Glamdring - Sword of Gandalf

"Glamdring Turgon aran Gondolin tortha gar a matha i vegil Glamdring gûd daedhe loth, dam an Glamhoth"

Written in the sindarin language in the Cirth writing system, the inscription reads: "Turgon, king of Gondolin, wields, has and holds the sword Glamdring, foe or Morgoth's realm, hammer to the Orcs [din-horde]"

Glamdring was forged in the First Age, it belonged to Turgon an Elf and king of Gondolin. After the fall of Gondolin, the sword passed out of all knowledge until, in the Third Age, it was discovered by Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf in the Troll Hoard. Gandalf claimed the sword for his own, while Bilbo claimed Sting and Thorin claimed Orcrist.

Gandalf carried the sword for many years and with Glamdring he defeated the Balrog of Khazad-dûm in the mines of Moria.

"The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white."

- Lord of the Rings

Screenshot: Gandalf the Grey with Glamdring in The Fellowship of the Ring

Sting
Sword of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins

"Maegnas aen estar nín - dagnir in yngyl im"

Written in Tengwar in the Sindarin language of the Grey Elves, the inscription reads: "Sharp point I am called, slayer of the spiders I am " - or, somewhat more loosely: 'Sting is my name, I am the spiders bane'.

Sting is the sword made in the city of Gondolin which is given by Bilbo to Frodo in Rivendell where the fellowship is formed, he tells Frodo that the sword is made by the Elves and that it glows blue when orcs are close. And reminds Frodo that it is at times like these when one needs to be extra careful.

In 'The Hobbit', Bilbo Baggins of the Shire set out with Gandalf the Grey and 13 dwarves. On their journey they stumbled across three Trolls. The Trolls captured the dwarves but Gandalf eventually saved them, he caused the trolls to bicker and quarrel untill dawn. In the first rays of light all three of the Trolls turned to stone. From the treasure cave of the Trolls, Gandalf and Thorin (the King of the Dwarves) each took a sword, and Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath. For a Troll it would have been a tiny knife but for the hobbit it was as good as a short sword.

Later Bilbo, separated from his companions in the forests of Mirkwood, was almost tied up in the web of a giant spider. He managed to break his way free and slay the spider with the sword that he'd salvaged from the cave of the Trolls.

".. as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. 'I will give you a name,' he said to it, 'and I shall call you Sting."

-The Hobbit

Screenshots: Frodo with Sting in The Fellowship of the Ring

Frodo with Sting in The Two Towers

Sam with Sting in The Return of the King

The sword of the Witchking

This is the ancient sword of Dwimmerlaik, Lord of the Nine, the Witchking of Angmar. He is a ringwraith - one of the nine kings of men that were seduced and corrupted by the rings of power. They became the slaves of Sauron and they scour Middle-earth in search of the one ring.

The sword bears no inscription but is intwined with a far older and more otherworldly engraving. Its motif is that of Minas Morgul, the Tower of Black Sorcery, an ancient city taken over by the Nazgul in the Third Age.

Screenshots: The Witchking in The Fellowship of the Ring

The Witchking in The Return of the King

The One Ring

"Ash nazg durbatuluk ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nask thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"

Written in Tengwar in the Black Speech of mordor, the inscription reads: "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."

The ring of power was forged by Sauron in secret in the fires of Mount Doom; with it he controlled the races of elves, men and dwarves. From his fortress of Barad-dur he fought to destroy the Numenorians of the second age. Sauron tightened his grip on the lands of Middle-earth and threatened the royal line of Men. Elendil (The first King of Gondor) and Gil-galad (the last high king of the Noldor Elves) marched into Middle-earth gathering a Last Alliance of Men and Elves. They fought Sauron on Dagorlad at the gates of Mordor. The sword of Elendil - Narsil - shattered under the power of Sauron and the ring. Isildur took up what was left of his father's sword and in a moment when it seemed all hope was lost, cut the ring from the hand of Sauron.

"Isildur took [the ring], as should not have been. It should have been cast into Orodruin's fire nigh at hand where it was made"

- The Lord of the Rings

The ring betrayed Isildur, and he died. From the river bed, the ring lured a new bearer - Sméagol. The ring consumed Sméagol and drove him mad. He wandered, cursing the Sun, winding his way into the misty mountains. For five hundred years the ring poisoned his mind. One day, the creature Gollum (for that was what Sméagol had become) misplaced his precious ring and it came into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of the shire.

Screenshots: Sauron with the One Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring

Gollum with the One Ring in The Return of the King