Mithril coat
The mithril coat or mithril mail was a Dwarf-mail coat made of mithril, owned by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
History[edit | edit source]
The most famous of the items made from mithril was the "small coat of mail" that had been made for a young elf-prince long before the Quest of Erebor. It was retrieved from the hoard of the dragon Smaug, and given to Bilbo Baggins by Thorin.[1]
A "kingly gift" (in Gimli's estimation), the mithril-coat was worth more than the entire worth of the Shire.[2] Bilbo kept it as decoration in Bag End. He later lent it to Mathom-house museum in Michel Delving,[3][4] but he took it back before leaving the Shire for Rivendell. Years later, he gave it to his nephew Frodo Baggins in Rivendell.[5] Frodo wore it during the Quest to Mount Doom. It saved Frodo several times; the first when he was nearly skewered by the spear of an Orc in the Mines of Moria[6] and a second when he was struck by an arrow while on the river Anduin.[7]
The coat was later taken by the Orcs who captured Frodo in the pass above Cirith Ungol,[8] and it was passed on to the Dark Lord's servants at Barad-dûr. When the coat was displayed before the hosts of Aragorn at the Gates of Mordor, many despaired, thinking Frodo had been captured or killed, and the Ring taken.[9] Gandalf reclaimed it from Sauron's lieutenant[9] and was later able to return it to Frodo after the battles were won.[10] After the Battle of Bywater, the coat once again saved Frodo's life when Saruman attempted to assassinate him at Bag End.[11]
Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]
In the original editions of The Hobbit, Bilbo's mail was of "silvered steel". It was altered to mithril in a 1966 revision.[12]
Inspiration[edit | edit source]
In the Hervarar saga, which was a cycle dealing with the magic sword Tyrfing (and from which Tolkien borrowed, for instance, the names Dwalin and Durin), the hero Orvar-Odd wore a silken mailcoat which nothing could pierce (Oddr svarar: "ek vil berjask við Angantýr, hann mun gefa stór högg með Tyrfingi, en ek trúi betr skyrtu minni, enn brynju þinni, til hlífðar").
Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]
2001-2003: The Lord of the Rings film series
- The coat follows closely the same narrative, save it is not shown after Frodo's recovery.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Not at Home"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Journey in the Dark", p. 317
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Of the Finding of the Ring", p. 13
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Last Stage"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Ring Goes South", p. 277
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm", p. 325
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River", p. 385
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol", p. 905
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Black Gate Opens", pp. 889
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen", p. 954
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Scouring of the Shire", p. 1019
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, "While the Dragon's Away...", (ii) The Arkenstone as Silmaril, note 13
