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'''Narsil''' was the sword of King [[Elendil]] of the [[Dúnedain]].  It was later known as '''Andúril''' (see below).  The sword was forged during the [[First Age]] by the Dwarf [[Telchar]] of [[Nogrod]], making it a cousin to the blade [[Angrist]], which cut a [[Silmarils|Silmaril]] from the crown of [[Morgoth]]. The name contains the elements ''nar'' "fire" and ''thil'' "white light", referring to the [[Sun]] and [[Moon]]. The blade presumably was given to one of the [[Sons of Fëanor]], possibly [[Curufin]], to whom [[Angrist]] was given. It eventually came to [[Maglor]], who would have given it to [[Elros]].
__NOTOC__
{{object infobox
| name=Narsil
| image=[[File:John Howe - Narsil.jpg|250px]]
| caption="Narsil" by [[John Howe]]
| pronun={{respell|nar|sil}}
| othernames=Sword of [[Elendil]], Sword-that-was-Broken, Shards of Narsil; after its reforging it was named [[Andúril]]
| location=[[Nogrod]], [[Númenor]], [[Arnor]], [[Rivendell]]
| owner=[[Kings of Númenor]], [[Lords of Andúnië]], [[Elendil]], [[Kings of Arnor]], [[Kings of Arthedain]], [[Chieftains of the Dúnedain]]
| type=Sword
| appearance=
| creator=[[Telchar]]
| created=[[First Age]]
| createdlocation=[[Nogrod]]
| destroyer=<!--It was broken, not destroyed. Do not add that information here again-->
| destroyed=
| destroyedlocation=
| notablefor=Cutting the [[One Ring]] of [[Sauron|Sauron's]] finger
}}
'''Narsil''' was the sword of King [[Elendil]] of the [[Dúnedain]]. It was later known as '''[[Andúril]]'''.


In the [[Second Age]], Narsil was evidently to be found in [[Númenor]], presumably inherited by [[Elros]], its first king, who was a descendant of many Elven and [[Edain]] lords. Although nothing is said of Narsil during this period, it came into the hands of [[Elendil]], a distant descendant of [[Elros]], towards the close of the Second Age.
==History==
The sword was forged "in the deeps of time", probably during the [[First Age]], by [[Telchar]]<ref>{{TT|King}}, paragraph when Aragorn is about to enter the Golden Hall</ref>, probably the famed Dwarven-smith of [[Nogrod]] of the same name who made swords for the armories of King [[Thingol]] in [[Menegroth]].<ref>{{UT|Departure}}</ref><ref>{{UT|Index}}, entry Telchar</ref><ref>{{S|Index}}, entry Narsil and entry Telchar</ref>


Elendil used Narsil in the Siege of [[Barad-dûr]], but [[Sauron]] killed Elendil and the sword broke into two pieces under him as he fell.  Elendil's son [[Isildur]] took up the sword and used its shard to cut the [[One Ring]] from the hand of Sauron.  Isildur took the shards home with him. Shortly before Isildur was killed in the second year of the [[Third Age]] in the disaster at the [[Gladden Fields]], the shards were rescued by Ohtar (Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Appendix B. The Third year of the Third Age), squire of Isildur's oldest son. He took them to [[Imladris]], where Isildur's youngest son [[Valandil]] was fostered.
Nothing is said of Narsil during the [[Second Age]] until it eventually came into the hands of [[Elendil]] towards the close of the Second Age.  


The '''Shards of Narsil''' were one of the heirlooms of the [[Kings of Arnor]], and after the Northern Kingdom was destroyed they remained an heirloom of the [[Rangers of the North]]. It was not reforged until the [[War of the Ring]] at the end of the Third Age.
Elendil carried Narsil in the [[Battle of Dagorlad]] where it shone with the light of the [[Sun]] and [[Moon]], and then in the [[Siege of Barad-dûr]]; but [[Sauron]] killed him and the sword broke into two pieces under him as he fell, and its light was extinguished. Elendil's son [[Isildur]] took up the sword and used its shard to cut [[the One Ring]] from the hand of Sauron.<ref name=rings/> Isildur took the shards home with him. Shortly before Isildur was killed in the second year of the [[Third Age]] in the [[Disaster of the Gladden Fields]], the shards were rescued by [[Ohtar]], esquire of Isildur<ref>{{FR|Council}}</ref>. He took them to [[Rivendell]],<ref>{{App|TA}}</ref> where Isildur's youngest son [[Valandil (King of Arnor)|Valandil]] was fostered, but [[Elrond]] foretold that it wouldn't be reforged until the One Ring was found again and Sauron returned.<ref name=rings>{{S|Rings}}</ref>


In 3019 TA Narsil was reforged in [[Rivendell]] as '''Andúril,''' ([[Sindarin]] for "'''Flame of the West'''"), for [[Aragorn]], the heir of Isildur. He carried the sword during his journey south as part of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]], and it featured prominently at several points in the story, where it was sometimes referred to as the '''Sword that was Broken''' or '''The Sword Reforged.'''
The '''Shards of Narsil''' were one of the heirlooms of the [[Kings of Arnor]], and after the Northern Kingdom was destroyed they remained an heirloom of the [[Rangers of the North]].<ref>{{App|Eriador}}, ''The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain'', entry for Chieftain Aranarth</ref>  Elrond delivered the shards of Narsil to [[Aragorn]] when he was twenty years old.<ref>{{App|Tale}}</ref> It was not reforged until the [[War of the Ring]] at the end of the Third Age in Rivendell as '''[[Andúril]]''', the "Flame of the West", for Aragorn, who was by that time the [[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] and heir of Isildur.


