One common mistake made about Narsil is that when Isildor used it to cut the ring from Sauron’s hand, doing so defeated Sauron. In actuality, Sauron had already been defeated by Elendil and Gil Galad. Isildor used the shards of Narsil to claim the ring as a trophy from their foe.
@@0okamino Was it though? Nobody would have the determination to destroy the ring as Gandalf explains. The alternatives are: - Elrond: The Ring would have access to one of the 3 rings, yikes. - Not cut off the ring: Sauron has the ring, yikes. - Try to force the destruction of the One Ring (and fail as nobody can have the final determination to destroy the ring so close to the place of its creation), leading to a war between Elves and Men, yikes.
Sauron's first downfall was drowning in the destruction of Numenor when Eru changed the world--the one where he could never again take a fair shape. Elendil and Gil-Galad wrought Sauron's second downfall. The One Ring being destroyed was his third and final downfall.
@@Adamadam-zc6pe that’s a good point. But at that point the dark lord was sitll Morgoth, wasn’t it? So, I think I’d prefer to count Sauron’s first downfall the one in Numenor ( with his Annatar form).
I think downfall insinuates that Sauron wasn't just right back at work, that he was defeated and it took significant time to reform. For Numenor, Sauron won with the destruction of the nation and its people, corrupting them to turn on the Valar and driving them to ruin. I doubt he expected to be destroyed with the island but he was basically able to get right back to work after reforming, although he lost the ability to seem fair. Still, this was a major victory agaonst an enemy that posed a real threat to him amd Mordor. His defeat in the first age was similar in outcome, he lost but was able to get right back to work. With the loss of the Ring and his defeat during the Second Alliance, it took Sauron nearly a millennium to return, and that was in a weakened state.
Not how you spell his name it’s Isildur and that’s not his sword it’s Elendils, you don’t know anything. All the things you are attributing to Isildur is Elendils accomplishments.
@@crabberdabberye I knew someone would say that. It became his when he picked it up did it not? And did not Isuldur survive the war of the last alliance? Sounds like a warrior-king to me. CRAB
You don't think Isildur was ever a teenager/young man that maybe wasn't his final form? I'm sure RoP is going to have him mature into the Isildure we all know (just like they will do with Galadriel)..
@@j-mc5201No and thats still not how you spell his name, Isildur died a year later and the sword was in pieces he never used it, the only thing he used it for was a shard of it to cut the ring off saurons corpse (Who Elendil killed in 2v1 combat with Gil-Galad, Isildur had nothing to do with it). Narsil was the legendary blade of High King Elendil, the singular person Sauron hated and feared above all, it struck fear and dread in all the shadow who opposed him. He is the greatest man to have ever lived, and no man in history would be named Elendil after his death. Theres a reason Aragorn uses Elendil as a battle cry and not Isildur. Isildur is not this archetype you are imagining, he was a good fighter and hero but not even close to Elendil. Theres a reason they did not reforge the blade until Sauron returned and someone worthy of Elendils name came to be who was Aragorn.
Anduril's symbolic strength is pretty much bordering on magical even if it wasn't inherently magical. It was the final symbol of the military mandate of the King.
OMG I was SO pissed PJ decided to cut Andúril from Fellowship and Two Towers and gave Aragorn that silly 'reluctant hero' story arc. We missed out on some cool scenes involving Andúril at Moria, Fangorn, and Helm's Deep, and having Elrond teleport to Dunharrow out of nowhere to give Aragorn the sword he should have been carrying all along was beyond moronic.
Oof. That feels incredibly harsh, especially in this day and age, when Rings of Power and so many other modern adaptations are being crapped onto our screens by legitimately rotten people. With so many movies and shows actively seeking to tear down the lore and work of others, PJ’s films are totally different. I didn’t like all of his choices, but those films were earnest, genuine, and did their best to uphold Tolkien’s vision. Translating novel to film is a huge effort and you simply can’t make it work on a 1 to 1 level. I admit I wanted Aragorn to have Anduril sooner, but I also see the value in film for him receiving it only when it’s time for him to travel to his kingdom and claim the throne.
