Finduilas's J.R.R. Tolkien Page - Things in Middle-Earth

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Aeglos:
The spear of Gil-galad. In Sindarin, the name means Snow-point.

Anduril:
The sword of Aragorn. Anduril was reforged from the shards of the Sword that was Broken. It was reforged during the War of the Ring in the year 3018. The name means West-brilliance. The Lord of the Rings, page 294:
The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by Elvish smiths, and on it's blade was traced a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes; for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. Very bright was that sword when it was made whole again;the light of the sun shone redly in it, and the light of the moon shone cold, and its edge was hard and keen.

The Arkenstone:
A jewel found in the Lonely Mountain. The full name was "The Arkenstone of Thrain".

Angrist:
A knife forged by Telchar of Nogrod. It was so sharp it would cleave iron like butter. It was with this knife, taken from Curufin, that Beren cut a Silmaril free from Morgoth's crown. Beren tried to free a second Silmaril though and Angrist snapped.

The Bow of Galadriel:
Galadriel's gift to Legolas. Along with the bow went a quiver of arrows. The Bow of Galadriel was described as being longer than those of Mirkwood, Legolas's home, and strung with Elf-hair.

Boromir's Golden Belt:
The gift given to Boromir by the Lady Galadrel in Lothlorien.

The Brooches of the Elven-cloaks:
These brooches went with the grey cloaks given to the Company of the Ring. They were described as being like a newly opened beech leaf.

The Black Arrow:
The arrow that slew Smaug. Shot by Bard, it had belonged to both his father and grandfather. It was never recovered from the body of the dragon. According to Bard, it had been forged in Erebor before the Dragon's coming.

Cram:
The travel food of the Lake-men. Not very tasty, and very very tough. The Hobbit, page 273:
If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don't know the recipe; but it is biscutish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys.

The Dwarf Rings:
Seven of the Rings of Power, especially made for the Dwarves. At the time of the War of the Ring, Sauron had recovered three of the rings and dragons had destroyed the other four.

The Dragon-helm of Dor-Lomin:
An heirloom of the House of Hurin. It was worn by Turin during many of his exploits. Its fate is not known.

Dwarf Mail:
Bilbo Baggins coat of mail, given to him by Thorin Oakenshield. After his adventure, Bilbo loaned the mail to the Michel Delving Mathom House. He retrieved it before leaving on his 111th birthday. In Rivendell, Bilbo gave the mail to Frodo. It is not know whether he took it into the West when he went with the Last Riding of the Keepers of the Three.

The Elven-Rings:
The three Elven-Rings were Narya, Nenya and Vilya. Narya was the Ring of Fire, Nenya, the Ring of Water and Vilya, the Ring of Air. Vilya was the mightiest of the Three. All three were taken into the West in the year 3021 of the Third Age of the Sun.

The Elessar:
The emerald gem given to Aragorn by Galadriel. It's history is uncertain, with some tales saying it was made in Gondolin, taken into the West and returned by Gandalf, and others saying it was a replacement for an earlier stone by the same name.

The Elendilmir:
A white gem on a fillet of mithril. There were two gems by this name, one taken by Saruman from the body of Isildur, and the other made for Valandil, Isildur's son in Rivendell. The first was found in Orthanc in the Fourth Age.

The Flame of Udun:
The references to this are uncertain. It is believed by some to be the flame at the heart of Orodruin. The clearest reference to it is (The Lord of the Rings page 348):
The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.

Glamdring:
One of the two swords found in the Trolls cave. Made for Turgon, the King of Gondolin, this sword shone with a cold blue light when there were enemies, as did many swords of Elvish make. Glamdring was carried by Gandalf, from the time it was found until he went into the West.

Guthwine:
Eomer's sword.

Grond:
The Hammer of the Underworld. The weapon of Morgoth.

Grond:
The ram forged by Sauron and named after the Hammer of the Underworld. It was used to destroy the gates of Minas Tirith. Grond was made in the form of a ravening wolfs head

The Horn of Boromir:
A horn carried by the eldest son of the Stewards of Gondor. Boromir, son of Denethor was its last carrier. It was cloven in two at his death by orcs. The Lord of the Rings, page 692:
Then maybe you can see it it in your mind's eye: a great horn of the wild ox of the East, bound with silver, and written with ancient characters. That horn the eldest son of our house has borne for many generations; and it is said that if it be blown at need anywhere within the bounds of Gondor, as the realm was of old, its voice will not pass unheeded.

The Horn of the Mark:
The horn given to Meriadoc Brandybuck, by Eowyn at their parting. The Lord of the Rings, page 1014:
Then Eowyn gave to Merry and ancient horn, small but cunningly wrought all of fair silver with a baldric of green; and wrights had engraven upon it swift horsemen riding in a line that wound about it from the tip to the mouth; and there were set runes of great virtue.
It was with this horn that Merry summoned the hobbits during the Battle of Bywater.

Herugrim:
Theoden's sword.

