List of Middle-earth objects
Encyclopedia
J. R. R. Tolkien
's Middle-earth
fantasy legendarium
includes several noteworthy objects. The following list includes weapons, armour, jewellery, and other items.
in The Hobbit
. It was discovered beneath Erebor
(the Lonely Mountain) by Thorin's ancestor, Thráin the Old, and shaped by the Dwarves
. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of Durin
's line, but was lost when the dragon
Smaug
captured the mountain from the Dwarves . The Arkenstone shone of its own inner light, but having been cut and fashioned by the Dwarves, it also reflected and multiplied any light glancing upon its surface with marvellous beauty. It was also called the Heart of the Mountain, and as Thorin describes to Bilbo: "It shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon..."
When Bilbo Baggins
found it on Smaug's golden bed deep inside the Lonely Mountain , he pocketed it, having learned how much Thorin valued it. While the Dwarves with Thorin sorted the treasure, Thorin sought only the Arkenstone, unaware that Bilbo was hiding it in his pillow. When the Dwarves refused to share any of the treasure with Bard (who had killed Smaug) and King Thranduil
, Bilbo crept out of the Dwarves' fort inside the Mountain, and gave them the Arkenstone; Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf
then tried to trade it for Bilbo's fourteenth share of Smaug's hoard. The dispute was interrupted by orcs and wargs from the Grey Mountains, the Battle of Five Armies ensued, and Thorin was killed. When Thorin was buried deep under Erebor, Bard placed the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast.
Tolkien took the name from Old English earcanstān (also spelled eorcanstān, eorcnanstān, etc.) or Old Norse
jarknasteinn, meaning "precious stone". The word appears in several Old English poems; for example, "The Ruin
" tells how a warrior long ago seah on sinc, on sylfor, on searogimmas, on ead, on æht, on eorcanstan—"gazed on treasure, silver, precious gems, wealth, possessions, a precious stone."
. It is also referred as the Winged Crown, the Silver or White Crown, and the Crown of Elendil.
Tolkien describes the crown in The Lord of the Rings
thus:
In a letter Tolkien describes the crown as "very tall, like that of Egypt, but with wings attached, not set straight back but at an angle." He also made a sketch of the crown, reproduced in J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
.
The first Crown was the helmet that Isildur
had worn at the Battle of Dagorlad. His brother Anárion
's helmet had been crushed by the stone that killed him during the Siege of Barad-dûr.
Later during the reign of King Atanatar II Alcarin , a new crown was made of silver and jewels. This Crown was worn by all the subsequent Kings of Gondor. Traditionally, a father passed the Crown to his heir before he died. If the heir was not present when the King died, the Crown was set in the King's tomb and his heir would later go alone to the Hallows to retrieve it.
In 2050, the Lord of the Nazgûl
challenged King Eärnur to single-combat. Eärnur left the Crown on the tomb of his father Eärnil II
and he went to Minas Morgul and was never seen again. From that time on, the Stewards ruled Gondor in the absence of a King. The Crown remained in the Hallows, and the Stewards bore a white rod as the token of their office.
Before the coronation of Aragorn
, King Elessar, the Steward Faramir went to the Hallows and retrieved the Crown from Eärnil's tomb. The Crown was placed in a casket of black lebethron wood bound with silver and was carried to the Great Gate of Minas Tirith by four Guards of the Citadel. Aragorn lifted the Crown and, quoting Elendil as he arrived at Middle-earth, said:
Then at Aragorn's request, Frodo Baggins
brought the Crown forward and gave it to Gandalf
, who set it upon Aragorn's head. As King, Aragorn bore both the Crown of Gondor and the Sceptre of Annúminas that was the chief token of royalty of Arnor, and the two Kingdoms were reunited under his reign. Before his death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, Aragorn passed the Crown and Sceptre to his son and heir Eldarion
.
gives as a gift to Aragorn
just before the Fellowship of the Ring leaves the wood of Lothlórien:
This stone, worn by Aragorn, later causes him to also be given the name of Elessar by the people of Minas Tirith
. It appears in The Lord of the Rings
.
Tolkien also calls it the Elessar or the Stone of Eärendil
and describes it as being set in an eagle-shaped silver brooch.
There are a variety of stories about the jewel's origin in Unfinished Tales
:
The gem was then given to Idril
the fairest in Gondolin and she in turn gave it to her son Eärendil and he takes it to Valinor
and never returns.
Here the "Enerdhil-story" diverges into two versions:
There is also a third version that differs greatly from the first two. In that there is no mention of Enerdhil and instead it was Celebrimbor himself who in Gondolin made the original jewel. Eärendil takes this jewel to Valinor forever and in the Second Age
Galadriel asks Celebrimbor to make the jewel again.
Another version states that the Elfstone was created by Fëanor
, who gave it to his eldest son Maedhros
as he died. Maedhros then gave it to Fingon
as a token of friendship, but the whereabouts of the gem thereafter are not known. The dragon-helm of Azaghâl probably replaced the Elfstone
as Maedhros's gift to Fingon.
All versions end with the jewel in Galadriel's possession. She then gives it to her daughter Celebrían
, who in turn gives it to Arwen
. It nonetheless is in Galadriel's keeping in Lothlórien before she passes it on to Aragorn. According to Tolkien, this also held the function of a wedding gift from the family of the bride to the groom.
Another point of note is that earlier in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn urged Bilbo Baggins
to include a green jewel in a poem about Eärendil he was composing, possibly anticipating the symbolic importance that the gem would have in his life. Bilbo, obeying Aragorn but seemingly unaware of the Elfstone's story, included an inaccurate reference to an emerald
.
. Also called the Necklace of the Dwarves.
The Nauglamír was a gift from the dwarves to Finrod Felagund of Nargothrond. From the ruins of Nargothrond, Húrin
brought the Nauglamir to Doriath
and gave it to Thingol as payment for the care Húrin's family had received while Húrin was imprisoned by Morgoth. Thingol had the Nauglamir reforged by the Dwarves
of Belegost to hold and enhance a Silmaril which Beren and Lúthien had retrieved from Morgoth's crown (and the great wolf Carcharoth
's maw). The Dwarves had been invited to Menegroth by Thingol
to create jewelry out of the immense treasure, and the Nauglamír was their best work.
