Tolkien often mentions the use of shields together with one-handed swords.[2]
Knives are mentioned in Tolkien's works, sometimes as backup weapons—such as the unnamed long knife ofLegolas the archer.[2] However, some individual knives are given more significance through naming (e.g.Sting, see below).[1] In "The Scouring of the Shire",Saruman attempts to stab Frodo with a knife, but is foiled by themithril shirt worn under his jacket. Shortly afterwards Saruman's throat was fatally cut with a knife borne byWormtongue.[T 8]
ForThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Legolas possessed twin fighting knives carried in sheaths near his quiver.[7]
There are some special types of knife in Tolkien's fiction which do not have formal names, but nevertheless play important roles in the plot.
TheWitch-king of Angmar, leader of theNazgûl, used a magicaldagger called a "Morgul-blade" to woundFrodo Baggins atWeathertop. The dark magic of the knife gravely affects Frodo's well-being, threatening to turn him into a wraith, especially because its detachable point migrated in Frodo's body for more than two weeks before it could be extracted, thus causing great damage. Recurring ill effects from the wound contribute to Frodo's eventual departure toValinor.[T 9] According to theJ.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, the weapon may owe something to the tradition of the "elf-shot" found inOld English medical texts and charms, where it denotes illnesses of presumed supernatural origin.[8]
Tom Bombadil recovers four magical daggers, forged by theMen ofWesternesse to fight the powers ofAngmar, from a tomb guarded by theBarrow-wight. After opening the barrow and freeing the hobbits, Tom Bombadil gives them the weapons, saying "Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people".[T 10] One of these "Barrow-blades" – that given toMerry Brandybuck – proves instrumental in bringing about the death of theWitch-king.[T 11]
The daggers had varying fates. The Witch-king broke Frodo's blade at the Ford of Bruinen.Sam Gamgee left his beside Frodo inCirith Ungol; it was returned toGandalf, along with Frodo's mithril mail-shirt, by theMouth of Sauron.[T 12]Pippin Took used his dagger in theBattle of the Black Gate to slay aTroll.[T 12] Merry's blade is destroyed during his attack on the Witch-king.[T 11]
Battle axes are especially favoured by Dwarves in Tolkien's writings;[2] Gimli uses thebattle cry:Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you! (Khuzdul:Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!).[T 13] ForThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy,Gimli the Dwarf was assigned various axes of different makes during the course of the films.[9]
The Sindarin Elves ofDoriath favoured axes as weapons during theFirst Age. Other notable axe-bearers wereTuor (the wielder of the axe Dramborleg), theMen of the White Mountains who marched to the defence ofMinas Tirith inThe Lord of the Rings movie (replacing the axe-wielding men of Lossarnach from the book), and a contingent ofEasterlings among the besiegers of Minas Tirith.[citation needed]
Bows of different sizes and construction are featured in Tolkien's works. Elves ofLothlórien, Men, and Uruk-hai usedlongbows, while Elves ofMirkwood andOrcs ofMordor used smaller ones. These bows are said to be made of wood, horn and even steel.[2][10]
The most famous bowman in Tolkien's stories of the First Age of Middle-earth is the ElfBeleg; his bow was namedBelthronding, and his arrowDailir. Infamously Curufin, a lord of theNoldor, attempts to shoot the Elf-princessLúthien with the bow of his brotherCelegorm. His first arrow is intercepted byHuan;Beren attempts to intercept the second shot, and is wounded.[T 14]
InThe Lord of the Rings, set in the lateThird Age, a bow is the main weapon of Legolas, the Elf-member of theFellowship of the Ring. When the Fellowship meetGaladriel, she gives Legolas a new bow. He later uses it to shoot all the way across the great riverAnduin and bring down an airborne Nazgûl.[11]
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy assigns a bow to Aragorn[12] andcrossbows to the Uruk-hai.[13] However, in Tolkien's writings Aragorn is armed only with the sword Andúril, and crossbows are only mentioned in connection to hunting byNúmenoreans in their lost homeland of Númenor.[T 15]
Sometimes individualarrows are given special mention in Tolkien's works. InThe Hobbit, theBlack Arrow was a royal heirloom used byBard the Bowman to kill the dragonSmaug.[T 16] InThe Lord of the Rings, theRed Arrow was a token used byGondor to summon its allies in time of need.[T 17] In the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Red Arrow is omitted and its role is conflated with theBeacons of Gondor.[14]
