Likely as not, most people will only remember a few of the swords mentioned in this video, and that’s perfectly fine since not everyone has read every bit of material that Tolkien wrote when it came to Middle Earth. But the fact that he put so much detail into several of the weapons from his creation is amazing since some of them are quite impressive, not to mention worth wondering if they could be recreated in some way. The answer is ‘of course’ since it’s likely that replicas do exist and are in the hands of those that are listed as superfans. But the history of these weapons is definitely interesting since there’s a good bit of depth to this fantasy world that many people don’t know beyond The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. While there are many mentions in the two original stories of the events and figures that were important at one time in history, it’s bound to happen that many folks will focus only on the stories that have made their way to the big screen. There is so much more to the story than what people know though, and while the weapons are only a part of it, they do represent a good deal of history that a lot of fans can’t help but be swept up by.
Orcrist, Glamdring, Sting, Narsil, are blades that a lot of fans will focus heavily on since they took prominence in The Hobbit and LOTR trilogies, and they were potent weapons that had a longer history than we were made privy to. Hearing about their history and what kind of action they saw before becoming a part of the stories that so many have come to love is pretty interesting since it means that these weapons were made to last, and were so incredibly durable, being fortified by magic and all, that they would have likely been quite forceful on the battlefield.
The funny thing is that a weapon is only as skilled as its user, and as it can be seen throughout the movies, the users of each blade were uniquely skilled, all save for Bilbo and Frodo. In Bilbo’s defense, he did learn how to wield the weapon he’d found and did a fair amount of damage when he needed to. Frodo, on the other hand, wasn’t much of a fighter and it was only when Sting was wielded by Samwise that it really saw any kind of heavy use. Samwise went on a tear on his way to rescue Frodo and became one of the most hardened hobbits in the land as he kept Sting in one hand and a frying pan in the other. It was fitting that Sting was left with Samwise when Frodo left at the end of the movie, especially since the former gardener had used it in such an effective manner. Even Merry and Pippen earned the weapons that were given to them, as Merry’s allowed him to weaken the Witch King just enough to allow Eowyn the chance to finish the task. Pippen might not have been given as much credit, but he certainly stood up and made it clear that he was there to fight.
Glamdring, Orcrist, and Narsil, which eventually became the Flame of the West when it was reforged, definitely found more capable hands as Gandalf, Thorin, and Aragorn were highly skilled combatants that knew how to make the best use of such implements. The three individuals were very different in their approach to battle, but once it was time for steel to sing they didn’t pause and didn’t hesitate to make their presence known, which is odd for a wizard really. Anyone that’s played Dungeons & Dragons will likely tell those that will listen that wizards are not typically the type of combatants that will stand side by side with their companions in the thick of battle but will instead provide support from a distance, as they don’t typically wear armor or any type of protection that might turn aside a blow. But Gandalf is different without a doubt since not only would he be considered an epic character in a roleplaying game, but he would likely also be considered a cross-class, something that in Tolkien’s time did not exist.
What this meant was that if Tolkien wanted it, which he obviously did, wizards would be able to get physical and thereby stand shoulder to shoulder with those that were in the thick of things. It’s fortunate then that he had Glamdring as well as his staff since between the two implements there wasn’t much, apart from magic, that was capable of touching him. But learning more about the weapons that Tolkien brought to life was interesting, to say the least since it gives a better impression of just how old the world he gave rise to really is.
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