[[Boromir]], son of the [[Steward of Gondor]], travelled to [[Rivendell]] in time for the [[Council of Elrond]] because of the prophetic dream of his brother [[Faramir]], in which he was told to "seek for the Sword that was broken".  Aragorn often uses the sword to help establish his credentials.
He carried the sword during his journey south as part of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]], and fought with it in many instances. He referred to it as the "Sword That Was Broken" or "The Sword Reforged".


Narsil (broken and reforged as Andúril) acts as a symbol of the kingship of [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]]. As the Chieftain of the [[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Rangers of the North]], Aragorn carries the fragments of the ancient sword, secret but ever vigilant, and the blade is reforged as Andúril when he sets out to reclaim his kingdom.  
== Etymology ==
''Narsil'' is a [[Quenya]] name meaning "red and white flame".<ref>{{HM|UI}}, p. 231</ref><ref>{{PE|17}}, p. 29</ref> The name is said to consist of the [[Sundocarme|stems]] NAR ("fire"; cf. ''[[Nár (Quenya)|nár]]'' "fire") + THIL ("white light"). It was a symbolic name, pointing to the [[Sun]] and the [[Moon]], the "''chief heavenly lights, as enemies of darkness''".<ref>{{L|347}}, p. 425</ref>


==Changes made in the film==
==Portrayal in adaptations==
[[File:The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Narsil Broken.png‎|thumb|left|Shards of Narsil in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'']]


In the [[The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy|motion pictures]] directed by [[Peter Jackson]], Narsil was not broken in two but in several parts (which were kept at Rivendell), and is not reforged into Andúril until the [[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|third film]], when [[Arwen]] persuades [[Elrond]] to have [[Elves|Elven]] smiths reforge it from the shards and bring to Aragorn. In the books, he actually wears the broken blade and shows it to the [[Hobbit]]s when they meet at the [[Prancing Pony]] in [[Bree]], and its reforging prior to the departure of the [[Fellowship]] is a decisive move toward kingship.
'''2001: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'':'''
:In Jackson's films, Narsil is depicted as a straight, double-edged longsword. It possesses a straight crossguard with axe-like decorations on the tips. The grip is wrapped in black and the pommel is elongated, with a hollow bottom.
:Narsil was not broken in the fall of Elendil, but by Sauron stepping on the blade as Isildur tried to pull it up. Furthermore, the blade was shattered into many parts, instead of a clean cut into two parts.


Aragorn holds a reverence for [[Andúril]], Flame of the West, which is shown best in The Two Towers book, and is not shown in the film. When asked by [[Háma]] to disarm outside [[Meduseld]], he is very reluctant, saying that normally he would give up his weapon "if I bore now any sword but Andúril" (The Two Towers, The King of the Golden Hall). It is an omission from the film on the grace that the sword Aragorn surrenders there was not Andúril, but still rather interesting. However, the movie version of The Fellowship of the Ring does include a scene of Aragorn reverently placing the hilt of Narsil back into the display after Boromir dropped the hilt on the floor.
:Unlike in the book, Aragorn does not bear the shards with him, but are kept on a display in [[Rivendell]]. Boromir drops the hilt on the floor and Aragorn is seen reverently replacing it back into the display. The sword is not reforged into Andúril until the third film.


'''2003: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'':'''
:[[Arwen]] persuades her father, [[Elrond]] to have [[Elves|Elven]] smiths reforge it from the shards and bring to Aragorn.
'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:The reforging of Narsil is experienced by the player in the quest arc called "The Blade that was Broken". The player sets out to find the last of the Silithair, shining adamants crafted by Elves of the [[house of Fëanor]] in days of old, in order for the Elf-smiths of Imladris to reforge the sword.<ref>[http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Quest_Arc:The_Blade_That_Was_Broken Quest Arc: The Blade That Was Broken], Lorebook, lotro.com</ref>
'''2012: ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]'':'''
:In the Extended Edition, [[Bilbo Baggins]] approaches and examines the shards in curiosity while in Rivendell, before he notices the mural of Isildur's battle with Sauron (the latter of whom is wearing the One Ring). Although the Shards are not mentioned in [[The Hobbit|the book]], it establishes continuity with [[Peter Jackson|Peter Jackson's]] [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]].
{{references}}
{{weapons}}
[[Category:Quenya names]]
[[Category:Swords]]
[[Category:Swords]]
[[Category:Heirlooms]]
[[de:Narsil]]
[[fr:encyclo/artefacts/armes/narsil]]
[[fi:Narsil]]

