Talking Swords

[The Saucepan Man]

In a magical world, where Dragons, Orcs and Elves exist, I can certainly believe in a talking sword. But, within the mythology that Tolkien has given us, it is impossible that any Elf could have created a sentient being. Even the Valar were unable to create life. That privilege was reserved to Eru alone.

Possibly, Anglachel was imbued in its manufacture with some pre-existing spirit. However, while Eol might not have been the most noble of Elves, entrapping an Elvish spirit within a sword that he made seems even beyond him. Another possibility is that it was voluntarily inhabited by a wandering Elvish spirit. Indeed, the idea of Eol's fea inhabiting Anglachel is superficially appealing. I doubt, however, that Eol would ever have deigned to call Beleg his master. And why would any Elvish spirit want to inhabit a sword when the Halls of Mandos, and the possibility of fresh life, were beckoning?

I wonder, however, whether the answer may not lie in the material from which the sword was made. It is said that Anglachel was forged from a strange metal found by Eol in a stone that had fallen from the sky. Perhaps the metal itself was sentient in some way.