Glamdring

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Glamdring by John Howe.

Glamdring was a sword, originally wielded by Turgon and later by Gandalf.

History

Glamdring was forged for Turgon in the First Age. After the Fall of Gondolin, it went missing, until Gandalf (and company) found it (along with Sting and Orcrist) in the Trolls' cave, as is described in Roast Mutton. He claimed it for himself, continued to use Glamdring in the War of the Ring, and took it with him to the Undying Lands at the end of the Third Age.

Appearance

Glamdring is 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 the sword is not named, it is reasonable to assume that the sword is Glamdring.

Like all High-Elven swords, Glamdring was supposed to glow with a blue or white flame when Orcs (or Balrogs) were near, like Sting and Orcrist, which were also made in Gondolin.

Rune inscription

In A Short Rest, Gandalf could not read the runes, whereas Elrond could. It was likely 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.

At one point however, after the publication of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien devised a table of "Runes of Gondolin", and provided a drawing of Glamdring and its inscription. In the Gondolin runes, it reads "GLAMDRING". If the runes were to be read with Angerthas Moria in mind, they would read "MZ(unknown)ŪNRI(unknown)M". Elrond could, in his youth, have become acquainted with this mode, whereas Gandalf, who dwelt in Aman at the time, could not.

Etymology

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

Portrayal in adaptations

In Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings, Glamdring is portrayed as an ordinary longsword, with no inscription visible. It is featured as the centerpiece of the box art.

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, the runes say "Turgon aran Gondolin tortha gar a matha i vegil Glamdring gûd daedheloth, 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". One problem, though, is that the inscription is given in Sindarin, but in an essay written late in Tolkien's life, he explicitly states that Turgon had re-established Quenya as the language of his household in Gondolin. Another is the form of the language; at the time of the fall of Gondolin, modern, Third Age Sindarin would not yet be in use.

In addition, Glamdring, like Sting and Orcrist, canonically glows blue in the presence of Orcs or Balrogs. The Glamdring of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings did not glow blue when unsheathed.

References

• The Hobbit, passim, but especially
  • Roast Mutton
  • A Short Rest
  • Over Hill and Under Hill
• The Lord of the Rings, passim.
• Unfinished Tales, Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin.
• "Runes of Gondolin" by Lisa Star.
• "Sword Inscriptions" by Ryszard Derdzinski, Gwaith i-Phethdain
• The Peoples of Middle-earth, The Shibboleth of Fëanor.