Top 10 Weapons in Middle Earth Lore
Credit for descriptions goes to The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien Gateway wikis.Anything from the Silmarillion is awesome, swords included.
Its name is Sindarin for "Foe-Hammer". Also called "Beater" by orcs, this sword was originally forged for Turgon, the King of Gondolin. But it is best known as the sword Gandalf wielded during the War of the Ring. In Tolkien's writings, Glamdring's color when glowing is always described as white. The sword is inscribed with runes in the Elven language. In the movies, the runes say, "Turgon Aran Gondolin, Tortha gar a matha Glamdring, Vegil Glamdring gûd daelo. Dam an Glamhoth," which translates to "Turgon, King of Gondolin, wields, has, and holds the sword Glamdring, Foe of Morgoth's realm, Hammer of the Orcs."
Sting was an Elven shortsword made in Gondolin during the First Age. Sting was like Glamdring and Orcrist in that "being the work of Elvish smiths in the Elder Days, these swords shone with a cold light if any Orcs were near at hand." But only Sting was definitively described as glowing blue, or glittering with blue flame at its edges. After wielding it during the Quest for Erebor, Bilbo Baggins had it engraved with the Sindarin text, "Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im." Translated into English, it reads, "Sting is my name. I am the spider's bane."
Oh, wow, you're right. How could I forget to add this? I was thinking more of physical weapons than pure magical ones.
The name Orcrist means "Goblin-cleaver," derived from "Orc" and the Sindarin "ris" ("to cut"). The Orcs also referred to it as "Biter." Orcrist and its "mate" Glamdring are described in The Hobbit as having "beautiful scabbards and jeweled hilts."
The sword is noted for having "killed hundreds of goblins in its time." The original wielder of the sword is not explicitly mentioned in any of Tolkien's writings. However, it is widely speculated that it was one of the Lords of the Gondolindrim, particularly Ecthelion of the Fountain, who led a charge and killed countless Orcs with his sword.
The fear of Orcrist among the Orcs of the Misty Mountains may be attributed to this. Orcrist became the sword of Thorin Oakenshield during The Quest for Erebor. After his death, the sword was placed on Thorin's tomb under the Lonely Mountain, and it "gleamed ever in the dark if foes approached."
Morgul-blades, also known as "Morgul-knives," were magical and poisonous daggers wielded by the Ringwraiths during the Third Age. After cutting flesh, the dagger breaks, leaving a shard of the blade in its victim. The remainder of the blade soon turns to dust, and the shard migrates through the body towards the heart. If the shard remains in the victim for an extended period, the victim turns into a wraith.
In Frodo's case, Elrond managed to remove the shard and heal the wound. However, on the anniversary of the injury from the Morgul-blade, Frodo would become seriously ill each year. Only his eventual journey to the Undying Lands provided a permanent solution.
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Nenya was one of the three Elven rings. It was wielded by Galadriel and preserved Lothlórien and could preserve literally anything.