Thingol prized it above everything else in his treasury, save the Silmaril
of Lúthien
and Beren
. After the Nauglamír had been reforged he asked the Dwarves of Nogrod to set the Silmaril in it, which they did. Together it became jewelry more beautiful than anything ever before seen in Arda
. The Dwarves were enthralled by it as well, and greedily demanded it from Thingol, claiming it as just payment for their labours (and that Húrin and Thingol had no right to appropriate the Dwarves' gift to Finrod). Thingol realized they wished to gain the Silmaril, and after insulting the dwarves as uncouth, stunted people, ordered them to depart from Doriath without any payment. In response the dwarves slew him, which eventually led to the withdrawal of the Girdle of Melian from Doriath and the Sack of Doriath by the Dwarves of Nogrod.
Word of the Dwarves' treachery reached Beren, and he, with an army of the Laiquendi
, waylaid the dwarves enroute to Nogrod as they passed Sarn Athrad. The Dwarves were slain, and those who attempted to escape were destroyed by the Ents. Their treasure was cast into the river Ascar, but Beren kept the Nauglamír and took it with him to Lúthien.
After Beren and Lúthien's final deaths, the Necklace went to their son Dior in Doriath, and became the cause of the Second Kinslaying when the Sons of Fëanor
attacked Doriath in an attempt to claim the Silmaril. Dior's daughter Elwing
fled with the Nauglamír to the Mouths of Sirion.
In the Third Kinslaying, the Sons of Fëanor attacked the Mouths of Sirion, claiming the Nauglamír because it held the Silmaril; but Elwing cast herself into the sea with it. The Nauglamír was lost, but Elwing and the Silmaril were saved by Ulmo
.
The story of the Nauglamír was never finished by Tolkien himself, except in the very early version found in the Book of Lost Tales, and it presents one of the most difficult parts of the whole legendarium. In the published Silmarillion, the Nauglamír is said to have been forged by Dwarves for Finrod Felagund
, and is the only piece of the treasure of Nargothrond that Húrin takes to Doriath. This version, however, was constructed by Christopher Tolkien
and Guy Kay, and has no basis in the elder Tolkien's own writings.
In earlier versions of the Silmarillion tradition, the Nauglamír, then called Nauglafring, more directly causes the death of Thingol as it gets caught behind a tree branch when Thingol is riding outside the Girdle of Melian
and is attacked by the Dwarves. Thingol, unhorsed, is slain, after which Melian's protection is lifted and Doriath is sacked.
Considering how Tolkien was inspired by and drew much inspiration from Norse and Germanic mythology and lore, it is possible that the Nauglamír may have been inspired by Brísingamen
, a necklace made by dwarves and worn by the Norse goddess Freyja.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
fantasy legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
includes several noteworthy objects. The following list includes weapons, armour, jewellery, and other items.
Arkenstone
A wondrous large white gem sought by Thorin OakenshieldThorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings...
in The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
. It was discovered beneath Erebor
Lonely Mountain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Lonely Mountain is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is also the source of the Celduin river.- Origins of the Kingdom Under the Mountain :...
(the Lonely Mountain) by Thorin's ancestor, Thráin the Old, and shaped by the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of Durin
Durin
Durin is the name of seven Kings of Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They were held by the Dwarves to be the reincarnations of the first one, Durin the Deathless, resembling him in appearance and said to have preserved memories of their 'earlier lives'.Tolkien took the name Durin, like...
's line, but was lost when the dragon
Dragon (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.Besides dragon , Tolkien variously used the terms drake and worm .-History:The dragons were created by Morgoth...
Smaug
Smaug
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
captured the mountain from the Dwarves . The Arkenstone shone of its own inner light, but having been cut and fashioned by the Dwarves, it also reflected and multiplied any light glancing upon its surface with marvellous beauty. It was also called the Heart of the Mountain, and as Thorin describes to Bilbo: "It shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon..."
When Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
found it on Smaug's golden bed deep inside the Lonely Mountain , he pocketed it, having learned how much Thorin valued it. While the Dwarves with Thorin sorted the treasure, Thorin sought only the Arkenstone, unaware that Bilbo was hiding it in his pillow. When the Dwarves refused to share any of the treasure with Bard (who had killed Smaug) and King Thranduil
Thranduil
Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, and is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.-In literature:...
, Bilbo crept out of the Dwarves' fort inside the Mountain, and gave them the Arkenstone; Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
then tried to trade it for Bilbo's fourteenth share of Smaug's hoard. The dispute was interrupted by orcs and wargs from the Grey Mountains, the Battle of Five Armies ensued, and Thorin was killed. When Thorin was buried deep under Erebor, Bard placed the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast.
Tolkien took the name from Old English earcanstān (also spelled eorcanstān, eorcnanstān, etc.) or Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
jarknasteinn, meaning "precious stone". The word appears in several Old English poems; for example, "The Ruin
The Ruin
"The Ruin" is an 8th-century Old English poem from the Exeter Book by an unknown author. The Exeter Book is a large book of mostly Christian verse, which contains about one-third of the extant Old English poems...
" tells how a warrior long ago seah on sinc, on sylfor, on searogimmas, on ead, on æht, on eorcanstan—"gazed on treasure, silver, precious gems, wealth, possessions, a precious stone."
Crown of Gondor
The chief token of royalty of GondorGondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. It is also referred as the Winged Crown, the Silver or White Crown, and the Crown of Elendil.
Tolkien describes the crown in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
thus:
It was shaped like the helms of the Guards of the Citadel, save that it was loftier, and it was all white, and the wings at either side were wrought of pearl and silver in the likeness of the wings of a sea-bird, for it was the emblem of kings who came over the Sea; and seven gems of adamant were set in the circlet, and upon its summit was set a single jewel the light of which went up like a flame.
