Tolkien Gateway - User contributions [en]

Unseen

2006-10-30T14:59:30Z

170.141.109.33: New concept article

All things in [[Tolkien|Tolkien's]] world fall into the realm of either the [[Seen]] or the Unseen.

The [[Unseen]] are objects and creatures of the spirit world. Some of the most obvious examples of Unseen creatures are the [[Ringwraiths]], which were invisible and formless without disguises provided by [[Sauron]].

[[Wizards]] and some [[Elves]] have the ability to see and affect Unseen creatures.

[[Category:Concepts]]

Seen

2006-10-30T14:56:30Z

170.141.109.33: New concept article

All things in [[Tolkien|Tolkien's]] world fall into the realm of either the Seen or the [[Unseen]].

The [[Seen]] are material objects and living, breathing creatures.

[[Category:Concepts]]

Squirrels

2006-08-24T15:00:16Z

170.141.109.33: Black squirrels of Mirkwood inedible

'''Squirrels''' were nut-eating rodents often found in trees. Most would have been red or grey, but in [[Mirkwood]], the squirrels were black in colour. During their journey through Mirkwood, [[Thorin]] and company killed one for food, but found it to be inedible.

[[Category:Animals]]

Black arrow

2006-08-16T17:14:32Z

170.141.109.33: New page describing the weapon that killed Smaug

When the [[dragon]] [[Smaug]] attacked [[Lake-town]] after being disturbed by Thorin and Company in [[The Hobbit]], this arrow was the last one left in the quiver of [[Bard the Bowman]].

According to Bard, this arrow had been passed down to him from his father and grandfather, and he believed it might have originated in the [[Lonely Mountain]]. He claimed that it had never failed him, and he had always been able to recover it.

It was this arrow that Bard fired through the vulnerable spot on Smaug's underbelly, described to him by the [[Thrush]]. The arrow penetrated the bare patch over Smaug's heart, killing the dragon immediately.

Talk:Sting

2006-08-08T19:22:38Z

170.141.109.33:

I added a note that Sting glows in the vicinity of giant spiders. In the Hobbit, the spiders were able to track Bilbo while he wore the Ring, because they could still see the light shed by Sting. Sting also glowed when Bilbo and Sam faced Shelob in her cave, and when Sam later fought Shelob in the pass.

Sting also cut through Shelob's webs and the webs of the spiders of Mirkwood without difficulty, while Sam's blade from the Barrow Downs (made in Arnor for use against Angmar) wouldn't cut Shelob's webs.

Sting

2006-08-08T19:19:04Z

170.141.109.33: Sting glows in the presence of giant spiders

[[Image:John Howe - Sting.jpg|thumb|''Sting'' by [[John Howe]].]]
'''Sting''' was an [[Elvish]] knife made in [[Gondolin]] in the [[First Age]]. Engraved on the blade and cross-guard are letters in Sindarin that read phonetically, ''Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im''. Translated into English, they read, ''Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane.'' According to the Appendix of [[The Silmarillion]], the element ''maeg'' in ''[[Sindarin]]'' means 'sharp' or 'piercing'.

Sting was a magical weapon used by [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo Baggins]] in [[The Hobbit]], which he found in a [[Trolls|Troll]]-hoard along with [[Glamdring]] and [[Orcrist]]. Although it was just a dagger by the standard of [[Men]] or Elves, it made an excellent sword for a [[Hobbit]]. Bilbo gives Sting to [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo Baggins]], just before the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] sets off from [[Rivendell]]. After the defeat of Sauron at the end of the [[Third Age]], it passed to [[Samwise Gamgee]].

Its proper name was ''Maegnas'', as fitting in with the heritage of the city of [[Gondolin]] where it was forged. It was renamed 'Sting', in the colloquial manner of the hobbits, by Bilbo, and was referred to by that name in [[The Lord of the Rings]].

It has the magic ability to detect any [[Orcs|Orc]] presence near it. When this presence is felt, it glows blue, as it does when the Fellowship encounters Orcs in the mines of [[Moria]].

[[Gollum]], who similarly dislikes anything made by Elves, is afraid of Sting. This fear helped Bilbo when confronting Gollum under the mountain in ''[[The Hobbit]]''. It also helps Frodo to tame Gollum (temporarily) in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

Sting also glows in the presence of the giant spider descendants of [[Ungoliant]], such as the spiders of [[Mirkwood]] in [[The Hobbit]] and [[Shelob]] in [[The Two Towers]]. Sting also cuts through the webs of such spiders easily, whereas the blade that Sam brought from the [[Barrow Downs]] failed to cut through Shelob's webs.

{{weapons}}

[[Category:Weapons]]
[[Category:Swords]]