![]() Reforging and rediscovery effectively pass old power to the new weapon and its new owner, and renew that power. The swords Glamdring and Orcrist named in The Hobbit fit two strands of the Medieval pattern, as they are both ancient, having been forged in the First Age, and were retrieved from a treasure-hoard, having been held by the three Trolls in their cave. Such themes can be seen clearly with Aragorn's sword Andúril, but they run similarly through Tolkien's accounts of many other named weapons. ![]() ![]() As the Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger put it, the sword "proclaims the emergence of the hero" further, "the fates of sword and man are linked, and the destruction of one signals the end of the other". As in medieval epics, the sword in particular symbolised the heroism and position of its owner. Eighteen such weapons are listed by Anthony Burdge and Jessica Burke in the J. Tolkien named many weapons, mainly swords, but also including Aeglos, the spear of the Elf-king Gil-Galad Belthronding, Beleg's bow Dramborleg, Tuor's axe and Grond, the name both of the evil battering-ram from Minas Morgul, and of the mace of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, in his Middle-earth writings. In Middle-earth Weapons of power įurther information: Middle-earth weapons and armour Swords had two attributes which made them especially highly prized: they were costly to manufacture, and effective as weapons. The historian of arms Ewart Oakeshott described the sword as having "a potent mystique which sets it above any other man-made object". A sword-blade could be adorned with runes these might attach power, history, and magic spells to the weapon, just as Sigurd was instructed to engrave runes of wisdom and victory on his sword Gram. Swords may be heirlooms within a royal family, or may be recovered from ancient hoards of treasure, in either case having a lineage and story of their own. So bright in his enemies' eyes that it gave light like thirty torches, and therewith he drove them back and killed many people. So bryght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys, and therwith he put hem on bak and slew moche peple". They might have magical powers: Excalibur shines For example, Nægling is repeatedly described with epithets such as "sharp", "gleaming", "bright", "mighty", and "strong", while its history is explicitly recalled in phrases such as "excellent ancient sword", "ancient heirloom", and "old and grey". Such weapons were praised both for their strength and for their history. Among the major tales are those of Sigurd the Volsung and his sword Gram that he used to kill the dragon Fafnir Beowulf and the swords Hrunting and Nægling King Arthur's Excalibur, the "Sword in the Stone" Roland's Durendal Waldere's Mimming and the Elder Edda 's account of the " Waking of Angantyr" (the Hervararkviða) and the sword Tyrfing. The name, lineage, and power of the weapon reflected on the hero. In Medieval epics, heroes carried named weapons. The runic inscription reads right-to-left Oh Þurmuþ, "Thurmuth owns me", the swastika standing for " Thor".
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