#glamdring

[silmarillion-ways-to-die]

#swords #named swords #sting #anduril #glamdring #orcrist #gurthang #tolkien #jrr tolkien #tolkien tumblr #tolkien legendarium #lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #the silm #the silmarillion #the hobbit #fantasy #lotr poll #tolkien polls #this is a great poll #tumblr polls

[aragornsrockcollection]

If we consider that Glamdring was made for Turgon… who is in the running for Tallest Elf, a title with steep competition that must put him at 8ft+… well, I’m not a weapon expert, but Glamdring must be long as hell?

And Gandalf is tall… but we’re never told that he in his Istari form is freakishly tall amongst men.

So I kind of wonder… was it a shortsword for Turgon, or does Gandalf wielding it just look slightly comical?

Anime style huge sword on an old man.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #jirt #silm #Turgon #glamdring #gandalf #lotr

[ardafanonarch]

The Others: Ringil, Dagmor, Glamdring, Orcrist, Sting

Swords of the First Age, Part 3 of 3

[This is a continuation of the response to this ask]

Ringil

Meaning: From ringe- “cold”. Quenya. (Eldamo).

Maker: Unknown

Owned/wielded by: Fingolfin

Notable for: wounding Morgoth seven times and hewing his foot.

Fate: Unknown.

But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice. The Silmarillion, ‘Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin’

Discussion

We don’t know a lot about Ringil besides its epic, climactic moment. Who made it? Was it brought from Valinor or made in Beleriand? Did it somehow survive Fingolfin’s fall? Lots of room for the imagination to roam.

Dagmor

Meaning: Uncertain. Possibly “Slayer of Darkness”, combining dag- “slay” and môr “darkness”. Sindarin. (Eldamo).

Maker: Unknown

Owned/wielded by: Beren

Fate: Unknown

Danger he sought and death pursued, and thus escaped the doom he wooed, and deeds of breathless daring wrought alone, of which the rumour brought new hope to many a broken man. They whispered 'Beren,' and began in secret swords to whet, and soft by shrouded hearths at evening oft songs they would sing of Beren's bow, of Dagmor his sword… Lay of Leithian Recommenced, 503-12

This is the only mention of Beren’s sword’s name.

From the Trolls' Lair

There were lots of clothes, too, hanging on the walls—too small for trolls, I am afraid they belonged to victims—and among them were several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. Two caught their eyes particularly, because of their beautiful scabbards and jewelled hilts. Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these; and Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath. It would have made only a tiny pocket-knife for a troll, but it was as good as a short sword for the hobbit. The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton Elrond knew all about runes of every kind. That day he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls' lair, and he said: ‘These are not troll make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin wars. They must have come from a dragon's hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foehammer that the king of Gondolin once wore. The Hobbit, Chapter 3: A Short Rest

Glamdring

Meaning: Foehammer. Sindarin. Called Beater by the goblins.

Maker: Elves of Gondolin

Notable for: slaying the Great Goblin.

Owned/wielded by: Turgon, Gandalf

Fate: Unknown

Discussion

Glamdring is a significant First Age weapon for having been the sword of Turgon, though no mention of it is made in the “Silmarillion” legends, as with the other “Troll’s lair” blades. (Tolkien never returned to edit or rewrite the narrative version of the story of the fall of Gondolin — other than the unfinished ‘Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin’, which ends with Tuor’s arrival to the Hidden City — after the publication of The Hobbit; he may have intended to incorporate Glamdring and Orcrist into the legends and never got around to it.)

As the only weapon known to have been in Gandalf’s possession in his last standoff with Dúrin’s Bane, Glamdring may have dealt the death blow to the Balrog. It is not known whether Gandalf took Glamdring to the Undying Lands when he departed or left it in Middle-earth.

Orcrist

Meaning: Goblin Cleaver. Sindarin. Called Biter by the goblins.

Maker: Elves of Gondolin

Owned by: Unknown; Thorin Oakenshield (taken from him in Mirkwood)

Fate: Placed by Thranduil on Thorin’s tomb.

