Hadhafang

Hadhafang as designed by The Noble Collection

Hadhafang is a sword used by Elrond and Arwen used in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring. The sword and its history are not part of the original story, but were invented for the movies. In the books, Arwen is never seen in combat. Since her character was given an action scene in the movie version, it was deemed necessary to give her a weapon and to provide the weapon with a back story like many of the weapons described in the legendarium.

According to the movie trilogy's official publicity material, Hadhafang once belonged to the Elven lady Idril, who wed a Tuor, a Man, and bore Eärendil, the father of Elrond. Before Arwen's birth, Elrond wielded Hadhafang at the end of the Second Age, during the War of the Last Alliance.

Later, his daughter Arwen used Hadhafang when she aided Frodo in his escape from the Ringwraiths. Inscribed on the blade are tengwar in Sindarin that say:

Aen estar Hadhafang i chathol hen, thand arod dan i thang an i arwen
("This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble maiden")

Like all of the props used in the Lord of the Rings movies, Hadhafang was manufactured by Weta Workshop.

Etymology

Hadhafang (or Haðafang) is mentioned as a "sword-name" in the Etymologies, mentioned in the entries STAG and SYAD. It is said to be a Sindarin cognate of Quenya Sangahyando, "throng-cleaver". The latter is not the name of a sword, but of a corsair of Umbar.