Latest revision as of 15:28, 25 December 2023

Narsil
Sword
John Howe - Narsil.jpg
"Narsil" by John Howe
Pronunciationnar-sil
Other namesSword of Elendil, Sword-that-was-Broken, Shards of Narsil; after its reforging it was named Andúril
LocationNogrod, Númenor, Arnor, Rivendell
OwnerKings of Númenor, Lords of Andúnië, Elendil, Kings of Arnor, Kings of Arthedain, Chieftains of the Dúnedain
CreatorTelchar
Nogrod, First Age
Notable forCutting the One Ring of Sauron's finger
GalleryImages of Narsil

Narsil was the sword of King Elendil of the Dúnedain. It was later known as Andúril.

History[edit | edit source]

The sword was forged "in the deeps of time", probably during the First Age, by Telchar[1], probably the famed Dwarven-smith of Nogrod of the same name who made swords for the armories of King Thingol in Menegroth.[2][3][4]

Nothing is said of Narsil during the Second Age until it eventually came into the hands of Elendil towards the close of the Second Age.

Elendil carried Narsil in the Battle of Dagorlad where it shone with the light of the Sun and Moon, and then in the Siege of Barad-dûr; but Sauron killed him and the sword broke into two pieces under him as he fell, and its light was extinguished. Elendil's son Isildur took up the sword and used its shard to cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron.[5] Isildur took the shards home with him. Shortly before Isildur was killed in the second year of the Third Age in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, the shards were rescued by Ohtar, esquire of Isildur[6]. He took them to Rivendell,[7] where Isildur's youngest son Valandil was fostered, but Elrond foretold that it wouldn't be reforged until the One Ring was found again and Sauron returned.[5]

The Shards of Narsil were one of the heirlooms of the Kings of Arnor, and after the Northern Kingdom was destroyed they remained an heirloom of the Rangers of the North.[8] Elrond delivered the shards of Narsil to Aragorn when he was twenty years old.[9] It was not reforged until the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age in Rivendell as Andúril, the "Flame of the West", for Aragorn, who was by that time the Chieftain of the Dúnedain and heir of Isildur.

He carried the sword during his journey south as part of the Fellowship of the Ring, and fought with it in many instances. He referred to it as the "Sword That Was Broken" or "The Sword Reforged".

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Narsil is a Quenya name meaning "red and white flame".[10][11] The name is said to consist of the stems NAR ("fire"; cf. nár "fire") + THIL ("white light"). It was a symbolic name, pointing to the Sun and the Moon, the "chief heavenly lights, as enemies of darkness".[12]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

Shards of Narsil in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

In Jackson's films, Narsil is depicted as a straight, double-edged longsword. It possesses a straight crossguard with axe-like decorations on the tips. The grip is wrapped in black and the pommel is elongated, with a hollow bottom.
Narsil was not broken in the fall of Elendil, but by Sauron stepping on the blade as Isildur tried to pull it up. Furthermore, the blade was shattered into many parts, instead of a clean cut into two parts.
Unlike in the book, Aragorn does not bear the shards with him, but are kept on a display in Rivendell. Boromir drops the hilt on the floor and Aragorn is seen reverently replacing it back into the display. The sword is not reforged into Andúril until the third film.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:

Arwen persuades her father, Elrond to have Elven smiths reforge it from the shards and bring to Aragorn.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

The reforging of Narsil is experienced by the player in the quest arc called "The Blade that was Broken". The player sets out to find the last of the Silithair, shining adamants crafted by Elves of the house of Fëanor in days of old, in order for the Elf-smiths of Imladris to reforge the sword.[13]

2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

In the Extended Edition, Bilbo Baggins approaches and examines the shards in curiosity while in Rivendell, before he notices the mural of Isildur's battle with Sauron (the latter of whom is wearing the One Ring). Although the Shards are not mentioned in the book, it establishes continuity with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (film series).

References

  1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The King of the Golden Hall", paragraph when Aragorn is about to enter the Golden Hall
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Narn i Hîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin)", "The Departure of Túrin"
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, Index, entry Telchar
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Index of Names", entry Narsil and entry Telchar
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
  6. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"
  7. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain, entry for Chieftain Aranarth
  9. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen"
  10. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 231
  11. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 29
  12. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 347, (dated 17 December 1972), p. 425
  13. ↑ Quest Arc: The Blade That Was Broken, Lorebook, lotro.com
Weapons in Tolkien's legendarium
 Arrows:  Black Arrow · Dailir · Red Arrow
Axes:  Dramborleg · Durin's Axe
Bows:  Belthronding · Bow of Bregor · Bow of the Galadhrim
Knives:  Angrist · Barrow-blades · Morgul-knife · Sting
Maces:  Grond
Spears:  Aeglos
Swords:  Anglachel/Gurthang · Anguirel · Aranrúth · Dagmor · Glamdring · Glend · Gúthwinë · Herugrim · Narsil/Andúril ·  Orcrist · Ringil · Sword of Manwë
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