Idril's sword

The Elven princess Idril, who wed Tuor, a mortal Man, carried a sword during Fall of Gondolin.^[1] What became of this sword after the fall is untold, though it is possible that it was passed on to her son Eärendil, who was the father of Elros and Elrond.

In adaptations[]

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy[]

Wētā Workshop created Hadhafang, which is a Sindarin word meaning "throng-cleaver" in J.R.R. Tolkien's early Sindarin language.

According to some official publicity material for the first film of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Hadhafang was the name of the sword that Idril wielded in Gondolin.

Hadhafang was wielded by Elrond during the battle between the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron on the slopes of Mount Doom.^[2]

The blade is inscribed with Tengwar runes in neo-Sindarin which say "Aen estar Hadhafang i chathol hen, thand arod dan i thang an i arwen", which translates to "This blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defence against the enemy throng for a noble maiden" (In Sindarin "Arwen" actually means "noble (or royal) woman").

In the original concept for the sword, the inscription contained an additional verse of text that read as follows: Idril i hel en aran Gond dolen, which when translated read Idril, daughter of the king of the Hidden Rock (Gondolin). The text was omitted from the final design for the sword due to a lack of space on the finished prop.

Some viewers claimed that Hadhafang was a Japanese-type sword due to its cosmetic similarity to a katana. Hadhafang was actually inspired by European cavalry sabers of the early modern period (such as the Shashka, the signature sword of the Cossacks) and the Assyrian sickle-sword of the Bronze Age Near East. Like both the cavalry sword and the sickle-sword, Hadhafang was made for use on horseback (katana were designed for melee). However, the decision to not include Arwen at Helm's Deep meant that the only time the sword was seen in use was when Elrond used it in close combat during the prologue (Arwen doesn't actually use the sword against the Ringwraiths). Elrond is able to wield it one handed against the Nazgul in the Hobbit films. Some people have also commented on the alleged bad balance of the prop, not realizing that it's meant for use from horseback.

The Hobbit film trilogy[]

In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Elrond is seen on horseback carrying Hadhafang, having used it in battle against Hunter Orcs.^[3][4] And later in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Elrond is seen wielding it again against the Ringwraiths.^[5][6]

In the behind the scenes documentaries, the film crew asserted that Hadhafang is a sword that once belonged to Idril, grandmother of Elrond. While the lineage of the sword is an invention of the film makers, Idril did indeed carry a sword in Gondolin.

The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game[]

In a card game, Arwen is said to wield a Rivendell-forged sword identified as Gwemegil, derived from gwen ("maiden") and megil ("sword"). However, this was later retconned in a later expansion to be Hadhafang from the films.

References[]