@christophergillette7167 Well put. I respect PJ'S decision to do what he did for film purposes. Tolkien wrote a difficult series to put to film. There are so many moving parts and so much depth. Like you, I didn't agree with everything he did. In my opinion the tension between Frodo and Sam (non-existent in the books, if memory serves) was completely unnecessary and the one part in all the films I truly didn't like. But what PJ did with Andruil actually worked pretty well in my opinion.
@@mistybrass3719 The majority of character changes seemed to have a theme: give them arcs that we can see. In the books, characters like Aragorn had their arcs long before the story started. Changing the timeline to allow inner conflict or uncertainty change to conviction makes sense for film. I also didn’t like the tension between Frodo and Sam, but I do see why it was done. Only the increasing power and corruption of the ring could cause Frodo to make such a bad call
I found the first 90 seconds of this particularly interesting. Nothing that I can recall from my limited research ever made a point of this. Sauron was a Maia. He armor was most likely un-worldly, or at the least somehow magically enhanced (difficult to say with Tolkien's vague magic rules) The fact that the hilt-shard was capable of cutting that armor might speak volumes of the skill of Telchar and the might of his weapons, even when broken.
2 similar stories popped into my mind. First, the modern-day story of Harry Potter and how Volermont could only be fully destroyed except by destroying the item(s) he had poured his power into. The second is also interwined regarding a story of a magical sword and a would be human king (Arthur) which is used in the gathering of allies and was given by the enchanted "The Lady" of the Lake. Likewise, later and when it was broken, Excaliber was reforged and returned.
At the parlay, the Mouth of Sauron may have mocked Aragorn, but he was unable to withstand Aragorns gaze and was cowed. I guess the bearer of Andúrin had the last laugh.
In the extended edition of The Return of the King, the Mouth of Sauron refers to the blade as Elvish; this could either be a reference to it's reforging or a mistake on behalf of the writers. Design-wise, Anduril does not differ significantly from its predecessor, Narsil. The only notable difference is the Elvish inscription running up the length of the blade.
What a surprisingly excellent video. I thought it would be difficult to spend so much time on a single weapon without being boring and I was so pleased to be wrong. I loved your discussion on the interaction between the sword’s imbued properties interacting with the intended wielder: Aragon. This is rarely discussed but makes a huge part to the sword’s story. Imagine if anyone else picked up the sword and suddenly had one of the most powerful and magical weapons in all of Middle Earth? I also loved the beauty of the weapons. Much of this comes from Tolkien himself and his ability to convey (and even draw) such remarkable details. However, being brought to life by WETA to be wieldable made these weapons worthy of their own line on the credits. For the question of the day, from pure aesthetic alone, the evil won on best weapons. Sauron’s mace is so fantastical that it owns all of the weapons on the side of good. And yet, even it does not compare to the weapon of the Witch King. That ball and chain flail is so cool. The way it tears up the earth around his enemy reminds me of Melkor using Grond to make the earth impossible to navigate when he took on Fingolfin.
Great video man! I would love to forge my own version of Narsil some day that looks very different than John Howe/Peter Lyons brilliant sword they designed/made for the films.
Dude that would be so cool, would do well as both a long format video explaining the design choices comparing both book and film versions and a short/tik-tok focusing on the craftsmanship side
In the films Narsil/ anduril is a very large sword, but when you remember it originally belonged to Elendil, who was over 7ft tall the size of the sword makes sense!
Anduril forged from the shards of Narsil a dwarven sword for men then later reforged with elvish runes it had originally the power to instill fear into it's enemies and was nearly indestructible except by powerful entities and also had the curse of the King of the Dead and the Army of the Dead.
The shards weren't kept in Rivendell. They were passed down the line of Isildur in the northern kingdom to Aragorn. When we meet him at Bree Aragorn has the broken sword in his possession. When setting off with the fellowship the sword is reforged.
It would have been cool that if when Isildur swung Narsil, it hit the Ring itself and it was the indestructible nature of the Ring that the Ring cut through Sauron's finger along with Narsil's broken sharpness, as if Narsil wouldn't have been enough on its own, but not even Sauron's flesh was strong enough to resist the impact of the Ring. Similar to a modern horrific industrial accident. Undone by his own creation.
