Glamdring

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Glamdring is a sword in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth. It was forged for the Elf Turgon in the First Age. For several thousand years it went missing, until Gandalf (and company) found it (along with Sting and Orcrist) in the trolls' cave in The Hobbit and claimed it for himself. He continued to use Glamdring through the events of The Lord of the Rings.

Glamdring is translated as Foe-hammer, and the goblins in The Hobbit call it "Beater".

Glamdring, along with Orcrist, its mate, are described in The Hobbit as having "...beautiful scabbards and jewelled hilts", and Glamdring is referred to by Elrond as "Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore". In Unfinished Tales, one of the footnotes to the story "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" mentions that the sword of Turgon was "…white and gold…in a ruel-bone (ivory) sheath,..." While Glamdring is not mentioned by name, it is reasonable to assume that the same sword is described.

Glamdring was most likely taken to the Undying Lands by Gandalf at the end of the Third Age.

Glamdring is inscribed with runes in the Elven language. In the movies released by New Line Cinema and directed by Peter Jackson, the runes say "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 inscription, however, was not mentioned in any of J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. All Tolkien says in The Hobbit is that the names of the swords were given in the runes, but nothing else is clearly stated. The invented inscription for the movie sword, however, does sound plausible, since Elrond was able to identify that the sword belonged to Turgon.

One problem, though, is that the inscription is given in Sindarin, but in an essay written late in J. R. R. Tolkien's life, he explicitly states that Turgon had re-established Quenya as the language of his household in Gondolin (see The Peoples of Middle-earth, p. 348). Curiously, it is mentioned in The Hobbit that Gandalf could not read the runes, but that Elrond could, suggesting they were inscribed not in normal Cirth but in some special mode which Gandalf did not know—or, as is more likely, it was at first an inconsistency on Tolkien's part, keeping in mind that The Hobbit had not originally been intended to be so closely woven into the Silmarillion legends. Although the inscription in the film version is Lord of the Rings-era Sindarin and Cirth, the Elvish languages had certainly changed since Turgon's time, so it may be that since Elrond was a survivor from the First Age, he would have been able to read the inscription, whereas Gandalf, who had lived in Aman until the middle Third Age, was unacquainted with it.

Like all High-Elven swords, Glamdring is supposed to glow with a blue or white flame when Orcs (or Balrogs) are near, like Frodo's sword Sting and Thorin Oakenshield's sword Orcrist, which were also made in Gondolin. However this was left out of The Lord of the Rings film by New Line Cinema because they felt it would be confusing, although a small scene in the third movie showed Glamdring glow blue in the siege of Minas Tirith (where Gandalf tells Pippin about the white shores of Valinor).

In addition to the licensed reproduction swords released alongside the recent movies, Del Tin Antiche of Italy made unlicensed interpretations of both Glamdring and Orcrist, which were sold through Museum Replicas, Ltd. back in the mid to late 1980s. These were very high quality steel, and well constructed (if quite plain).

Weapons of Middle-earth

Aeglos | Andúril | Anglachel | Anguirel | Angrist | Aranrúth | Belthronding | Black Arrow | Dagmor | Dailir | Dramborleg | Durin's Axe | Glamdring | Grond | Gúthwinë | Gurthang | Herugrim | Morgul blade | Narsil | Orcrist | Red Arrow | Ringil | Sting