Anglachel was the earlier name of the blade, before it got reforged into Gurthang; the sword Túrin Turumbar would hold for the rest of his life. It was made by the dark elf Ëor, and remade by the smiths of Nargothrond. Beleg Cúthalion, chief warden of the elven king Thingol, held Anglachel before he was killed by Túrin, who was unaware the elf had been his friend. Gwindor, another friend, kept the sword with him until Túrin came back to his senses.
As the sword got reforged, Túrin named it Gurthang, which roughly translates to “Iron of Death”. After the naming of the blade, Túrin became known as Mormegil; the “Black Sword”.
The next big moment of the blade, was when Túrin used it to slay the dragon Glaurung. Upon discovering that his wife, Nienor Níniel, was also his sister, and that she had killed herself, the man fell into a state of panic and despair. In his pain, he used Gurthang to slay himself. With the death of his master, Gurthang shattered to the floor, the shards to be buried with Túrin and Nienor underneath the Stone of Hapless.
“Hail Gurthang! No lord or loyalty dost thou know, save the hand that wieldeth thee. From no blood wilt thou shrink. Wilt thou therefore take Túrin Turambar, wilt thou slay me swiftly?” Túrin had asked his blade, to which it responded with “Yea, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay thee swiftly.”
The Key to Erebor, or the key to the Side-Door as it is known, was an essential object for the journey to Erebor made by the company of Thorin Oakenshield. The key, as was the map, were made by Thrór and Thráin, ancestors of Thorin Oakenshield himself. As the dragon Smaug attacked the halls of Erebor, the dwarves fled, Thrór taking the key with him.
Later, the key landed in the hands of Thráin, for safekeeping. As the orcs serving the necromancer (or Sauron, yet unknown at the time) captured the dwarven heir, Gandalf took the key from him, in the years 2850 of the Third Age. This was just before Thráin died in the dungeons of the necromancer.
Gandalf presented the key to the company of Thorin Oakenshield on April in the year 2941 of the Third Age in Bag-End, gifting the object back to Thorin, as was his right.
The key was later used to open the said Side-Door of Erebor, after Bilbo pointed out the last light that would reveal the keyhole had been the light of the moon. Thorin opened the door for his company, revealing the riches and beauty of Erebor to the dwarves.
Andúril (or “Flame of the West”) is the sword that Aragorn II Elessar wielded in the infamous Lord of the Rings books. The blade was reforged from the shards of Narsil, which was the sword of King Erendil, used by his son Isildur to cut the One Ring off of Sauron’s hand.
Aragorn carried the blade with him the entire length on the journey to Mordor, after it was reforged by the elves of Rivendell when the Council of Lord Elrond had ended. Upon arriving in Lothlorién after Gandalf’s supposed death, Lady Galadriel gave the man a sheath for the blade, as a gift for the oncoming journey.
Later, in Rohan, Aragorn showed his sword to justify his words and show his heritage to Éomer. With the weapon, he reclaimed his heritage and rights to the throne of Gondor in Return of the King.
The Dúnedain (the men of Númenor) divided the stones amongst the lands of Middle-Earth. The known locations were: “Annúminas, Amon Sûl, and Elostirion in Arnor, and Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Ithil, and Minas Anor in Gondor.” There was one stone left in the Tower of Avallónë, which was the place of the Master-Stone. The Tower of Avallónë overlooked the island of Tol Eressëa, and it was said that the first thing you would see from the seas, was the tower reaching the air.
The Dúnedain (the men of Númenor) divided the stones amongst the lands of Middle-Earth. The known locations were: “Annúminas, Amon Sûl, and Elostirion in Arnor, and Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Ithil, and Minas Anor in Gondor.” There was one stone left in the Tower of Avallónë, which was the place of the Master-Stone. The Tower of Avallónë overlooked the island of Tol Eressëa, and it was said that the first thing you would see from the seas, was the tower reaching the air.
Only four stones have been confirmed to be lost. Two of which died with Arvedui, the fifteenth and last king of the Arthedain. The stones lost where those of Annúminas and Amon Sûl. The stone in Osgiliath was lost in the Kin-strife, where many men became enraged when a child of both Númenorean blood and Middle Men blood was born. The fourth and final one got detroyed in the War of the Ring, when the tower of Barad Dûr collapsed in the land of Mordor.
The stone of Elostirion vame with Frodo to the Undying Lands, while the two stones in Minas Arnor and Orthanc remained on Middle-Earth.
The Silmarils were created by the elf Fëanor, in the age of the two trees, where their presence would light the lands of Valinor. The crystals contained the light of the two said trees: Telperion the Silver, and Laurelin the Gold. Having seen the beauty of the Silmarils, the Vala Varda, the Queen of Arda, blessed the crystals so that no evil hands would ever touch the shining gems. Before Melkor began his uprising and extreme rebellion, Fëanor often wore his own work on his brows, showing off the Silmarils, but after time, he grew suspicious of the people around him.
When Melkor destroyed the trees of light with Ungoliant, the Silmarils were the only source of light, but Fëanor refused to share their glow with anyone else, terrified someone might steal it. But Melkor found the Silmarils, and stole them from Finwë, Fëanor’s father, who died protecting the stones. The dark lord then fled to the Northern lands, which became known as Middle-Earth. After he placed the Silmarils upon his crown, he gained the name Morgoth by Fëanor.
“Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean, Brood of Morgoth or bright Vala, Elda or Maia or Aftercomer, Neither law, nor love, nor league of swords, Dread nor danger, not Doom itself shall defend him from Fëanáro, and Fëanáro’s kin. Whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh, Finding keepeth or afar casteth a Silmaril. This swear we all… Death we will deal him ere Day’s ending, Woe unto world’s end! Our word hear thou, Eru Allfather! To the everlasting Darkness doom us if our deed faileth… On the holy mountain hear in witness and our vow remember,
Manwë and Varda!”
This was the vow spoken by the sons of Fëanor. The elf became enraged at Melkor and the Valar for wanting his work for their own gain. He and his son swore war upon anyone who would keep the Silmarils from them. He and his sons left for Middle-Earth in the pursuit of Melkor, but lost after five wars.
One of the Silmarils was taken from Morgoth’s crown by Beren. Where it ended up, can be found here.
The other two stones remained in Morgoth’s hands. They were taken from him upon the end of the War of Wrath, where Morgoth himself would gain imprisonment in the Timeless Void. However, soon afterwards, the Silmarils were stolen by Fëanor’s two sons Maedhros and Maglor. The jewels burned their hands, in refusal of their rights of possession, as they had burned Morgoth’s hands many years before. In his pain and agony, Maedhros forced himself into a fiery put, taking a Silmarils with him. Maglor had taken his and cast it into the sea. And with that, the supposed end of the three gems had come.
The Dark Powers Of Tolkien, David Day; “In Tolkien’s version of Ragnarök, Morgoth releases one last great horror. This is Ancalagon the Black, the first and greatest of a vast legion of Winged Fire-Drakes. Ancalagon is the greatest dragon to ever enter the world. ‘Rushing Jaws’ is the meaning of his name, and in his ravening majesty he looses terrible withering fire down from the heavens.”
From the floor off the dragon could not be defeated, nor could any others. And so, the half-elf Eärendil aired an aerial attack to slay the large dragon. He stood at the help of his great flying ship, hallowed by the Valar and lifted into the heavens. The ship appeared as a bright light in the dark sky, forcing a way through the shadows. In the end, he killed Ancalagon, and so the host of the Valar found themselves victorious.
Morgoth retreated to the depths of Angband, but was found nonetheless, in a weak and battered state. Instead of fighting his way out, he fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness, but he would receive none. His feet were hewn from beneath him and he was bound by the chain Angainor. His iron crown was beaten into a collar and the dark lord was cast into the Timeless void. The two silmarils left with him were retrieved, but shortly after vanished again.
The Nauglamír was a necklace, created around the year 50 of the First Age. The gems on the necklace were those of Valinor, that Finrod brought with him during his journey to Middle-Earth. During the Fall of Nargothrond, it fell into the hands - or rather claws - of Glaurung; the first dragon that had ever been created. The Nauglamír dwelt under the dragon’s treasure and was hidden until the year 499 of the First Age, when the petty-dwarves attacked and claimed the necklace for themselves. It wasn’t until Hurín had encountered them, that the jewelry fell into the hands of a man.
Hurin brought the treasure before king Thingol; an elven king in the land of Doriath, and threw the necklace before him bitterly, for he blamed the king for the loss of his son. King Thingol, in the possession of the silmaril Beren had given him, called the dwarves of Belegost to him to refashion the jewelry. The dwarves forged the necklace anew, and drew the silmaril in its center. But many dwarves grew enraged at the idea of a silmaril, worked into dwarvish forging, was now in the hands of an elven king. And thus, many dwarves ran into the kingdom of Doriath, seizing the Nauglamír after few battles, and taking it with them. Having almost reached their homes, the elves and Edain attacked, with them Beren and his son Dior. They successfully reclaimed the necklace, and brought it home with them. Out of his love for his wife, Beren gave the necklace to Luthien, who proceeded to carry it with her until the end of her days. (Or the last of her days in her first life.)
Dior later inherited the Nauglamír, yet lost it once more upon encountering the sons of Faënor in Doriath, who sought to reclaim the silmarils. His daughter Elwing, carried the Nauglamír with her as she ran from the elves. Yet, the sons of Faënor did not halt their search for the silmarils. During the Third Kinslaying, they attacked the Elven Havens of Sirion. However; Elwing cast herself into the sea with it rather than surrender the gem to Maedhros and Maglor, the sons. The Nauglamír was lost in the deep waters, but the silmaril and Elwing survived because of the Vala Ulmo.
Middle Earth weapons (1/?) - Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld
Morgoth’s mighty mace that he bore when he fought Fingolfin before the doors of Angband. Each time Grond struck the ground it shook the land like a bolt of thunder, creating pits from which smoke and fire erupted.
So, I’m still thinking about Aulë and the creation of the Dwarves, and how this makes them such softer creatures in my eyes.
When the Dwarves sing the Song of the Lonely Mountain to Bilbo in The Hobbit, their voices are described as “deep-throated singing of the dwarves in the deep places of their ancient homes,” and furthermore Tolkien adds the addendum, “this is like a fragment of their song, if it can be like their song without the music.”
In this instance, we see an initial, subtle example of the immense power Music and Song has over Middle Earth (as at the time of publication, of course, The Silmarillion had not been published and the audience did not know of Eru’s composition, nor the great Music).
I absolutely adore this description of the Dwarves’ voices though, as it ultimately reflects the feeling behind their music and also their origin being made after Aulë’s own passion and hands.
Despite the song being so hardy, devoted and most of all mourning,the Dwarves play gentle instruments like harps and flutes. Despite how they work with their hands and are often those to cut down trees and - in Yavanna’s sentiment - have no disregard for the living things of nature, Aulë’s influence of being beautifulabove even a craftsman is very much present. The Dwarves value precious jewels and heirlooms and crafts, and treat their heritage as such.