In a letter Tolkien describes the crown as "very tall, like that of Egypt, but with wings attached, not set straight back but at an angle." He also made a sketch of the crown, reproduced in J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator is a collection of paintings and drawings by J. R. R. Tolkien for his stories, published posthumously in 1995. The book was edited by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull....
.
The first Crown was the helmet that Isildur
Isildur
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
had worn at the Battle of Dagorlad. His brother Anárion
Anárion
Anárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. His name is derived from Anar, which means "Sun" in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya...
's helmet had been crushed by the stone that killed him during the Siege of Barad-dûr.
Later during the reign of King Atanatar II Alcarin , a new crown was made of silver and jewels. This Crown was worn by all the subsequent Kings of Gondor. Traditionally, a father passed the Crown to his heir before he died. If the heir was not present when the King died, the Crown was set in the King's tomb and his heir would later go alone to the Hallows to retrieve it.
Witch-king of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
challenged King Eärnur to single-combat. Eärnur left the Crown on the tomb of his father Eärnil II
Eärnil II
Eärnil II is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. He was born in T.A. 1883. In 1945 Third Age he was elected as the thirty-second King of Gondor after his predecessor, King Ondoher, was slain in battle. In the previous year a two-pronged attack had been launched...
and he went to Minas Morgul and was never seen again. From that time on, the Stewards ruled Gondor in the absence of a King. The Crown remained in the Hallows, and the Stewards bore a white rod as the token of their office.
Before the coronation of Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
, King Elessar, the Steward Faramir went to the Hallows and retrieved the Crown from Eärnil's tomb. The Crown was placed in a casket of black lebethron wood bound with silver and was carried to the Great Gate of Minas Tirith by four Guards of the Citadel. Aragorn lifted the Crown and, quoting Elendil as he arrived at Middle-earth, said:
"Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!"
("Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.")
Then at Aragorn's request, Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
brought the Crown forward and gave it to Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
, who set it upon Aragorn's head. As King, Aragorn bore both the Crown of Gondor and the Sceptre of Annúminas that was the chief token of royalty of Arnor, and the two Kingdoms were reunited under his reign. Before his death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, Aragorn passed the Crown and Sceptre to his son and heir Eldarion
Eldarion
Eldarion Telcontar is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was the only recorded son of Arwen and Aragorn, born in the Fourth Age. He became the Second High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor after his father died."Eldarion" means "Son of the...
.
Elfstone
A famous green jewel that GaladrielGaladriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
gives as a gift to Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
just before the Fellowship of the Ring leaves the wood of Lothlórien:
- This stone I gave to Celebrían my daughter, and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of ElendilHouse of ElendilIn J. R. R. Tolkien's literary works, the House of Elendil is the House from which the Kings of Arnor and Gondor were descended. The House of Elendil was born out of the ashes of the House of Andúnië which in turn was descended from the Royal House of Númenor, the House of Elros, thus making the...
!
This stone, worn by Aragorn, later causes him to also be given the name of Elessar by the people of Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
. It appears in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
.
Tolkien also calls it the Elessar or the Stone of Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
and describes it as being set in an eagle-shaped silver brooch.
There are a variety of stories about the jewel's origin in Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.Unlike The Silmarillion, for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and...
:
- There was in Gondolin a jewel-smith named Enerdhil, and he was the greatest of that craft among the NoldorNoldorIn the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
after the death of FëanorFëanorFëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
...it came into his heart to make a jewel within which the clear light of the sun should be imprisoned, but the jewel should be green as leaves. And he made this thing, and even the Noldor marvelled at it. For it is said that those who looked through this stone saw things that were withered or burned healed again or as they were in the grace of their youth, and that the hands of one who held it brought to all that they touched healing from hurt.
The gem was then given to Idril
Idril
Idril Celebrindal is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of English author J. R. R. Tolkien. She appears in one of his chief works of literature, The Silmarillion, published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien.-Character Overview:...
the fairest in Gondolin and she in turn gave it to her son Eärendil and he takes it to Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
and never returns.
Here the "Enerdhil-story" diverges into two versions:
- GandalfGandalfGandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
brings back the jewel from Valinor and gives it to GaladrielGaladrielGaladriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
, as a token from Yavanna that the ValarVala (Middle-earth)The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
have not forsaken Middle-earth. In this version Gandalf also remarks prophetically to Galadriel that she will only hold it for a little while, before she passes it to another, who will also be called Elessar.
- Galadriel is pained at the state of Middle-earth and wants something to help heal its wounds. CelebrimborCelebrimborCelebrimbor is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin ....
, who is in love with Galadriel, remakes the jewel at her behest. It is interesting to note that Celebrimbor was also in Gondolin in the time of Enerdhil and learned much from him. Although we are more familiar with Celebrimbor (and his Rings of PowerRings of PowerThe Rings of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage...
), he was actually overshadowed by the superior skill of Enerdhil, who was second only to Fëanor.
There is also a third version that differs greatly from the first two. In that there is no mention of Enerdhil and instead it was Celebrimbor himself who in Gondolin made the original jewel. Eärendil takes this jewel to Valinor forever and in the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
Galadriel asks Celebrimbor to make the jewel again.
Another version states that the Elfstone was created by Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
, who gave it to his eldest son Maedhros
Maedhros
Maedhros is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. First introduced in The Silmarillion and later mentioned in Unfinished Tales and The Children of Húrin, he is one of the most enduring characters in The Silmarillion, and has been the subject of paintings by artists such as Jenny...
as he died. Maedhros then gave it to Fingon
Fingon
Fingon is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
as a token of friendship, but the whereabouts of the gem thereafter are not known. The dragon-helm of Azaghâl probably replaced the Elfstone
Elfstone
- Novel :*The Elfstones of Shannara - an epic fantasy novel from the Shannara series of novels by Terry Brooks.- Objects :*Elfstones - in the Shannara series by Terry Brooks, "elfstones" are magical stones from the Age of Faerie that hold great power....
as Maedhros's gift to Fingon.
