Gandalf first discovered his sword, Glamdring, throughout Bilbo’s journey in The Hobbit, but it was as soon as a part of an Elven conflict lengthy earlier than Lord of the Rings. The weapons of The Lord of the Rings are among the many most recognizable in all trendy fantasy. From Frodo’s brief sword named Sting to Aragorn’s Flame of the West, which was reforged from the shards of Narsil, every of them had an iconic design and intriguing story earlier than aiding the Fellowship. And Glamdring is an ideal instance, as this Elven sword wielded by Gandalf was as soon as a part of the most important battles ever seen in Center-earth.
Whereas Gandalf’s workers is probably the most memorable of his weapons, Glamdring was with him for nearly the whole lot of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He first got here throughout the blade mendacity amidst the grime of a Troll cave as he and Bilbo journeyed to the Lonely Mountain. After bringing it to Rivendell, Elrond describes it because the “Foe-hammer that the King of Gondolin as soon as wore.” This did not imply a lot when The Hobbit was first printed, however since then, it has been revealed precisely who this King of Gondolin was.
Gondolin was an Elven metropolis based within the First Age of Center-earth, round 10,000 years earlier than the occasions of The Lord of the Rings. It was a time when the unique Darkish Lord, Morgoth, was a relentless menace looming over the world, so Gondolin was constructed within the heart of a mountain vary and hidden from the conflict. Its founder, King Turgon, dominated for over 500 years whereas ignoring the plight of his folks, and it was throughout this time that he solid Glamdring.
Through the years, even Gondolin could not cover from the destruction of the Darkish Lord, with King Turgon discovering his father had perished by the hands of Morgoth. Lastly, he put collectively a military of over 10,000 Elves and left his residence to battle alongside his brother, and it is right here that Glamdring had its first style of battle. But it wasn’t a victorious one, because the Elves confronted heavy casualties, and Turgon was compelled to retreat again residence, which, on the time, was nonetheless hidden from Morgoth’s gaze.
With Turgon’s defeat, he was quickly suggested to evacuate town and search refuge with different Elves on Center-earth’s coast. However the King refused to depart, believing that he and his folks would keep hidden for the rest of the conflict. And this resolution would later consequence within the loss of life of hundreds (if not tens of hundreds) of Elves, as his nephew quickly betrayed their location to the Darkish Lord himself.
Realizing the place the Elves had been hiding all this time, Morgoth introduced his full would possibly upon town of Gondolin with all of the troops he might muster. Orcs, Balrogs and even dragons have been despatched to ransack town, leading to it being utterly flattened to the earth. And whereas Turgon had made a grave error, he at the least defended his metropolis to his final breath, wielding Glamdring as he was lastly slain.
Over the centuries that got here to move, Morgoth was slain, Sauron rose and fell, and the occasions of The Lord of the Rings started. By some means over this time, the mighty sword discovered its solution to turning into a dusty relic in a Troll cave and occurred to cross paths with Gandalf. However even when its journey to that second is unknown, Glamdring’s tragic background nonetheless makes it simply one of the fascinating swords in Center-earth.