Elendil's Sword and Sauron's Ring

Originally Posted by Encaitare

Narsil was probably stronger than the average sword, but I suppose Sauron was not entirely immune to being wounded anyway.

So it is likely that the One Ring gave Sauron greater strength but not invulnerability perhaps. What about the WK - could Narsil break his immunity spell? There is no record that I know of as to whether Narsil was magical (i.e. it was not an elven blade). So how can this sword harm Sauron, but most probably not the WK or Gandalf?

[narfforc]

Maybe this will help. Narsil is named after The Sun (Anar) and the Moon (Isil), for it was said to have shone with the light of those heavenly bodies. The powers of Darkness feared those lights and hated them. So in some way it may have had an effect on the bad guys.

Narsil was the sword of King Elendil of the Dúnedain. It was later known as Andúril. The sword was forged during the First Age by the Dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, making it a cousin to the blade Angrist, which cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth. The name contains the elements nar "fire" and thil "white light", referring to the Sun and Moon. The blade presumably was given to one of the Sons of Fëanor, possibly Curufin, to whom Angrist was given. It eventually came to Maglor, who would have given it to Elros.
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I suppose you were referring to the above, although it seems Angrist cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth.

[Boromir88]

It's interesting how on the one hand Gandalf said in the Two Towers than Aragorn's sword could not harm him, yet this same weapon was capable of breaking the power of Sauron!

Mansun, that's most likely because Sauron was already overthrown and defeated when Isildur used Narsil to cut the ring from his finger.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Nar, Sauron assumed a form that could be harmed. He wasn't invulnerable; merely very powerful. How else could Elendil and Gil-Galad have killed him?

The Witch-King was an entirely different kettle of fish.

Gandalf's line about no weapons that could hurt him is a headscratcher and no doubt. Maybe all he meant was 'Try and hurt me 'Gorn, you've no chance!' As in, a boast.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Mansun, that's most likely because Sauron was already overthrown and defeated when Isildur used Narsil to cut the ring from his finger.

I'm not sure about that - there is no direct evidence. Mordor was overthrown, but not Sauron, as he still had the Ring on and so was still in power. The most logical answer was that Sauron was still barely vulnerable even with the Ring, and Isildur hit a lucky blow with Narsil probably which caught Sauron by suprise, knocking the Ring off (and then the finger) away from the Darklord.

Just for the record, nobody 'killed' Sauron, they only temporarily destoyed him in the physical form. And if the WK or Gandalf were struck with Narsil, who can say that anything would have happened?

[Boromir88]

I can't find the exact quotes but it sounds like you know the ones I'm talking about. Where it states Elendil and Gil-galad overthrew Sauron. That has always been debated as whether meaning Sauron or "Sauron's forces" were overthrown. But if you think about Gollum's quote where he says he has 4 fingers on a black hand then it surely points that after Gil-galad and Elendil had overthrown him Isildur came up and cut off the ring. Not by a lucky blow, or a slice that Jackson shows or Sauron would have lost more fingers instead of just one.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Sauron was overthrown because he was dead.

Not 'dead' as in 'never to return to the world'; but 'dead' as in 'lying motionless in a crumpled heap on the floor'.