All versions end with the jewel in Galadriel's possession. She then gives it to her daughter Celebrían
Celebrían
Celebrían is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien. She is an Elven noblewoman, the daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, wife of Elrond, and mother of Elrohir, Elladan and Arwen. She was called the Lady of Rivendell. Her name means "silver queen" in Sindarin.- Biography :The place and...
, who in turn gives it to Arwen
Arwen
Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. She appears in his novel, The Lord of the Rings, usually published in three volumes. Arwen is one of the Half-elven who lived during the Third Age.-Literature:...
. It nonetheless is in Galadriel's keeping in Lothlórien before she passes it on to Aragorn. According to Tolkien, this also held the function of a wedding gift from the family of the bride to the groom.
Another point of note is that earlier in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn urged Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
to include a green jewel in a poem about Eärendil he was composing, possibly anticipating the symbolic importance that the gem would have in his life. Bilbo, obeying Aragorn but seemingly unaware of the Elfstone's story, included an inaccurate reference to an emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
.
Nauglamír
A necklace which appears in the Silmarillion and at the end of the Narn i Chîn HúrinNarn i Chîn Húrin
A portion of the Narn i Chîn Húrin or The Tale of the Children of Húrin is a part of the book Unfinished Tales by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is a prose version of an earlier narrative poem called The Lay of the Children of Húrin...
. Also called the Necklace of the Dwarves.
The Nauglamír was a gift from the dwarves to Finrod Felagund of Nargothrond. From the ruins of Nargothrond, Húrin
Húrin
Húrin is a fictional character in the Middle-earth legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the Edain and all the other Men in Middle-earth...
brought the Nauglamir to Doriath
Doriath
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Doriath is the realm of the Sindar, the Grey Elves of King Thingol in Beleriand. Along with the other great forests of Tolkien's legendarium such as Mirkwood, Fangorn and Lothlórien it serves as the central stage in the theatre of its time, the First Age...
and gave it to Thingol as payment for the care Húrin's family had received while Húrin was imprisoned by Morgoth. Thingol had the Nauglamir reforged by the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
of Belegost to hold and enhance a Silmaril which Beren and Lúthien had retrieved from Morgoth's crown (and the great wolf Carcharoth
Carcharoth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Carcharoth , Sindarin for "The Red Maw", was the greatest werewolf that had ever lived. He was also called Anfauglir...
's maw). The Dwarves had been invited to Menegroth by Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
to create jewelry out of the immense treasure, and the Nauglamír was their best work.
Thingol prized it above everything else in his treasury, save the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
of Lúthien
Lúthien
Lúthien Tinúviel is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. She appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian, The Lord of the Rings and the Grey Annals, as well as in other material.-Character overview:Lúthien is a Telerin ...
and Beren
Beren
Beren is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion. Huan spoke to him.-Character overview:...
. After the Nauglamír had been reforged he asked the Dwarves of Nogrod to set the Silmaril in it, which they did. Together it became jewelry more beautiful than anything ever before seen in Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
. The Dwarves were enthralled by it as well, and greedily demanded it from Thingol, claiming it as just payment for their labours (and that Húrin and Thingol had no right to appropriate the Dwarves' gift to Finrod). Thingol realized they wished to gain the Silmaril, and after insulting the dwarves as uncouth, stunted people, ordered them to depart from Doriath without any payment. In response the dwarves slew him, which eventually led to the withdrawal of the Girdle of Melian from Doriath and the Sack of Doriath by the Dwarves of Nogrod.
Word of the Dwarves' treachery reached Beren, and he, with an army of the Laiquendi
Laiquendi
In the fictional works of J. R. R. Tolkien the Laiquendi are an ethnic group of Elves, so named because their attire was often green.-History and origin:...
, waylaid the dwarves enroute to Nogrod as they passed Sarn Athrad. The Dwarves were slain, and those who attempted to escape were destroyed by the Ents. Their treasure was cast into the river Ascar, but Beren kept the Nauglamír and took it with him to Lúthien.
After Beren and Lúthien's final deaths, the Necklace went to their son Dior in Doriath, and became the cause of the Second Kinslaying when the Sons of Fëanor
Sons of Fëanor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, the seven sons of Fëanor, the eldest prince of the Noldor, led their people from Valinor to rule over kingdoms in the Northeast of Beleriand:...
attacked Doriath in an attempt to claim the Silmaril. Dior's daughter Elwing
Elwing
Elwing is a character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien. She is Half-elven but counted among the Elves, notable for saving a Silmaril from the destruction of the Havens of Sirion and, with her husband Eärendil, going to the Valar to ask their help for the people of Middle-earth...
fled with the Nauglamír to the Mouths of Sirion.
In the Third Kinslaying, the Sons of Fëanor attacked the Mouths of Sirion, claiming the Nauglamír because it held the Silmaril; but Elwing cast herself into the sea with it. The Nauglamír was lost, but Elwing and the Silmaril were saved by Ulmo
Ulmo
Ulmo is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He first appears in The Silmarillion as a god or Vala of the Elven pantheon. Ulmo is a title, which means He who pours. He is also known as King of the Sea and Lord of Waters...
.
The story of the Nauglamír was never finished by Tolkien himself, except in the very early version found in the Book of Lost Tales, and it presents one of the most difficult parts of the whole legendarium. In the published Silmarillion, the Nauglamír is said to have been forged by Dwarves for Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....
, and is the only piece of the treasure of Nargothrond that Húrin takes to Doriath. This version, however, was constructed by Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
and Guy Kay, and has no basis in the elder Tolkien's own writings.
In earlier versions of the Silmarillion tradition, the Nauglamír, then called Nauglafring, more directly causes the death of Thingol as it gets caught behind a tree branch when Thingol is riding outside the Girdle of Melian
Melian
Melian the Maia is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. She appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian, The Children of Húrin, the Annals of Aman and the Grey Annals....
and is attacked by the Dwarves. Thingol, unhorsed, is slain, after which Melian's protection is lifted and Doriath is sacked.