The Iron Crown:
The crown of Morgoth. After he stole the Silmarils, Morgoth had them placed in the Crown.

The Imperishable Fire:
The source of all life. It was with the Imperishable Fire that Iluvatar created the Ainur. Melkor searched for it for a long time, but found it not, because Iluvatar kept it with him. When he created Arda, Iluvatar set the Fire at it's heart. Another name for the Imperishable Fire is The Secret Fire (The Lord of the Rings page 348):
I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor."
Gandalf.

The Keys of Orthanc:
Two intricately shaped keys used to lock the tower of Orthanc. They were given to the ent, Treebeard by Saruman when he left and Treebeard gave them to Aragorn after the War of the Ring.

Lembas:
The Elves waybread. It was like Cram, but more flavourful and definitely easier to eat. Most likely, it was also far more nutritious.

The Lesser Rings:
Rings made by the Elven-Smiths as they were learning the craft. That there were many is certain, but how many is not known. If any still exist, it is extremely doubtful if they retained any of their power. For if the Great Rings lost their power, it is most likely that the Lesser Rings did too.

Mithril Mail:
The coat of mail Thorin gave to Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo afterwards gave it to Frodo Baggins. During the Battle of Bywater, the Mithril mail saved Frodo's life, for Saruman attempted to stab him with a knife. It saved him before this too, in the Mines of Moria, for an orc-chieftain had attempted to stab him with his spear.

The Mirror of Galadriel:
A mirror made of water which, under Galadriel's power could show visions of the past, the present and the future.

The Moon:
The flower of Teleperion. It was hallowed by Aule and is guided by Tilion. Other names for the Moon include Isil and Ithil.

The Narsil:
The sword of Elendil, it was forged by Telchar in Beleriand. The Narsil was broken at Elendi's death upon the slopes of Orodruin. Isildur used the hilt-shard to cut the One Ring off of Sauron's hand.
The shards were ofttimes carried by the Heir of Isildur. The shards of the Narsil were reforged in the year 3018 for Aragorn who then called the sword Anduril.

Nenya:
One of the three Elven-Rings, Nenya was the Ring of Water, the Ring of Adamant, the Ring of Mithril. The keeper of Nenya was Galadriel. As one of the Keepers of the Three, she took Nenya into the West in the year 3021 of the Third Age of the Sun.

Narya:
One of the three Elven-Rings, Narya was the Red Ring, the Ring of Fire. The first keeper of this ring was Cirdan, but he gave it to Gandalf. As one of the Keepers of the Three, Gandalf took Narya into the West in the year 3021 of the Third Age of the Sun.

The Nine:
The nine Rings of Power given to Men. The Men faded and became Ringwraiths, enslaved to Sauron.

The One Ring:
The Ring created by Sauron in the Chambers of Fire, Sammath Naur. This was the most powerful of the Rings of Power. The Lord of the Rings, page 65:
He only needs the One; for he made that Ring himself, it is his, and he let a great part of his own former power pass into it, so that he could rule all the others.
Unlike the Seven, the Nine and the Three which each had a gem, the One was a plain golden circle with no markings, but when heated, the Ring showed two lines of a verse known in Elven Lore. The verse is:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

The lines on the Ring were:

One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

The lines on the Ring were written in the Elvish characters, but actually written in the language of Mordor, the Black Speech, so the actual words on the Ring were (The Lord of the Rings, page 271):

Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash hazg thrakatuluk
agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

There were many names for the One Ring, including the Ruling Ring, the One, Isildur's Bane, The Great Ring, and the Master Ring. By the Ringbearers it was usually just called the Ring.
It was destroyed in the Sammath Naur, in the year 3019.

The Palantiri: A Palantir
Unbreakable crystal spheres crafted by the Noldor in Aman. They could be used for seeing what happened at a distance, or with two or more, they could be used to communicate. There were eight, of which seven were given to the Lords of Anadune as a gift. The eighth, the Master Stone was kept in Tol Eressea. These seven escaped the Downfall in the ships of Elendil and his sons. Four of the seven were kept in Gondor and the other three in Arnor. They were kept in the following locations:

Gondor:

Arnor:

These were the seven stones of the verse:

Tall Ships and tall Kings
Three times three,
What brought they from the foundered Land
Over the flowing sea?
Seven stars and seven stones
And one white tree.

The Lord of the Rings page 620
By the end of the Third Age, only four of the palantiri still survived: the ones at Orthanc, Minas Morgul, Minas Tirith and the Tower Hills. The palantir of Minas Ithil was destroyed in the destruction of Mordor, The palantir of the Tower Hills was likely taken over the Sea in the Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings. The palantir of Minas Tirith became so ingrained with the image of Denethor's death that it was pretty much unusable and the last, the palantir of Orthanc, the Kings of the Reunited Kingdom kept.