Hobbits "shot well with the bow".[T 18]The Shire sent archers to the battles of the Fall of Arnor.[T 19]
Body armour in Tolkien's fiction is mainly in the form ofmail orscale shirts, in keeping withAncient andEarly Medieval periods of history.[2] In contrast, theLord of the Rings film trilogy features later medievalplate armour suits.[15] These kinds of plate armour are not found in Tolkien's writings, but plate does appear in the form of individual pieces such asvambraces (forearm guards) orgreaves (leg and shin guards). As with other items of war, Elves and Dwarves produced the best armour. The mail shirt forged by Dwarves from the fictional metalmithril appears inThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings, worn in turn by the protagonistsBilbo and Frodo Baggins.[2][16]
In Letter 211 ofThe Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author compared the war-gear of the Rohirrim to theBayeux Tapestry, made during theNorman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England.[T 20]
Battle helmets are commonly used by virtually all races in Tolkien's writings. TheRohirrim were partly modelled on theAnglo-Saxons, who woreelaborate helmets;Éomer's helmet had a long white horse-tailpanache that trailed in the wind.[17] The Crown of Gondor was a jewelled battle-helmet; Aragorn received it at his coronation. Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee use Orc-helmets as part of their disguise in Mordor.[citation needed]
In the First Age, Dwarves made dragon-helms, which were said to protect againstDragons. The most famous of these was theDragon-helm of Dor-lómin.[citation needed]
TheSecond Age was dominated by Númenor. The Númenórean helmet, thekarma, reached particularly elaborate forms. Those of theUinendili, a guild of mariners, were "made of overlapping plates of metal, the 'fish-crest' of leather embossed and coloured".[T 21] Tolkien's coloured drawing of thekarma of a Uinendili captain features on the cover ofUnfinished Tales.[citation needed]
Tolkien emulated his Northern European mythological and literary sources in having his charactersgive names to their weapons, marking these out as important aspects of character and sometimes as ancient heirlooms. Named weapons in Medieval literature includeHrunting andNægling inBeowulf,Tyrfing in theElder Edda andGram in theVölsunga saga. The items illustrate the passage of time and the transfer of power or fate to their future bearers.[1]
Anglachel (Sindarin:Iron of the Flaming Star) was a sword forged ofmeteoritic iron by Eöl the DarkElf, given toThingol King ofDoriath as a fee for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth. It could cleave all earth-delved iron. Later wielded byBeleg Strongbow and ultimatelyTúrin;[T 22] Anglachel was reforged and renamedGurthang (Sindarin:Iron of Death[T 23]). Túrin used Gurthang to kill Glaurung, the Father ofDragons, and later used the sword to take his own life in recompense for the accidental slaying of Beleg and the unjust slaying of Brandir. The stories endow the sword with a personality; Melian theMaia perceived malice in it as it was given to Beleg Cúthalion, and the elf Gwindor observed that Anglachel (so named then) seemed to mourn the death of Beleg at the hand of his friend Túrin by Anglachel itself. Túrin asked the sword whether it would slay him swiftly if he cast himself on its point, and it responded at length (the only instance of Gurthang speaking with voice). The depiction of the sword was influenced by that of the sword of the Finnish characterKullervo in theKalevala.[1][18]
Angrist (Sindarin:Iron-cleaver[T 24]) was a knife made by the great weaponsmithTelchar of Nogrod, and borne by Curufin. Beren, who had taken it from Curufin, used it to cut a magicalSilmaril jewel out ofMorgoth's Iron Crown; as Beren attempted to remove another, the knife snapped.[1][T 25] In the earliest version of Beren's story inThe Book of Lost Tales, he uses an ordinary household knife; the element of Curufin's involvement in Beren's affairs came later.[T 26]
Anguirel (Sindarin:Iron of Eternity) is the sword forged by Eöl the Dark Elf, similar to Anglachel which was given to Thingol of Doriath inThe Silmarillion. It was the mate of Anglachel, was made of the same meteoritic iron, and had the same physical properties and capabilities as Anglachel, but there is no evidence of sentience in Anguirel. Anguirel was kept by Eöl until it was stolen by his son, Maeglin.[1][T 27]
Aranrúth (Sindarin:King's Ire[T 28]) is the sword wielded by King Thingol of Doriath inThe Silmarillion.[1][T 29] Later the sword of the Kings of Númenor.