Considering how Tolkien was inspired by and drew much inspiration from Norse and Germanic mythology and lore, it is possible that the Nauglamír may have been inspired by Brísingamen
Brisingamen
In Norse mythology, Brísingamen is the necklace of the goddess Freyja.-Beowulf:...
, a necklace made by dwarves and worn by the Norse goddess Freyja.
Necklace of Girion
A necklace of emeralds, mentioned in The HobbitThe Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, found among the treasures hoarded by Smaug in the Lonely Mountain, and given by Bard to the Elvenking
Thranduil
Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, and is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.-In literature:...
for his aid.
Nimphelos
A valuable pearl which appears in The SilmarillionThe Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
.
It was given by Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
to the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
from Belegost as a reward for building Menegroth. It was probably fished from Belegaer
Belegaer
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Belegaer, the Great Sea or the Sundering Seas, is the sea of Arda that is west of Middle-earth....
by Círdan
Círdan
Círdan the Shipwright is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He was a Telerin Elf, a great mariner and shipwright, and lord of the Falas during much of the First Age. He was the bearer of the Great Ring Narya, which he in turn gave to Gandalf.He had a beard, which was rare for...
's folk, who gave it to the King of Doriath as a gift. The pearl was said to be as big as a dove's egg.
Phial of Galadriel
A parting gift to Frodo BagginsFrodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
by Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
when the Fellowship of the Ring left Lórien.
It was also known as the Star-glass, because it held a little fragment of the light of the Evening Star Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
, which was one of the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
s, contained within the waters of Galadriel's Mirror. It is thus a reflection of a reflection of the light of the Two Trees of Valinor
Two Trees of Valinor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the Valar in ancient times...
.
While travelling to Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
via Cirith Ungol, both Frodo and Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
used the light of the Phial to fend off attacks from the monstrous arachnid Shelob
Shelob
Shelob is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears at the end of the fourth book, second volume , of The Lord of the Rings.-Literature:...
in Torech Ungol. Sam also used it to overcome the will of the Two Watchers at the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Once they reached Mount Doom
Mount Doom
Mount Doom is a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is located in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Barad-dûr, it is approximately high. Alternative names, in Tolkien's invented language of Sindarin, include Orodruin and Amon Amarth...
, however, the light from the glass faded because they were in the heart of Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
's domain where its power could not reach.
Frodo took the Phial with him when he left Middle-earth for the Undying Lands. Its light faded away as the ship approached the shores of Eldamar.
Ring of Barahir
A ring given to BarahirBarahir
Barahir is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals.-Character overview:...
by the Elven
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
Lord Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....
, in reward for saving his life in Dagor Bragollach
Dagor Bragollach
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, the Dagor Bragollach was the fourth battle of the Wars of Beleriand...
. It was a sign of eternal friendship between Finrod and the House of Barahir. Barahir's hand and ring were taken by the orcs that killed him, but were retrieved by his son Beren
Beren
Beren is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion. Huan spoke to him.-Character overview:...
when he avenged his father. Beren laid the hand to rest with the rest of his father's body, but kept and wore the ring.
- 'Death you can give me earned or unearned, but names I will not take from you of baseborn, nor spy, nor thrall. By the ring of Felagund, that he gave to Barahir my father on the battlefield of the North, my house has not earned such names from any Elf, be he king or no.' Thus spoke Beren Erchamion in the halls of mighty Thingol as he held aloft the ring, and the green jewels gleamed there that the Noldor had devised in Valinor. For this ring was like to twin serpents, whose eyes were emeralds, and their heads met beneath a crown of golden flowers, that the one upheld and the other devoured; that was the badge of Finarfin and his house. (The SilmarillionThe SilmarillionThe Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, Chapter 19: 'Of Beren and LúthienLúthienLúthien Tinúviel is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. She appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian, The Lord of the Rings and the Grey Annals, as well as in other material.-Character overview:Lúthien is a Telerin ...
')
Beren later used it as a token when he sought Finrod's help in the quest for the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
.
The ring was passed from Beren in direct line to Dior
Dior Eluchíl
Dior Eluchíl is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a character in The Silmarillion, which was published posthumously in 1977...
, then his daughter Elwing
Elwing
Elwing is a character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien. She is Half-elven but counted among the Elves, notable for saving a Silmaril from the destruction of the Havens of Sirion and, with her husband Eärendil, going to the Valar to ask their help for the people of Middle-earth...
and her son Elros, who brought it to Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
during the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
. It was an heirloom of the kings of Númenor until Tar-Elendil gave the ring to his eldest daughter Silmariën, who was not allowed to succeed him on the throne. She in turn gave the ring to her son Valandil, first Lord of Andúnië. It was handed down to succeeding Lords of Andúnië to the last one, Amandil
Amandil
Amandil is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Amandil was a Lord of Andúnië, succeeding his father Númendil upon his death. Amandil is most noted for being the father of Elendil, founder of the Númenórean Realms in Exile....
, father of Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, and so was saved from the Númenor catastrophe.
In the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
the ring was again passed in direct line from Elendil to Isildur
Isildur
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
to the Kings of Arnor, and then Kings of Arthedain. The last King of Arthedain, Arvedui
Arvedui
Arvedui is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.Arvedui was the son of King Araphant of Arthedain. He was born in T.A. 1864 and came to the throne in 1964 at the death of his father...
, gave the ring to the Lossoth of Forochel, thankful for the help he received from them. It was later ransomed from the Snowmen by the Dúnedain of the North, and it was kept safe at Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
.
Eventually, it was given by Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
to Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
son of Arathorn, when he was told of his true name and lineage, together with the shards of Narsil
Narsil
Narsil is a fictional sword featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is introduced in The Lord of the Rings as having once belonged to King Elendil of the Dúnedain...
. In the year 2980 of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
, in Lothlórien Aragorn gave the ring to Arwen Undómiel, and thus they were betrothed.