It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but thegoblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. The Hobbit, Chapter 4: Over Hill and Under Hill Upon his tomb the Elvenking then laid Orcrist, the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin in captivity. It is said in songs that it gleamed ever in the dark if foes approached, and the fortress of the dwarves could not be taken by surprise. The Hobbit, Chapter 18: The Return Journey

Discussion

Though Elrond says Orcrist was a “famous blade” he does not say to whom it belonged. As Gondolin had no shortage of great warriors and other nobles, there is ample opportunity for the imagination to run wild.

Sting (dagger)

Meaning: Any previous name unknown; named by Bilbo after he killed a spider of Mirkwood.

Maker: Presumably also Elves of Gondolin.

Owned by: Unknown; Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee

Notable for: slaying Shelob.

Fate: Unknown.

Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. “I will give you a name,” he said to it, “and I shall call you Sting.” The Hobbit, Chapter 8: Flies and Spider

Discussion

Sting, as a dagger, may not have been an especially significant weapon in the First Age, though of course one can always imagine tales for it involving well-known canonical characters! As with Glamdring, we do not know whether Sam took it with him when he sailed or not.

Finally: Elrond surmises that the “Troll’s lair” weapons survived through multiple plunderings over the Ages — but it’s not a sure thing. There’s room to invent other histories for these blades.

Tangent: Glowing Blue

The ability to glow blue in the presence of Orcs seems to have been a feature unique to these three Gondolin-forged blades. Whether or not other Elven weapons had this ability is unknown, though it’s not implausible that they would possess this or other “magical” properties. For those who enjoy coming up with explanations, the “science” behind the blue glow is also left to the imagination.

Research

Note that these websites contain some inaccuracies and incomplete citations and were used to help with finding quotations.

The Tolkien Forum: Weapons

Wikipedia: List of weapons and armour in Middle-earth

Elven Swords by Iain Norman (This one is an interesting and well-researched essay comparing the sword designs in the Jackson films to Tolkien’s canon; accurate info to the best of my knowledge)

Tolkien Gateway

Part 1 | Part 2

#weapons #ringil #fingolfin #beren #glamdring #gandalf #turgon #orcrist #thorin oakenshield #sting #bilbo baggins #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #the lay of leithian #the hobbit #anon

[simpleman193]

And maybe a sword 🗡

#simple man #manliness #simple life #traditional gender roles #christian manhood #traditional manhood #chivalry #traditional man #tradblr #gentleman #masculinity #traditional masculinity #wizard #gandalf #glamdring #the magician #the magician archetype #male archetypes #wander #lotr #jrr tolkien

[thekingofwinterblog]

So one detail that is really, really sad about both the Hobbit and Lord of the rings, that is there from day one always hoovering over the narrative, but is never really explained, is the sad story of Sting, Glamdring and to a lesser extent Orcrist.

These weapons glow blue in the pressence of Orcs.

Its a detail that's never explained beyond the fact that it's because it's Elven weaponry from fallen Gondolin.

But we're never explained why only these out of all the elven made equipment in the franchise glows like this.

Clearly it was something unique to the Gondolinian smiths, and so you'd be forgiven for thinking on a first delving into the deeper legendarium, that it was snuffed out with the city itself, when Morgoth's forcea sacked it with Orcs, balrogs, dragons and early mechanical troop carriers.

A wonderous and in it's own way beautiful little bit of magic, lost to the world forever.

But no, that's not quite it.

While it was the sack of Gondolin that killed most of it's people, there was still hope for some sort of recovery for it's people, the true treasure of fair Gondolin that truly mattered...

But that hope was snuffed out by the sons of Feanor, when they assaulted the havens where the survivors of this genocide and many others had gathered and wiped almost all of them out.

In thw end, if there was any amongst them that knew the secret for how to make the blue glowing steel, it died here, where this attrocity took place and Elf killed elf on large scale for the third time, for the pettiest and most selfish of reasons.

