Heroes only succeed when they have the right tools, and in old adventure stories, those were items of great power and renown that were made of magical materials and gifted by powerful beings. The realm of Arda, where the stories ofThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Ringstake place, contains several of these unique and legendary artifacts.
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There are a few that have appeared in the adaptations and are now famous, mostly the flashy weapons that the protagonists use to clear their path to victory. However, there are plenty of other powerful trinkets inThe Lord of the Ringsand they take a variety of unique forms that aren’t just for warriors.
7The Arkenstone
The most powerful artifacts are often objectsthat are esteemed for their valueas opposed to their magical uses. The Arkenstone was one such artifact, beloved by the King Under the Mountain and part of the vast hoard that drew Smaug to the Lonely Mountain.
The stone doesn’t appear in every adaptation, but gets a lot of screen time inThe Hobbit, taking a more prominent role as a plot device. It causes the “Dragon Sickness” that drives Thorin to turn on his allies and friends.
6Sam’s Box Of Dirt
In the Peter Jackson trilogy, Sam was disappointed to get the gift of rope from Galadriel. This might have been a joke for viewers who were familiar with the books because Sam was even more crestfallen with his gift, which was a small, simple box of dirt.
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The most humble and small things can be the most powerful of all, and it turns out Galadriel knew what she was doing. In a chapter that’s left out of the adaptations called “The Scouring Of The Shire,” Sam uses the magical soil to restore the parts of the Shire that Sharkey destroyed. This is partly why Sam’s descendants are famous for their gardening skills, a legacy that lasted much longer than a bit of rope.
5The Phial Of Galadriel
Any item that came into contact with a Silmaril was given a special, otherworldly power that was an echo of the ancient jewel. This is the secret behind the power of the Light of Eärendil, also knownas the Phial of Galadriel. It contained the water of a well in which the Silmaril recovered by Beren and Luthien was stored for a short time, and its light was reminiscent of the old magic from Valinor.
In the movies, it’s still amazing to see a Hobbit fend off a giant spider with a glowing vase, and in the book, readers know some of the history of Shelob. She’s a descendant of the monster Ungoliant, who helped Morgoth destroy the two trees, which explains her weakness to the Phial.
4Nenya, The Ring Of Adamant
The One Ring was strong enough to influence the others, but only to an extent, and the strength of their bearers determined their ultimate fate. Of the “three rings for the Elven Kings,” the strongest was Nenya, the ring of Adamant. Itwas guarded by Galadriel, who was old enough to have seen the Two Trees of Valinor and ruled Lothlorien during the War of the Ring.
Galadriel kept the ring hidden. Only those who wore the other two rings, Gandlaf and Celeborn, along with Frodo the Ring-bearer, could see it. Its power was that of secrecy and concealment, and its magic was used to sustain Lothlorien. When the One Ring was destroyed, its power faded, and so did the Golden Wood.
3Narsil
It was the name of Elendil’s sword, and it was famous for being powerful enough to cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron even after it was broken. Isildur was able to use the shattered hilt to defeat the Dark Lord and take the One Ring for himself.
The sword was reforged a thousand years later when it was time for Isildur’s heir to assume the throne.Narsil was reforgedinto Andúril, the Flame of the West, and Aragorn son of Arathorn would lead an army against the Dark Lord Sauron with this new sword at his side.
2The Osgiliath-stone
Once upon a time, there were several Palantíri throughout Arda, and certain important or powerful beings on the various continents of Valinor, Numenor, and Middle-earth possessed one. A few were rescued from the destruction of Numenor, but by the time of the War of the Ring, only three were left; Saruman had one in Orthanc, Denethor had another in Minas Tirith, and Sauron had one in Barad-dûr.
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According to legend, the Osgiliath-stone was more powerful than the others and so big that a single person couldn’t move it. This is partly why it was the first stone that was lost. It was kept in the Dome of Stars, and when the structure was destroyed in the War of Kin-strife, the giant stone was lost in the River Anduin.
1Sting
Another example of a humble weapon that’s more powerful and ancient than anyone could have suspected, the lore of Sting goes back to the First Age when it was forged in the Elven kingdom of Gondolin. Apparently, it was part of the same ancient armory as Glamdring andused by the hero Glorfindelto wound a Balrog.
Bilbo took on Sting as part of his share of the troll spoils, and it served him well on his adventures of Mirkwood and Erebor. He would later pass it on to his nephew and heir, Frodo Baggins, and few other weapons could have cut the webs of Shelob and cut a path to Mordor.