Nothing is said of the fate of the ring in the Fourth Age
Fourth Age
In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
, but it was most likely either again passed to the Kings of Gondor and Arnor, descendants of Aragorn and Arwen, or it went with Arwen to her grave in Cerin Amroth.
It was one of the older artifacts to exist in Middle-earth (it may have been the oldest), for it had been forged by Finrod in Valinor before the Exile of the Noldor.
The ring is noticeably seen on the hand of Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
in Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of The Two Towers
The Two Towers
The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.-Title:...
when he extends his hand toward Gríma Wormtongue in a gesture of reconciliation (which is not accepted).
Sceptre of Annúminas
The chief emblem of royal authority in the northern kingdom of ArnorArnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
.
The sceptre originally was the staff borne by the Lords of Andúnië in Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
, a silver rod patterned after the sceptre of the Kings of Númenor. The sceptre of the Kings was lost with Ar-Pharazôn in the downfall of Númenor in S.A.
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
3319. But Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, son of the last Lord of Andúnië, took his father's staff with him when he escaped to Middle-earth and founded the Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. While the Kings of Gondor
Kings of Gondor
This is a list of kings of Gondor from the fictional universe of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien.The kings of Gondor through Amandil claimed descent from the Lords of Andúnië, and from there to Silmariën and the Kings of Númenor....
wore a crown, the Kings of Arnor bore the sceptre. As the Kings of Arnor ruled for several centuries from the city of Annúminas, the sceptre became known as Sceptre of Annúminas.
When the North-kingdom was divided in T.A. 861, the sceptre passed to the Kings of Arthedain. After Arthedain ceased to exist in T.A. 1974, the sceptre, along with the other heirlooms of the House of Isildur
House of Isildur
In the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the House of Isildur was the Royal House of Arnor, Arthedain, Cardolan, Rhudaur and, much later, Gondor The house was descended from Isildur, elder son and heir of Elendil the Faithful...
, was kept at Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
, in the house of Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
.
By the end of the Third Age, the Sceptre of Annúminas was over 5,000 years old and was accounted the oldest surviving artifact in Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
made by Men. On Midsummer's Eve of 3019, Elrond brought the Sceptre of Annúminas to Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
and presented it to Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
, King Elessar, symbolising his kingship over Arnor as well as Gondor.
Silmarils
Three brilliant, holy star-like jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees created by the Vala Yavanna, the mother of all trees and herbs.The Silmarils (Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
pl. Silmarilli, radiance of pure light) were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
, a Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
in Elf, in Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
during the Years of the Trees. The composition of silima was known only to Fëanor; the secret died with him, not to be rediscovered until Fëanor's resurrection at the Last Battle
Dagor Dagorath
The Dagor Dagorath is a fictional battle described in the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. As Tolkien's works were conceived as a fictional "forgotten history" of the world, the Dagor Dagorath represents the coming End of the World, and is often referred to as simply "The End"...
.
They are pivotal in Tolkien's fictional history of the Elves. Their theft by Melkor provokes Fëanor, High King of the Noldor, to pursue him into Middle-earth with a large host to reclaim them.
Star of Elendil
Along with the Sceptre of Annúminas, the Star of Elendil was the chief symbol of the royal line of ArnorArnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
. The original jewel was fashioned of "elvish crystal" by the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
and affixed to a fillet of mithril
Mithril
Mithril is a fictional metal, originally used in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. It is described as silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The malleability, lack of tarnishing and use of the metal in jewellery suggest some similarity to the non-fictional metal...
, to be worn in the custom of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
on the brow in place of a crown. This was worn by Silmariën
Ruling Queens of Númenor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Ruling Queens of Númenor were Dúnedain women who ruled the kingdom of Númenor. Out of Númenor's twenty-five rulers, only three were female....
of Númenor and passed to her descendants, the Lords of Andúnië, and eventually to Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. Elendil and Isildur
Isildur
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
wore it as a token of royalty in the North Kingdom, but it was lost in the Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
when Isildur was slain by orcs at the Gladden Fields
Gladden Fields
The Gladden Fields is a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. In his works, the Gladden Fields are located where the Gladden river joins the Anduin....
. A replacement was fashioned by elves in Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
for Isildur's son Valandil, and this second jewel was borne by the subsequent thirty-nine kings and chieftains of Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
, up to and including Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
.
The Star of Elendil was also called the Elendilmir ("Jewel of Elendil"), the Star of the North, and the Star of the North Kingdom. The original was rediscovered by Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
's agents searching for the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
, and King Elessar
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
later recovered it from Saruman's treasure in Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
after the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
. Elessar held both Elendilmirs in reverence; the first because of its ancient origins, the second because of its lineage from thirty-nine forebears. The King wore the replica when he spent time in the restored North Kingdom.
In Robert Foster
Robert Foster
Robert Foster may refer to:*Robert Sanford Foster , Union general*Sir Robert Sidney Foster , former governor-general of Fiji...
's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth: from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion is a reference book for the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, compiled and edited by Robert Foster....
the Elendilmir is identified with the Star of the Dúnedain which was given to Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, but according to Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
Foster was clearly mistaken.
Star of the Dúnedain
A silver broochBrooch
A brooch ; also known in ancient times as a fibula; is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material...
, shaped like a many-rayed star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
, worn by the Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
-descended Rangers of the North
Rangers of the North
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of the North, also known as the Dúnedain of the North, were the descendants of the Dúnedain from the lost kingdom of Arnor...
. It appears in The Lord of the Rings.
The Dúnedain
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
Rangers who came to Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
at Dunharrow
Dunharrow
Dunharrow is a fictional place from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Aldor established it as a refuge of the Rohirrim hidden in the White Mountains and fortified against attack...
wore these on their clothing, specifically to fasten to their cloaks on their left shoulder. It served as part of their identity, and the only ornamentation the Rangers ever wore in their journeys. The Star was also considered a badge of honour, and after the events of the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
Aragorn gave this insignia
Insignia
Insignia or insigne pl -nia or -nias : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction...
to Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, then Mayor of the Shire
Mayor of the Shire
In the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Mayor of the Shire, is the sole elected office of the Shire at the time of the War of the Ring. The mayor lives in Michel Delving, which is at this time The Shire's largest town and de facto capital....