Leaving Sting, Glamdring and Orcrist and those few other weapons from the city to survive as the last memorials to a dead and gone culture, the last children of a culture that Feanor's brood snuffed out in a slaughter.

#tolkien's legendarium #sting #glamdring #orcrist #the hobbit #lord of the rings #the silmarillion #swords #gondolin #the sack of gondolin #the third kinslaying #sons of feanor

[grey-gazania]

#anglachel #gurthang #eol #thingol #beleg #turin turambar #angrist #curufin #beren #anguirel #maeglin #aranruth #glamdring #turgon #ringil #fingolfin #belthronding #dailir #aeglos #gil galad #aiglos #dramborleg #tuor #grond #morgoth #polls #silmarillion #tolkien #jrr tolkien #the silmarillion

[yakave]

“Aragorn, king in exile”

Redesign for Aragorn, son of Arathorn, after leaving the country of Lorien, together with the main weapons of the fellowship of the ring.

#my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #digital painting #fanart #aragorn #strider #thorongil #estel #king elessar #dunedain #ranger #middle earth #gondor #anduril #flame of the west #sting #Glamdring

[ultimate-sword-showdown]

Round 2, Match 15: Master Sword vs. Glamdring

Master Sword

From: The Legend of Zelda

Wielder: Link

Forged by the Goddess Hylia, the Master Sword is a legendary sword that Link uses to defeat Ganon in nearly every Zelda game. Only a wielder that is “pure of heart and strong of body” may use the sword. It has the power to vanquish evil, can destroy magical barriers and break curses made of strong dark magic, and can unleash powerful Skyward Strikes by channeling heavenly energy.

Glamdring

(Is only in the books, so has no canon image)

From: Lord of the Rings

Wielder: Turgon and Gandalf

The name “Glamdring” means “foehammer.” It glows a bright white when orcs are nearby, and it has been used to kill so many orcs that they run in fear at the sight of it.

#sword showdown #sword showdown polls #zelda #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda #loz link #lord of the rings #glamdring #turgon #gandalf

[bear-of-mirrors]

Sometimes I can’t help but think about the fight between Gandalf and Durin’s Bane. First, the sword Gandalf wields is Glamdring, the sword of Turgon, High King of Gondolin, the doomed final elven city in the First Age. Every single Balrog was a part of the forces that destroyed Gondolin, so to have one of the two swords of High King Turgon be used to slay that last Balrog is some great cosmic level of irony or justice.

Second, I think on how all the Balrogs are the same kind of entities as Sauron, and Gandalf and the other wizards: maiar, angelic beings of power. And with them all being part of the same collective of beings (idk if “species” is the right term for angelic beings), I can never not think about the extra added angst that could potentially exist in the idea that Durin’s Bane and Gandalf may have known each other long before Morgoth corrupted the maiar who would become his Balrogs. Were they friends? Were they rivals? Mere acquaintances? Did Gandalf, back when he was called Olórin, try fiercely to save this friend from the influence of Morgoth, only to fail and see his friend fall into shadow? If so, how much more does that impact how much Gandalf does not want to go to Moria? Does he know Durin’s Bane is this friend he saw fall to darkness? Does he fear or dread facing that friend in combat? And then how must he feel during the actual fight? After he slays that Balrog?

I just think about these things sometimes.

#lord of the rings #the silmarillion #gandalf #balrog #Durin’s bane #Tolkien #tolkien legendarium #jrr tolkien #the fall of gondolin #turgon #glamdring

[almostlookedhuman]

#universes beyond #mtg #lotr #glamdring #arda #gandalf #piparo

[dissapointymcdisappointmentface]

Among the projects I'd love to make in the future, I'm not sure of which I'd like to make first. Maybe the bronze age sword, just to take a breath from the fantasy weapons.

Bobert Baratheon's Warhammer is a must, I've already done the cad model to base it off and it seems like it will be fun and painful to make.

Also, check out some of the projects that I've actually made.