Arguably the greatest sword in The LOTR trilogy! From how I see it, Anduril was techinically a one handed long sword though in the film, Aragon was wielding it in combat with two hands. But Anduiril can still be wielded with one hand especially whether Aragon was armed with a shield or a secondary weapon. When Anduril was unsheathed for the first time by Aragon, was able to do so with only one hand.
The One Ring of Sauron, a Maia of Aulë, is cut off from his finger by a protruding sword in the hand of the dwarf blacksmith Telchar, one of Aulë's children. A good example of historical irony.
I think the one thing they got wrong in the movies was the swords size. Elendil was almost 8 feet tall, the sword in the movies would be tiny in his hands. i am thinking it should be much bigger, like "ice" in got (s1 e1), or even in brave heart William Wallace's sword size.
When I first saw Aragorn, it was in the animated version in the 70s. He was portrayed, in my mind as Native American, darker skin, nature, animals, tracking. Sure I was biased being born a Cherokee, and I later learned it was all about England. Cool with that, but I've always been attracted to Aragorn and especially Boromir. Men. Flawed men, trying their best to absolve the sins of their fore-fathers.
While I really like anduril my favourite sword just has to be orcrist because of how cool it looks, or those twin swords wielded by king thanduril, speaking of twin swords I love the pair that are made from the black meteorite in the simillarion
I personally like to think it works both ways, Anduril does have all this power and legacy but it’s only brought out by Aragon because of who he is, and his skill, like wise Andruil takes all that is great in Aragon, and helps enhance those traits for all to see. In essence Aragon and Andruil have a symbiotic relationship where each brings out the best of the other. A amazing sword for the best of kings, and a great kings for the legendary blade.
I forgot about the scabbard. It pretty much gives a direct connection between Anduril, and Excalibur. Honestly, the enchantments on the scabbard for Excalibur were more powerful than that of the sword. And it was arguably, the loss of the scabbard that led to the death of Arthur. Because it had the power to heal him from any wound. I. Arthurian lore.
One of the funniest things to me in the books was in every fight, Aragon would battle cry about Anduril. The first time was dope but after that it was funny to me because this man love his sword so much 😂 and would say something every time.
Sauron getting the One Ring cut from his fallen body is definitely not his first downfall, his name should be changed to whatever elvish for 'the comeback kid' is as many times as he has been completely wrecked and came back. He even lost his body in the downfall of Numenor, the Ring being the only reason he came back so quickly. The prologue to Lord of the Rings is easily his 4th or 5th downfall.
Elendil was 7'11" Aragorn 6'6" Numenorians were tall. Isildur was 7' It seems the sword would have had to be shortened for the lesser men of the 4th age
Anduril's was not just symbolic. You didn't spoke enough about the enchantments of the sword. Besides the initial enchantments of Narsil which were that the sword would glow like fire in the day and burn its foes. In the night it would glow pale as the moon and be cold as ice. And finally it is said that who ever wields this sword besides the rightful heir of Elendil or get cut by this sword, he would die an untimely death. Few swords in the whole legendarium come close to the ACTUAL raw power an weapon. I may be in the top 3-5 weapons in the history of Arda.
Anduril is a reforged Narsil, so Shouldn’t anduril be a great sword to Aragorn? Elendil wielded Narsil, and Elendil was said to be 7’11. It would make sense to carry a sword to match his height.
Aragorn has Anduriel and Gandalf has Glamdring, but if they were swapped (symbolism notwithstanding) would there have been a power swing? Gandalf was immensely powerful, and having a "better" sword would have only doubled down on that, no? And again, Glamdring was also an incredible weapon, wielded by Aragorn, would be equally incredible.
That sword would have needed to be cut into six inch segments and then stacked up and forge welded back together into a new billet. It would then be drawn out and forged into a sword and then heat treated
Plz create same video for anglachel/gurthang, belthronding, Bow of galadhrim, orcrist, angrist, glamdring, aeglos, ringil, dremboleg ...don't sting plz 😂
@@rikk319 They are still both extremely well traveled men, Geralt was on the path and slaying monsters for money, while Aragorn was also on a 'path' of his own by trekking across Middle Earth time and again for various reasons, being well traveled gives that unkept, kind of grisly look, like theyve been on the road for a long time. Doesnt matter who they are based on when im just noting they look similar