The Phial of Galadriel:
A magical phial containing the light of Earendil, the Evening Star. This was a gift to Frodo:
"And you, Ring-bearer," she said, turning to Frodo. "I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this." She held up a small crystal phial" it glittered as she moved it and rays of white light sprang from her hand. "In this phial," she said, "is caught the light of Earendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."
The Lord of the Rings, page 397
It was instrumental in Frodo and Sam's escape from Shelob in the pass of Cirith Ungol

Ringil:
Fingolfin's sword. With this sword, Fingolfin, the High King of the Noldor, wounded Morgoth seven times. The sword apparently shone like ice.

The Ring of Barahir:
The ring given to Barahir by Finrod Felagund in the First Age of the Sun. When Barahir was slain by orcs, Beren his son recovered the ring, which the orcs had taken as a trophy.The Ring of Barahir survived the Second Age and the Third as an heirloom of the North Kingdom. Arvedui, the last King of Arnor gave the ring to the Lossoth, the Snow-Men of Forochel, from whom it was ransomed back.

Rings of Power:
The nineteen most powerful rings made by the Elven-smiths of Eregion. There were a total of twenty Rings of Power as told in the verse:

The last Ring was made by Sauron as the Ruling Ring. With the destruction of this Ring, the remaining Rings lost their power.

The Ruling Ring:
Another name for the One Ring.

The Red Book of Westmarch:
The book written by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam, from which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was taken. Along with this book were four more, consisting of three volumes, titled, Translations from the Elvish and one which was the family trees of those hobbits in the Company of the Ring. The original titles the books were divided into were:

The Red Arrow:
A sign of need between Rohan and Gondor. It was fletched with black, and a red-painted steel head.

The Sceptre of Annuminas:
An heirloom of the North Kingdom, this was the mark of royalty for Arnor. After the end of the North Kingdom it was kept in Rivendell. Elrond brought it to Minas Tirith and gave it to Aragorn at Midsummer in 3019.

Sting:
An elvish knife that served as a sword for Bilbo after the adventure in the Trolls cavern. Like Orcrist and Glamdring, it shone with a cold blue light when enemies were near. Sting could cut the webs of the Great Spiders with little effort, unlike even the swords of the Barrowdowns. After Frodo's sword was broken at the Fords, Bilbo gave Sting to him. Frodo gave Sting to Sam in Mordor, but was persuaded to take it back later. It is not known whether Frodo took Sting into the West, or left it with Sam.

The Silmarils:
Three jewels made by Feanor. The Silmarils were made in such a way that they contained and shone with the light of the Two Trees. As Feanor's greatest creation, the Silmarils were his pride and joy. Melkor lusted after them too, and plotted to steal them. This he accomplished after poisoning the Two Trees. The only remnant of the light of the Two Trees was in the Silmarils. Feanor and his sons swore and oath to reclaim the Silmarils. The Silmarillion, pages 97-98:
Then Feanor swore a terrible oath. His seven sons leapt straightaway to his side and took the selfsame vow together, and red as blood shone their drawn swords in the glare of the torches. They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by even the name of Iluvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not; and Manwe they named in witness, and Varda, and the hallowed mountain of Taniquetil, vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession.
Thus spoke Maedhros and Maglor and Celegorm, Curufin and Caranthir, Amrod and Amras, princes of the Noldor; and many quailed to hear the dread words. For so sworn, good or evil, an oath may not be broken, and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world's end.
In the First Age of the Sun, Beren and Luthien succeded in their quest to gain a Silmaril.
At the end of the First Age, after the Great Battle in which Beleriand was destroyed, Maglor and Maehdros, the two surviving sons of Feanor, took the Silmarils, but finding they burned their hands, Maedhros threw himself into a chasm full of fire and Maglor threw his into the sea. The Silmaril recovered by Beren and Luthien was set in the sky as a star. It became known as Earendil, the Evening Star.

The Seeing Stones:
The Palantiri of Arnor and Gondor.

The Seven:
The seven Rings given to the Dwarves.

The Sun:
The fruit that sprouted from Laurelin after the poisoning of the Two Trees by Melkor. It was hallowed by Aule and guided by the Maia Arien. Another name for the Sun is Anor.

The Three Farthing Stone:
A stone near the center of The Shire, where three of the Farthings (the divisions of The Shire) meet.

The Three:
The three Elven Rings. They were never touched by Sauron. The Elven Rings were Narya, the Ring of Fire, Nenya, the Ring of Water, and Vilya, the Ring of Air.

The Ulumuri:
The horns of the Vala Ulmo. When heard, their music could never be forgotten. They were crafted of shell by the Maia Salmar.

Vilya:
The Ring of Sapphire, the Ring of Air, the Mightiest of the Three Rings of the Elves, This Ring was first given to Gil-Galad, but he gave the Ring to Elrond, who at the end of the Third Age of the Sun took it into the West.

The White Tree:
A symbol of the kingship of Gondor, the White Tree is descended from the line of Nimloth. Shown on the banner of the Kings of Gondor, the White Tree is surmounted by seven stars. This combination is the emblem of the line of Elendil.