#wooden toys #woodworking #wooden sword #lotr #Glamdring #anaklusmos #orcrist #longclaw #robert baratheon #bobby b's mace #future projects #solidworks

[friendrat]

So, we were going out to work at the cemetery today, and we realized that we hadn't taken our swords out of the back of the van. So, I joked, "At least if a zombie apocalypse happens, we'll be armed." And my husband, who runs the cemetery, said,"I can just imagine the phone calls I'd get next week... 'You decapitated my grandmother!' 'Too be fair, she was trying to eat me.'" 😆

I also feel it's very important to show off my pretties, so here they are:

#my husband #swords #zombie apocalypse #glamdring #the sword of the witch king #sting #elven knife #aragorn's sword #it isn't andúril #it's the one he used before it was reforged #lotr

[aragornsrockcollection]

In honor of the interesting discussion of what kind of sword Turgon would have had on my other post, have something I think about a lot in regards to Glamdring:

Turgon only used Glamdring in two battles. Both were catastrophic losses for the elves. One was the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the battle that broke all hope of the Elves winning on their own, and the other the Fall of Gondolin, the destruction of Turgon’s own city and fall of the last great Noldorin civilization in Beleriand.

Turgon flees and dies respectively in those two battles. But he is still so terrifying when he fights that goblins fear the sight of his sword two ages of the world and 6000 years later. THAT’S SO LONG. Imagine being so devastating even in your losses that you strike fear into the enemy for generations to come. They know his sword by NAME at a GLANCE. There is no evidence it’s done more than be shuffled from hoard to hoard since the fall of Gondolin.

This is such a Tolkien move. Tolkien’s worldview is that of the extremely catholic long defeat of good. All things degrade but that doesn’t make the effort in fighting that degradation worthless, in fact it is everything. (This inevitability is not my favorite aspect of his work, but it’s undeniably saturated in it)

One of the most powerful and feared weapons in Tolkien’s work has only seen defeat? Honestly, shouldn’t be surprising.

#stay tuned for when I eventually get the spoons to tackle explaining what this interaction means about goblin society #I feel like that requires a lot of tangents though and I tend to avoid the orc question #because it really just depresses me #tolkien #the silmarillion #jirt #lotr #silmarillion #silm #jrr tolkien #Turgon #Glamdring #the hobbit #Gondolin

[dougielombax]

I FUCKING LOVE intergenerational weapons with a long history of use by many different characters!!!!

I love how the weapons sometimes outlast their wielders, how the wielders are sometimes unaware of the weapon’s stories history and how those who are often show astonishment at how long they’ve lasted!

#personal stuff #dougie rambles #weapons #swords #lightsaber #narsil #anduril #sting #glamdring #darksaber #Skywalker lightsaber #Star Wars #middle earth #lord of the rings #the hobbit #the silmarillion #jrr tolkien #gushing #intergenerational #ghost of tsushima #Sakai katana

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Glamdring by Andrea Piparo

#Magic the Gathering #MtG #MtGLTR #Lord of the Rings #LotR #Middle Earth #Lord of the Rings: Adventures in Middle Earth #Glamdring #Artifact #Sword #Gandalf #Fantasy #Art #Universes Beyond #Wizards of the Coast #Andrea Piparo

[finnritter]

fit prompt: Where does Turgon get Glamdring?

Turgon watched the last of his lords trickle out of the meeting room, eager to go about their day after several long and exhausting discussions, until he alone remained behind in the empty room.

He opened a window, stretched his stiff shoulders and leaned down to rest his arms on the windowsill, enjoying just for a moment the fresh air stroking his face and the breathtaking view over his city.

The moment he would step out of this room, he would have to retreat to his own studies, back to long-overdue (how was it always long-overdue, no matter how diligently he tried to catch up?) paperwork that he would spend the rest of the day absorbed in.

He loved to take those five minutes in between, when he could do nothing but exist, if only for a blink in time.

He had also noticed, with a spark of amusement, that those were usually the moments when someone would inevitably interrupt him, usually with the latest news of a crisis or an incident or any urgent sensation that was clearly not insolvable by anyone but the king, and still usually got taken to him. It happened alarmingly often, maybe that was why the paperwork never got done.