Glamdring (Sindarin:Foe-hammer[T 30]) is a sword inThe Hobbit,The Lord of the Rings andUnfinished Tales forged in the First Age by the High Elves of the hidden city of Gondolin. It belonged first toTurgon, the King of Gondolin. Thousands of years later, inT.A. 2941,Gandalf discovered it among the hoard of the three trolls inThe Hobbit, and he carried it throughout his journeys with Bilbo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was the mate ofOrcrist, and like Orcrist would glow blue whenever orcs were nearby. Glamdring was nicknamed "Beater" by the goblins of theMisty Mountains.[1][T 31][T 30][T 32][T 33][T 34][T 35]
SeeAnglachel
Gúthwinë (Old English:gúð-wineBattle Friend[19]) is the sword wielded by Éomer, third marshal of theRiddermark inThe Lord of the Rings.[1][T 36] The name is found in theOld English poemBeowulf, where the hero uses the word as an epithet for the sword Hrunting, lent to him byHrothgar's thane Unferth for the fight withGrendel's mother.[20]
Hadhafang is the sword invented for Peter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy, where it was wielded byArwen, although she is never actually seen using it in combat, as the blade's design was for main use on horseback, and footage of Arwen atHelm's Deep was ultimately cut.[21] The name is derived from Tolkien'setymological word list written in the 1930s; here Tolkien provides the wordhadhathang (dissimilated:havathang, hadhafang), which he translates as "throng-cleaver", though he never used this name in his writings.[T 37]
Herugrim (Old English:Fierce Sword[19]) is the sword that belonged toThéoden.[1][T 38]
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Narsil (Quenya: roughly,Red and White Flame[T 39]) is a sword inThe Lord of the Rings andThe Silmarillion,[T 40][T 41][T 42] influenced by the legendary Arthurian swordExcalibur[22] and bySigurd's sword Gram, as described in theOld NorseVölsunga saga.[23] The sword was forged during the First Age by the Dwarf Telchar[T 42][24] of Nogrod, a famous weaponsmith and artificer who also made the knife Angrist (which cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth) and theHelm of Hador (later used byTúrin Turambar). By the end of the Second Age Narsil was borne byElendil; during theLast Alliance of Elves and Men it was broken in two pieces in the war againstSauron.Isildur used the hilt-shard to cut theOne Ring from Sauron's hand. The two shards, acquiring the additional namethe Sword that was Broken, remained an heirloom of Isildur's heirs throughout the Third Age, and were thus inherited by Aragorn. Elvish smiths re-forged the sword for Aragorn before the Fellowship of the Ring began their quest; Aragorn renamed itAndúril (Quenya:Flame of the West).[T 41][T 32] The reforged Andúril is described as very bright, shining red and white with the light of the sun and moon.[T 32][T 33][T 43]The Silmarillion further states that the original Narsil already shone in such a manner, but its light was extinguished when it was broken.[T 44] The reforged blade had "a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes".[T 32]
Orcrist (Sindarin:Goblin-cleaver[T 30]), a sword inThe Hobbit. was originally forged in Gondolin and was nicknamed "Biter" by the goblins of the Misty Mountains. After finding it in a troll-hoard,Thorin Oakenshield carries the sword through the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood before being taken prisoner by theElves; it was laid on his tomb after his death in the Battle of Five Armies. It is the mate of Glamdring.[1][T 30]
Ringil (Sindarin:Cold-Star / Cold-Spark) is a sword wielded byFingolfin inThe Silmarillion andThe Lays of Beleriand. It bit with chilling cold, and glittered like ice with a pale light.[1] This was the sword with which Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times, causing the first dark lord to limp forever afterward.[T 45][T 46]
In Tolkien's early writings, Ringil was the name ofone of the two pillars supporting the Two Lamps of primeval Middle-earth.[T 47]
Sting is a large Elvish dagger inThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings. It functioned well as a sword for the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.[1][T 48] Bilbo named the weapon after using it to fend off the giant spiders in Mirkwood forest, then later passed it on to Frodo to use in his quest to destroy the One Ring. Sting glows blue when orcs are nearby, as inMoria.[25] In Europe,bilbo blades were exceptionally fine swords, named after the city ofBilbao which made them. It is possible that Tolkien connected Bilbo's name with his acquisition of this weapon.[26][b]
InPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings andThe Hobbit film adaptations, Sting is depicted as leaf-shaped, with gentle curving edges. Engraved on theblade andcross-guard are letters in Sindarin that read phonetically,Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im. Translated into English, they read, "Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane." According to the Appendix ofThe Silmarillion, the elementmaeg in Sindarin means "sharp" or "piercing".[T 49] The film version of Sting is 23 inches (580 mm) long (24 while inscabbard) and 3 inches (76 mm) wide at the hilt. Its scabbard is made of brown leather and reinforced with metal.[27]
Belthronding (Sindarin/Ilkorin:Intractable Bow[T 50]) is the bow wielded by Beleg Cúthalion (Strongbow) inThe Silmarillion andThe Lays of Beleriand.[1][T 51]
The black arrow was used in Esgaroth by Bard the Bowman; he mentions that it has been used many times, always successfully, and always recovered. An heirloom from many generations of Bard's family, that he believed had been made in the forges of theKing under the Mountain; Bard recites its history, urges it to "go now and speed well", and shoots Smaug. It was lost with the Dragon's corpse in theLong Lake.[T 16]
Dailir is the arrow favoured by Beleg, the great bowman of the First Age of Middle-earth. Beleg was always able to retrieve this arrow for reuse.[T 52]
The Red Arrow is a black-feathered arrow barbed with steel; its tip was painted red.[T 53] It was a token used by Gondor to summonRohan in time of dire need. InThe Return of the King, the Red Arrow was presented to Théoden by Hirgon with the message: "...the LordDenethor asks for all your strength and all your speed, lest Gondor should fall at last."[T 53] Théoden pledged his assistance, but Hirgon was killed during the ride back to Minas Tirith, leading Denethor to believe that no help was forthcoming from Rohan. The Red Arrow has a historical antecedent in the Old English poemElene in whichConstantine the Great summoned an army of mountedVisigoths to his aid against theHuns by sending an arrow as a "token of war".[28]
Aeglos (Sindarin:Snow Point, i.e. icicle;[T 54] also speltAiglos) is the spear wielded by the Elf-KingGil-galad. It was said that "the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand."[1][T 55][c]
The Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, also called theHelm of Hador, is the fabulous helmet of the lords of the House of Hador, includingHúrin and Túrin.[1] The helm was made of heavy steel, decorated with gold andrunes; a gold likeness of Glaurung the Dragon was set upon its crest. It was made for the Dwarf-kingAzaghâl byTelchar, the great Dwarf-craftsman of Nogrod.[T 56] Azaghâl ruled the neighbouring city of Belegost; he gave it toMaedhros, who gave it to Fingon. Fingon then gave it to Hador, along with the lordship of Dor-lómin.[T 57]
The Axe of Tuor, calledDramborleg (Gnomish:Thudder-Sharp)[30] inThe Book of Lost Tales, is the great axe belonging to Tuor, son of Huor inUnfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth[1] that left wounds like "both a heavy dint as of a club and cleft as a sword".[30] It was later held by the Kings of Numenor, until lost in the downfall.[T 58]
Durin's Axe was part of the regalia and weaponry of the Dwarf-kings ofKhazad-dûm. Some years before the War of the Ring,Balin attempted torecolonize Khazad-dûm (by then called Moria), and the early records of the colony mention Durin's Axe, indicating it was sought for or even found.[T 33]
Grond (Sindarin:Club) is themace of Morgoth used against Fingolfin inThe Silmarillion[T 59] as well as a battering ram inThe Lord of the Rings,[1][T 60] used to assault the Great Gate of Minas Tirith. Grond the battering ram was in-universe named after Morgoth's mace: "Grond they named it, in memory of the Hammer of the Underworld of old."[T 61]
InThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy, "hero" weapons, used for "beauty" shots such as close-ups, were made from high-quality materials: sword blades from heat-treatedspring steel; sword hilts from castbronze orforged and ground steel. "Stunt" swords, used in combat scenes, were made with softaluminium blades andurethane grips. "Extras" swords were cast entirely from urethane, in one piece. Bows were made of urethane with an inner armature of spring steel. Legolas's arrows were all-digital, so the actor simply mimed shooting each arrow.[31]
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