.
Weapons and armour
Tolkien's fantasy writings contain several named weapons like Sting, Glamdring, NarsilNarsil
Narsil is a fictional sword featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is introduced in The Lord of the Rings as having once belonged to King Elendil of the Dúnedain...
and Gurthang. Two prominent examples of armour in Tolkien's writings is the Helm of Hador, also known as the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, and Bilbo and Frodo's mithril mail-shirt.
Food and drink
Besides "mundane" food and drink like mushrooms and beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, Tolkien's writings contain special consumable items like lembas and miruvor.
Angainor
The chain used to contain Melkor (who was later known as MorgothMorgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
) in the Halls of Mandos.
It was constructed by the Vala
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
Aulë
Aulë
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship,...
and held Melkor for three ages. At the end of the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, Melkor was again bound by Angainor, and his iron crown was made into a collar.
Little else is said of the chain in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. Tolkien describes it more fully in its first appearance in The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
(which may or may not be applicable to later conceptions
Middle-earth canon
The term Middle-earth canon, also called Tolkien's canon, is used to loosely define the published writings of J. R. R. Tolkien regarding Middle-earth as a whole...
). Here its name is Angaino:
- "Behold, Aulë now gathered six metals, copper, silver, tin, lead, iron and gold, and taking a portion of each made with his magic a seventh which he named therefore tilkal, and this had all the properties of the six and many of its own. Its colour was bright green or red in varying lights and it could not be broken, and Aulë alone could forge it. Thereafter he forged a mighty chain, making it of all seven metals welded with spells to a substance of uttermost hardness and brightness and smoothness..."
It is also said later in the same book that after Tulkas and Aulë had grappled with Melko (as Melkor was then spelled), "straight was he wrapped thirty times in the fathoms of Angaino".
Book of Mazarbul
Balin (Middle-earth)
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.-In the books:...
's failed expedition to re-colonize the mines of Moria
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
, which ended in his party's destruction by Orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
. Mazarbul means "records" in the Dwarf-language Khuzdul
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
, and the chamber where it was kept was similarly named. It appears in The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Book of Mazarbul covered five years. It was written in many different hands using the runes of Moria and Dale as well as Elvish letters. The last entry was written shortly before the final Orc attack which finished the Dwarves off: "They are coming." When the Fellowship came to the Chamber of Mazarbul in Moria years later, Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
discovered the battered Book of Mazarbul. It was given to Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
to be passed on to Dáin
Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
.
For the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien created a few pages of the book for real (read aloud by Gandalf in the story), but these proved impractical to include. Some later editions do include them.
Elven-cloaks
Cloaks given to the Fellowship of the Ring by Galadriel and CelebornCeleborn
Celeborn is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings as the Elven husband of Galadriel, Lord of the Galadhrim; and co-ruler along with Galadriel of Lothlórien. He was the father of Celebrían — the wife of Elrond — and thus the...
. They appeared to be grey or green, changing with the light. They served to camouflage their wearers. Tolkien stated the grey cloaks to have originated in Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
made by the Elves of Mithrim.
Fëanorian lamps
Magical lamps that gave blue radiance from a flame trapped within a white crystal. Their light could not be quenched by wind or water.These lamps were made in Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
and used by Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
, named after their inventor Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
. Even though Noldor in Middle-earth were famous for these lamps, their secret was later lost to them. Gelmir of Finarfin
Finarfin
Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...
's people had one of these lamps in his possession when he met Tuor
Tuor
Tuor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is the grandfather of Elrond Half-elven and one of the most renowned ancestors of the Men of Númenor and of the King of the Reunited Kingdom Aragorn Elessar...
. A similar appearance of these lamps can be found in the same story when Tuor and Voronwë
Voronwë
In Tolkien's The Silmarillion, Voronwë was a Noldorin Elf from Gondolin. His name is Quenya in origin, meaning 'steadfast one'...
encounter Elemmakil and his guards at Gondolin.
Another instance when this lamp makes an appearance is in Tolkien's earlier writings, in the story of Narn i Chîn Húrin
Narn i Chîn Húrin
A portion of the Narn i Chîn Húrin or The Tale of the Children of Húrin is a part of the book Unfinished Tales by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is a prose version of an earlier narrative poem called The Lay of the Children of Húrin...
where Gwindor of Nargothrond
Nargothrond
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Nargothrond , called Nulukkhizdīn by the Dwarves, was the stronghold built by Finrod Felagund...
, an elf who escaped Angband
Angband (Middle-earth)
-External links:*...
, had possession of one such lamp. This lamp helped Beleg to identify Gwindor in the forest of Taur-nu-Fuin. This is illustrated in a painting by Tolkien himself. When Beleg Cúthalion was slain, it was the light from this lamp that revealed to Túrin
Turín
Turín is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador....
, he had slain his friend. But in the published version of The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
there is no occurrence of Fëanorian lamps.
Other objects which have a similar property of emitting light without fire include the Arkenstone, the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
s and Phial of Galadriel.
Galvorn
A jet black metal (probably an alloy) devised by the Dark Elf EölEöl
Eöl, called the Dark Elf, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as an Elf of Beleriand and is a character existing in some form from the earliest to the latest writings....
after he became greatly skilled in metalwork after learning the craft from the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
of Nogrod and Belegost. The unique metal was as strong as the steel of the Dwarves, extremely malleable, and resistant to injury by metal weapons. Its only known use is in Eöl's armour, which he wore whenever he left his forest residence.
Eöl taught all his secrets to his son Maeglin
Maeglin
Maeglin or Meglin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.He was an Elf, the son of Eöl the Dark Elf and Aredhel daughter of Fingolfin. He lived in the First Age of Middle-earth, and was a lord of Gondolin...
, who later fled to Gondolin. So it is possible that the Elf-smiths of Gondolin also learned how to make galvorn armour. In the story 'Of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin' in Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.Unlike The Silmarillion, for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and...