But today it seemed like he would be disappointed in this regard after all, and he already braced himself for the boredom of the evening, when he heard quick, light footsteps approaching from the hallway, which could only belong to Idril.

He turned around with a smile just as the huge door was pulled open and he was greeted by his daughter’s inquiring eye. Her face lit up as she spotted him.

“Ah, there you are!”

He crossed the room with a few long strides, until he could speak to her without raising his voice.

“You have been looking for me?”

“I want to show you something.”

Her briefness, paired with the telling smile tugging at her lips, made him assume that she would not be sharing much more until she had shown him whatever it was that she had prepared for him. He still asked her about it, curiously, while already holding the door for her and letting her lead him towards the main exit of the palace.

“It is a secret, Atya. A surprise”

“What is the date?”, Turgon asked with exaggerated shock. “Have I missed my own begetting day?”

“You wish”, Idril said with a rather unsettling twinkle in her eyes. “There is no way you would miss what Glorfindel has actually planned for your begetting day. No, although it is a gift, in a way, this is more part of a greater plan that has been brewing for a while now.”

“Now, you’re making it interesting. Why is it that you never tell me of your plans beforehand?”

“That is because the moment I, or anyone, tell you of an idea, you need to get involved yourself and can’t let go of it. It has proven to be way less nerve-wracking for all people involved to just present you with a fait accompli.”

She smiled sweetly at him and all his protests at her – unfortunately rather apt – depiction of his character melted into a half-hearted sigh.

“And this ‘fait accompli’ of yours is hidden in… where are you leading me? The forge?”

“Precisely.”

More was not to be winkled out of her, and so Turgon, who was secretly considering how much more things were being dealt with behind his back for the exact same reason, just resigned himself to his fate and followed her.

…

The secret, as she had called it, was actually waiting for him just outside the royal forge, held by an elf that Turgon recognized to be Angûr, arguably the best blacksmith of the House of the Hammer of wrath. In front of him, actually hiding the object of interest, stood another elf, currently studying it intently.

“Are you certain that he will like it? Maybe we should change the design of the gems after all, it does seem a little over the top, now that I think about it, I just couldn’t help myself. But maybe, before he sees it-”

Turgon frowned and Angûr, who seemed to have heard them approach unlike his companion, met his eyes and bowed his head. Turgon had never heard him speak, unsure if he couldn’t, or didn’t choose to after having been enslaved by the enemy for a long time, but his amused side-eye towards his companion – who Turgon deemed to recognize at once – spoke volumes.

“Angûr”, Turgon greeted, even more curious than before. “Enerdhil.”

The latter spun around at once as he heard his name being called and immediately stumbled into a rather frenzied bow.

“My King”, he exclaimed, once he had gathered himself. “I did not expect you here so soon.”

“And I did not expect to see you today, at all, albeit I’m pleased to see you faring well”, he said, sending an inquisitive look towards Idril, who had jumped up to sit on a low wall and watched the scene unfold with a curious smile.

“Ah, so you see, your fair daughter has commissioned a sword for from us”, Enerdhil explained, as she made no movement to answer. “It is to be yours, my King.”

“A sword?”, Turgon asked, still directed towards Idril. “I have a sword.”

“Enerdhil had an idea”, she said, open in her admiration for the young smith, who had grown to be a rather close friend to her. “To enforce weapons with magical Intent. He is the one who should be explaining de details, but I quite liked the idea and Rog and I gave the two of them permission to experiment with it. It is a prototype, so to speak.”

Turgon’s gaze wandered over to the two smiths, and now, as Enerdhil had stepped aside, he could see the sword, too. It was beautiful, he realized, before a wave of shame hit him at the knowledge that his first impression of a deadly weapon had been its beauty. But even at the second glance, there was no denying it.

The smooth steel of the blade gleamed almost white in the sunlight, and there were intricate carvings adorning its cross-guard and ricasso. Even the hilt was run through with gold and something that looked like ivory, ruel-bone maybe, and at last the pommel was decorated with two white gems, one on each side.

