Sting, Orcrist, & Glamdring
Did these swords glow blue after they had killed orcs and the orc blood was on them?
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No, they glow blue when orcs are near.
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The three Elven-blades glowed with a bluish light around the edges when orcs approached. What substance or 'magic' they were imbued with that gave them this virtue I do not know.
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Since Elves were so "in tune" with nature, then I'm sure that they could imbue their creations with the same power. For a race of people who could sense the personalities of the people around them, it probably wouldn't be too hard to sense a creature of pure hate like an Orc.
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These three swords were made in Gondolin. Makes you wonder if all of Turgon's troops were so equipped or whether they were for the aristocracy only, also whether all the Noldorin kingdoms produced such effective hardware?
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I think that Aragost is asking that since blood from an orc is part of an orc, if the presense of the blood of an orc on the blade is enough to make the swords glow. I would say no, if that were the case the person using the sword wouldn't be able to tell when all of the orcs were dead. It probably tunes into their spirits.
[ September 02, 2003: Message edited by: burrahobbit ] |
It states somewhere in the Hobbit that the elf-weapons glow because of the hatred the elves have against the orcs: a hatred they even put in all their works. this makes me wonder why the 'glowing weapons'are never mentioned somewhere else, someone would sure have seen it in some other battle.
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I read somewhere that Glamdring belonged to Turgon, then after Gondolin's downfall it found its way into a troll hoard, which I fouind fascinating.
Ah thanks for that, I was wondering how come the swords glowed. |
It would seem like having your weapons glow when the enemy is near would be of great stratigic value (an early warning system). I wonder why more of the forces weren't similarly equiped?
Rick |
I was wondering about who owned these swords. It's pretty well established that Turgon had Glamdring, but who did Orcrist belong to? Elrond called it "a famous blade", so it had to belong to somebody important. Anybody know?
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i cant find anywhere that states to whom Orcrist belonged, but i think it must of been Turgon's second in command or such an elf, as they were made as a pair. on a funnier note, can you imagine the battle of the last alliance? complete ranks of elves, with elven blades. a giant field of blue, lol.
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I think that's because you answered it, burra. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
It would represent a major design fault if Orcish blood caused the blades to glow. By the same token, Orcish bones and other remains in the vicinity would set them off. Not very useful when your primary concern is the ones that are living. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [ September 02, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ] |
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How would Glamdring and Orcrist have made their way into the troll hoard. The sack of Gondolin was mostly carried out by orcs, which were terrified of the swords. Because of this I doubt that they would have taken them with them. I don't think anyone else would have taken them either, so how did the trolls come by them.
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Thorin took Orcrist with him, did anything happen to it after that? Also what happens to the other two after their respectful owners left middle earth?
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The Hobbit gives a different, more elemental explanation for the glow emitted by the swords:
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It’s also interesting that the swords glow notably on at least two other occasions: Quote:
In answer to the original question, based on the Hobbit quote one might theorize that a blooded sword could actually glow brighter than usual for a while, even if the goblin the blood belonged to was dead. [ September 03, 2003: Message edited by: Mister Underhill ] |
But your first quote is interesting, Mister Underhill, because it suggests that the swords glowed because of the wrath of the hands that held them, not because of the Orcs at all. Of course, if this was the case, then they would most likely glow when the Elves were facing Orcs because of their hatred of the Orcs. Similarly with Gandalf, he would detest this enemy, and therefore his sword glowed. But it might just be me...
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samrohan wrote:
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I believe that Gandalf kept Glamdring with him throughout the Lord of the Rings, although I'm not sure what happened to it when he fell into the chasm with the Balrog. I think it was destroyed then.
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That would make more sense. Although, couldn't he have fought with his staff against the Witch-king? I'm sure that would have worked well too.
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Glamdring was not distroyed. Gandalf had it when he was in Rohan, and he also had it when he went to the Grey Havens.
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Yes, Gandalf definately keeps Glamdring with him after the little Moria contre-temps. He does have it in Rohan and probably in Gondor.
I however wonder what happens to these weapons when their carriers go to the Grey Havens? I don't suppose they would require them on the other side. |
Thank you for the quotes, Gorwingel. I had suspected that they were there, but been too lazy to look them up in the early hours of this morning. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]
You are right, samrohan, that there would be little need of weapons in Valinor. No doubt, bows and spears would be used for hunting but swords would have little more than ceremonial status. Then again, with the Final Battle looming at some point in the distant future, they would need to keep in practice. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Gandalf, would have had to have reached an accomodation with Turgon as to the ownership of Glamdring, of course, since Turgon was its original bearer and probably had the better claim to it. I suspect, in any event, that he would have more use for it (in ceremonial/heirloom terms, if nothing else) than Gandalf. I wonder whether Frodo took Sting with him to the Undying Lands, or whether it ended up in the Shire's Mathom House with his mithril mail? |
I think it probably ended up in the Shire's Mathom house, because Frodo especially wouldn't have had a need for it in Valinor, since he wouldn't have had to bother about the Final Battle, being a small, adorable Hobbit.
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I could be wrong but did't Sam keep sting after they got back from Gondor. Frodo said he wouldn't use a sword ever again I think. I think Sam used it during the scoring of the shire. So I assum Sam gave it to his children maybe. I could be way off I don't have my book with me right now.
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I think, though it sounds like it's already been established, that the blades would only glow when there were live orcs...a present threat to the blade-bearer.
What I wonder is, can you control the glowing? Suppose you were trying to sneak past orc-guards and didn't want to be seen? Would you have to cover up your blade, or can you, in Pixar's "A Bug's Life" style tell the blade to "turn your butt off"? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] |
This is an interesting topic.
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Hooray, the regent of Nargothrond returns!
I believe that Frodo kept Sting, Gandalf told him to wear it at Cormallen. |
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