Tuor sees the Guards of the City wearing armour of a strange black metal. This may be galvorn.
Horn of Gondor
Stewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
, also called the Great Horn.
The horn was made by Vorondil the Hunter in the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. Vorondil hunted oxen all the way to the Sea of Rhûn and fashioned the horn out of one of the oxen's horns. (Tolkien calls the beast one of the "Kine of Araw") It was passed down through the line of the Stewards of Gondor
Stewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
.
During the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
, Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
, son of Denethor
Denethor
Denethor II of the House of Húrin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, which is the third and final part of his novel The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, he is the 26th and penultimate ruling Steward of Gondor....
, possessed the Horn of Gondor, just as it had been borne by the eldest son of the Lord Steward of Gondor for centuries. Boromir claimed that if the horn was heard anywhere within its borders, Gondor would come to the owner's aid.
When Boromir was slain late in The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
, the Horn of Gondor was cut in two by Orcs. The horn later washed up upon the banks of the Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
, where it was discovered by his brother, Faramir
Faramir
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor...
. Thus Denethor learned of his son's death.
Mithril
A silvery metal, stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. Tolkien first wrote of it in The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, and it was retrospectively mentioned
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
in the second, revised edition of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
in 1966. In the first 1937 edition, the mail shirt given to Bilbo was described as being made of "silvered steel".
In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes that mithril was found only in Khazad-dûm
Moria (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains...
(Moria) in Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, where it was mined by the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
. However, in Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.Unlike The Silmarillion, for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and...
he writes that it was also found in Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
.
The name mithril comes from two words in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
— mith, meaning "grey", and ril meaning "glitter". The metal's Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
name is mistarille. Mithril was also called "true-silver" or "Moria-silver"; the Dwarves had their own secret name for it.
Mirror of Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
, an Elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
ruler of Lothlórien, invites the story's hero, Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
, to look into it. Galadriel cannot predict what the mirror will show and does not guarantee that its visions will come to pass.
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
was also allowed a vision, which forced a choice between returning to the Shire
Shire (Middle-earth)
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in...
to prevent its destruction by technology
The Scouring of the Shire
"The Scouring of the Shire" is a chapter from the epic fantasy novel The Return of the King, part of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien...
or to continue on the quest with his master to prevent Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
from destroying all of Middle-earth.
This recalls the ancient practice of water scrying
Scrying
Scrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
or hydromancy: gazing into a shallow pool or bowl for purposes of divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
. The Norns
Norns
The Norns in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, a kind of dísir comparable to the Fates in classical mythology....
of Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
used the Well of Urd as a scrying bowl.
Palantíri
Stone globes which function somewhat like crystal ballCrystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
s or communication devices. The singular form of their name, palantír, means "Farsighted" or "One that Sees from Afar". They were made in Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
by Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
. Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
brought seven of them with him out of the wreck of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
. An eighth "Master-stone" remained in the tower of Avallónë in Eressëa. In The Lord of the Rings, Sauron, Saruman, Denethor and Aragorn all used various palantíri.
Seat of Seeing
A stone throne built on top of Amon Hen to watch the borderlands of GondorGondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. It stood on four carven pillars in the middle of a flat circle paved with flagstones, reached by a stair.
On February 25, T. A.
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
3019, while running away from Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
, who had attempted to seize the Ring of Power
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
, Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
reached the summit of Amon Hen. He clambered onto the Seat of Seeing and suddenly was able to see for hundreds of miles in all directions. The powers of the Seat were apparently enhanced by the One Ring; when Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
took the seat a few minutes later, his vision was not similarly enhanced.
A counterpart, the Seat of Hearing, was built on top of Amon Lhaw, on the opposite bank of Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
.
Stone of Erech
Also called the Black Stone, it was brought to Middle-earth from Númenor by IsildurIsildur
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and set at the top of the Hill of Erech. It is described in The Lord of the Rings: "round as a great globe, the height of a man, though its half was buried in the ground. Unearthly it looked, as though it had fallen from the sky". Upon it the local tribes swore allegiance to Isildur, but proved treacherous and became the Dead Men of Dunharrow
Dead Men of Dunharrow
The Dead Men of Dunharrow are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
.
Two Lamps
Illuin (Sky-blue) and Ormal (high gold) were great lamps which stood respectively at the northern and southern ends of ArdaArda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
during the Years of the Lamps.
After the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
entered the world, there was a misty light veiling the barren ground. The Valar concentrated this light into two large lamps, Illuin and Ormal. Aulë
Aulë
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship,...
forged great towers, one in the furthest north, Helcar (also spelt Helkar), and another in the deepest south, Ringil. Illuin was set upon Helcar and Ormal upon Ringil. In the middle of Arda, where the light of the lamps mingled, lay the Great Lake with the island Almaren, where the Valar dwelt.
The lamps were destroyed in an assault by Melkor
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
, and the Valar fled Middle-earth for Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
. At the site where Illuin fell, the inland Sea of Helkar was formed, of which Cuiviénen was a bay. According to the earlier writings of Tolkien, there was also the Sea of Ringil to the south, perhaps associated with the roots of Ormal.
Vingilótë
The ship in which EärendilEärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
and Elwing
Elwing
Elwing is a character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien. She is Half-elven but counted among the Elves, notable for saving a Silmaril from the destruction of the Havens of Sirion and, with her husband Eärendil, going to the Valar to ask their help for the people of Middle-earth...
sailed to Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
to seek pardon and assistance from the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
. Its name is Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
for "Foam-flower", and also spelled Vingilot.
Guided by the light of a Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
, Eärendil navigated Vingilótë through the Shadowy Seas to the Blessed Realm of Aman, the first Mortal
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
to do so. He was not allowed, however, to return to Middle-earth, except to join the host of the Valar in the War of Wrath
War of Wrath
The War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, is a key plot development in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, portraying the final war against Morgoth at the end of the First Age....
against Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
.
After the War of Wrath, Eärendil, with the Silmaril upon his brow, sailed Vingilótë into the sky where the jewel shines forever as a morning star (the equivalent to Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
).