It did not look like a weapon that was meant to be stained with blood and gore, but then again, Turgon hoped that there wouldn’t be much need for excessive bloodshed in the next time, altogether.

As if he knew why Turgon was hesitating, Angûr wordlessly held it out to him at the hilt, an encouraging smile on his lips.

Turgon took it, swung it around by way of trial. It was a lot shorter than every sword everyone had ever forged for him, but inherently way better balanced and easier to wield so that Turgon, who had never been the most skilled swordsman after all, could easily forgive the slight loss of reach.

“It is beautifully balanced”, he said, complementary, but it must have been obvious that he still didn’t quite understand the intent of a gift such as this one, and Enerdhil cleared his throat.

“That is all Angûr’s work. It is a marvellous weapon on its own, one worthy for a king, in times of peace and war alike”, he said. “But its true strength, and the true reason a simple jewel-smith such as myself decided to get involved in a project like this, lies in those carvings, you see.”

He gestured for Turgon to hold the blade steady and ran his nimble fingers over the delicate runes that were etched into the steel. Turgon noticed his voice becoming more certain and clear the more he spoke about his work, and listened intently.

“They are not only for decoration”, he said. “Those runes at the top bind the sword to its wielder and their purpose, and they are meant to protect them, to a certain degree. They absorb some of the force of impact above the blade, meaning that blocking and even hard hits are easier on the hands. It is fairly practical and works quite well, you can try it out later, if you wish.”

“That seems practical, indeed”, Turgon considered. “And those runes on the blade? What are they for?”

“They”, Enerdhil said. “Are the truly fun part. And the experimental part, for we are actually not quite sure if and how they will work, in the end.

They are meant to protect the wielder from foes, the lowly henchmen of the Enemy specifically, and as you can read in the wording of the runes, they are meant to deal orcs great damage in particular.”

“Meant to?”

“Well, we had no orcs to try it out on, so… What exactly will happen remains a mystery. But that is the fun part of magic, after all. You just light the spark, set in some gems to keep it glowing, and what happens after that is out of your hands.”

Turgon did not find this very encouraging, but the young smith sounded so pleased with himself, his eyes gleaming with an expression of pure creative energy that was so particularly Noldorin that Turgon couldn’t help but be intrigued by the magnificence of the creation. He swung it around some more, getting a feel for its astoundingly light weight in his hand, and asked a lot of questions that Enerdhil eagerly answered.

“I like it”, he decided in the end, genuinely. “Thank you for making this for me, I’m sure it will accomplish great deeds when it is next needed, although I hope that this day still lies in the distant future.”

“I don’t doubt it, my King”, Enerdhil answered with a bow, not elaborating which part of the sentence he was agreeing to.

“Oh and Enerdhil”, Turgon added, as Angûr was sheathing the blade with the look of a parent who was sending his child out on their own for the first time. “I may know someone who will undoubtedly love this idea. If you ever think about improving on your prototype, better make one for the Lord Ecthelion as well.”

#yes the last part is about orcrist #i love the fanon theory that it was ecthelion’s sword mainly for It would be cool-reasons #tysm for the prompt!! #it took me a long time to finish bc glamdring-logistics are complicated #i still have heachaches thinking about how a sword for Mr. Top 3 tallest elves can later be comfortably wielded by Gandalf #and how they got the magic-glowing thingy to work without actual orcs to test it on is also a riddle #I vastly underexplained all my thoughts on this topic here I think I'll have to write an essay-post about this sometime later bc I do have- #some cool ideas #also turgon being surprised at the amount of unnecessary minor things that are brought before him directly #while also giving of the vibes of someone who wants to be involved in everything (which he does.) is very important to me #he trusts his people's skills he really does #but he also needs to know everything at all times #everyone who knows him well is just fondly exasperated over this #(whoops this got long but I have many thoughts-tm) #silmarillion #turgon #idril #glamdring #enerdhil #(lots of thoughts about him too!!) #silm fic #prompt fill #my writing