The Greatest Weapon

[Pailan]

Originally posted by byrde123
Say what you will......love, friendship, loyalty gets my vote.

Goodness is not enough with out action. And action requires tools or weapons. Frodo and Sam may not have had the Fellowship with them into Mordor- But they would have ultimately failed without Gandalf's staff, Aragon's and Boromir's sword, Gimli's axe, Legolas' bow, the blades from the Barrow Downs, and lest I forget Bilbo's Sting.

Pailan

[Kirinki54]

Originally posted by byrde123
The greatest weapon? At the start and at the last.....the greatest weapon against the "unnamed foe" was love, friendship, and loyalty.

I like the gist of your post. But these things are not weapons. If you try to control them and wield like weapons, they turn into their opposite.

[byrde123]

Posting to Palian and Kirink54

I quote Elrond speaking to Frodo:
"And I will choose you companions to go with you...The number must be few, since your hope is in speed and secrecy. Had I a host of Elves in armour of the Elder Days (supposedly with weapons, numerous), it would avail little, save to arouse the power of Mordor."

But if you need a physical weapon, one that could be wielded then my vote is for the Sword-that-was-Broken. Aragorn's sword. Boromir speaks at The Council of Elrond saying:
"Then in Gondor we must trust to such weapons as we have. Mayhap the Sword-that-was-Broken may still stem the tide---if the hand that wields it has inherited not an heirloom only, but the sinews of the Kings of Men."

I will stand by love, faith and loyalty. But if I would need to hold something then I would first choose Anduril, Flame of the West.

[Ñólendil]

Speaking of which, I know a guy who can make a real nasty weapon out of a can of beans, if you give him enough time.

[bombcar]

Don't the orcs in the tower (minas morgul) talk about Old Times, which seems to refer to the times before the third age. (dunno.)

[Ñólendil]

They refer to the 'Great Siege' I think, which is probably the Siege of Barad-dûr, which occured before the end of the Second Age.

[Kirinki54]

Originally posted by byrde123
Posting to Palian and Kirink54
I will stand by love, faith and loyalty. But if I would need to hold something then I would first choose Anduril, Flame of the West.

Like I said, who wouldn´t choose that - given the choice.

BTW does anyone knows anything about the use of spears in Tolkien´s world? It appears that Gil-galad had Aiglos as his foremost weapon but that is all I know.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by Kirinki54


Like I said, who wouldn´t choose that - given the choice.

BTW does anyone knows anything about the use of spears in Tolkien´s world? It appears that Gil-galad had Aiglos as his foremost weapon but that is all I know.

There is a part in the Sil in the Nirnaeth, where Tolkien describes the Gondolindrim I believe, as having spears like a forest.

[Kirinki54]

Originally posted by Sister Golden Hair
There is a part in the Sil in the Nirnaeth, where Tolkien describes the Gondolindrim I believe, as having spears like a forest.

I looked it up. Yes, you are right.
"For unsummoned and unlooked for Turgon had opened the leaguer of Gondolin, and was come with an army ten thousand strong, with bright mail and long swords and spears like a forest."
Pretty powerful language there! And spears were obviously in much use. I wonder if this changed into the Third Age? In the LotR spears play a very little role IIRC.

[Ñólendil]

Most cultures who fought with weapons appear to use spears. Orcs, Men, Dwarves, Elves. They are mentioned as often as they are seen, I suppose.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by Inoldonil
Most cultures who fought with weapons appear to use spears. Orcs, Men, Dwarves, Elves. They are mentioned as often as they are seen, I suppose.

It does seem though, that only certian weapons were used consistantly thoughout the ages, bows and swords. Spears and perhaps such things as small knives were only a preference at certian times. You really don't hear mention of spears much in the First Age, aside from the example I stated, but the Nirneath was such a horrific war, and probabily anticipated to be so by the Eldar, that they used every weapon known to them in that instance.

[olorin7]

i could be wrong, but didn't the rohirrim use spears? i think that they were mentioned a couple of times to have them.

[Wayfarer]

Spears were used by just about everybody.
Swords were usde by everybody but dwarves.
Axes were used by everybody but elves.
As far as I can tell, everybody used knives and bows.

So really... weapons were pretty evenly spread around. It was just the configuration that was different.

[Ñólendil]

Axes were used by Elves, and swords by Dwarves, oddly enough. Axes were the chief weapons of the Grey-elves in Beleriand, and Dwarves could use Elf-sized swords (as Thorin did Orcrist). Swords are mentioned in the first Dwarven song of The Hobbit, and also in Gimli's song in Mória:

There hammer on the anvil smote,
there chisel clove
and graver wrote,
there forged was blade
and bound was hilt,
the delver mined,
the mason built.

There beryl, pearl and opal pale,
and metal wrought like fishes' mail,
there buckler, corslet, axe and sword,
and shining spears were laid in hoard.

[Wayfarer]

true enough.

[Ringil]

Here's a list of hand-held "named" weapons, along with a translation of the weapon's name, if I know it, and the most significant wielder(s). First are the swords, then other types of weapons. Can anyone add any other named weapons? I'm not interested in rings and such, just true hand-held battle weapons.

Anglachel/Gurthang - (Iron of Death) Túrin
Anguirel - Eöl
Aranrúth - (King's Ire) Thingol/Kings of Numenor
Glamdring - (Foe Hammer) King of Gondolin/Gandalf
Gúthwinë - (Battle Friend?) Éomer
Herugrim - Théoden
Narsil/Andúril - (Red and White Flame/Flame of the West) - Elendil/Aragorn
Orcrist - (Goblin Cleaver) Thorin
Ringil - (Cold Star/Cold Spark?) Fingolfin
Sting - knife Bilbo/Frodo

Aeglos/Aiglos - (Snow Point/Icicle) spear Gil-galad
Angrist - (Iron Cleaver) knife Curufin/Beren
Belthronding - bow Beleg
Dramborleg - (Thudder-Sharp) axe Tuor
Grond - ("Hammer of the Underworld") mace Morgoth

[Tar-Elendil]

it states thorin's sword being the mate of glamdring and them being found in the same troll hole as sting. this clearly shows that there is a very good chance of them originating in the same place?

[MasterMothra]

i cast my vote for grond, it felled one of the greatest elves in middle earth.
the next would be gurthang.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by Tar-Elendil
it states thorin's sword being the mate of glamdring and them being found in the same troll hole as sting. this clearly shows that there is a very good chance of them originating in the same place?

Did they not originate in Gondolin?

[Elf Girl]

I say the bow Legolas got in Lorien.