Swords are inescapable in fantasy. They’re a potent symbol of power, strength, and danger. You see someone with a cool sword, you know they can clean house, and the heroes of Arda are no exception.
Even though Tolkien wasn’t a big fan of war (for obvious, WWI-related reasons), he liked a good sword as much as the next fantasy writer. The swords he created for The Lord of the Rings are some of the most famous weapons in fantasy.
Here’s the five most famous swords from the Lord of the Rings – plus one controversial extra that even LOTR superfans might not recognize.
If you know one sword from LOTR, it’s Sting. If you were remotely geeky in the 2000s, Sting was basically inescapable. The posters, the replicas, the plastic toys that glowed blue… It was everywhere. You know it, you love it.
What you might not know is that Sting was originally made as a dagger, in the hidden elven city of Gondolin, long before the events of the series take place. Because it was made by elven smiths, it glows with a pale light when orcs are near, and evil creatures like orcs, goblins, and Gollum can’t stand to be near it.
Bilbo picked up Sting during The Hobbit, after dealing with some trolls — he named the sword “Sting” after using it to kill one of the spiders of Mirkwood. And, after retiring from his adventures, he passed it down to Frodo.
In the movies, Sting bears an inscription in Sindarin: Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im. In English, this translates to, “Maegnas/Sting is my name, I am the spider’s bane”. (These inscriptions weren’t written by Tolkien; they were written by the production team’s language experts.)
Narsil is a sword with a deep and storied history. It was forged by dwarven smiths in the First Age, and was taken to the human kingdom of Numenor, where it became the weapon of the Kings of Numenor. It continued to be passed down as an heirloom after the Fall of Numenor, among the men who’d left before it flooded.
In the Second Age, Elendil, King of Gondor and Anor, wielded Narsil in his final battle against Sauron. Elendil died facing off against Sauron, and Narsil broke. But his son, Isildur, picked up the hilt of Narsil and defeated the Dark Lord, destroying his body. After the battle but before Isildur’s death, he passed the sword to his squire, telling him to bear it to safety.
Through the years, the blade was passed down to generations of Rangers, until it came into the hands of Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And in his hands, it changed forever…
In Quenya, Tolkien’s high Elven language, Narsil means “red and white flame”. It’s a reference to the Sun and Moon, which are enemies of darkness.
As a broken sword, Narsil wasn’t very usable. Aragorn took its shards to Rivendell when he left for the Council of Elrond. The elves of Rivendell reforged Narsil and created a new sword, Andúril. Andúril means “flame of the West”, and that flame would cleanse the land of evil.
In Lothlorien, Galadriel gave Aragorn a special scabbard for Andúril, enchanted so that the blade inside would never stain or break, even in defeat.
Aragorn wielded the reforged Andúril in various battles, including the Battle of the Black Gate.
Glamdring means ‘Foe-Hammer’ in Quenya, and this famous sword lives up to its name. Like Sting, Glamdring was an elven weapon, jeweled and ornamented, forged in long-fallen Gondolin. In the books, it also glowed in the presence of evil.
Unlike Sting, Glamdring was no dagger; it was a longsword, made for Turgon, the King of Gondolin. This was already a weapon with a proud pedigree: it had survived the Fall of Gondolin, the passing of Ages, and the Wars of men and gods alike, winding up in a troll hoard, along with Sting and Orcrist. Gandalf claimed Glamdring for himself. He used it to slay the Great Goblin, wielded it against the Balrog, and continued to use it throughout the War of the Ring.
In the movies, Glamdring bears the Sindarin inscription: “Turgon Aran Gondolin, Tortha gar a matha Glamdring, Vegil Glamdring gud daelo. Dam an Glamhoth,” which translates to “Turgon, King of Gondolin, wields, has, and holds the sword Glamdring, Foe of Morgoth’s realm, Hammer of the Orcs.” (This was a mistake on the production team’s part. The inscription should really be in Quenya, not Sindarin, but that’s an incredibly nerdy story for another time.)
Like Sting and Glamdring, Orcrist was found in the troll’s hoard Bilbo acquires early in The Hobbit. It also has a jeweled hilt and a carefully worked scabbard. And, also like Sting and Glamdring, it’s a sword from long-fallen Gondolin, made for a lord of the Gondolindrim in the far-off First Age. According to the revised Hobbit, it “killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair Elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls”.
Orcrist means “Goblin-Cleaver” in both Sindarin and Quenya (though it’s spelled differently in Quenya).
Thorin claimed Orcrist as his prize after the trolls were defeated, and promised to “honor the sword”. He used it through the rest of the Quest of Erebor, especially to fight orcs in Goblin-Town. But when he was captured with the rest of the dwarves in Mirkwood, the elves confiscated it. It was returned to Thorin only after the Battle of Five Armies, at his deathbed. (Unless you prefer the Hobbit movies’ version of this story, which has Legolas claim Orcrist for a while, returning it to Thorin during the battle. But there’s something to be said for elegant simplicity.)
When Thorin was buried in a tomb deep below the Lonely Mountain, Orcrist was buried with him.
Now here’s a spicy pick. The lhang isn’t a single sword like the other swords on this list; it’s a type of sword, invented by Weta Workshop for the Lord of the Rings movies.
Background elven characters fight with a lhang during the Second Age Battle of the Last Alliance during the Battle of Helm’s Deep, and during other battles throughout the Lord of the Rings series.
Why is the lhang a little controversial? Well, here’s a set of questions for you. Is the lhang a sword or a polearm? Does it look more like a nagamaki or a falx? Does it go against Tolkien’s original intent? Should it even be in the movies at all? Fans love to argue, and the lhang is a toothsome subject for argument indeed. Personally, we love how adaptations can add layers and cultural details to a piece of work that its author would never have thought to include. Long live the lhang!
That’s the five most famous swords from Lord of the Rings, plus one controversial extra. Are there any swords you think we should have covered that we missed? Think we should have tackled some more non-canonical swords like the Hilt from ROP or Urfael from the Shadow of Mordor games? Let us know in the comments!
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