The Lord Of The Rings: The 10 Most Powerful Swords, Ranked

The Lord of the Rings is a series full of magic and battle. And what better way to combine those two pillars of the fantasy genre than enchanted weapons? As with most fantasy series, the weapon of choice for most adventurers, warriors, and assorted fellowships is the trusty sword.

And as with everything in Tolkien’s expansive universe, most every sword has a name and a detailed history. They also number some of the most powerful artifacts in Middle-earth. Aside from the rings, of course. But who’d want a ring when you could have a blade, anyway?

10 Barrow-blades

The barrow-blades wielded by the halflings in the Fellowship were originally forged as long daggers for use in the wars with Angmar in the Third Age. They were buried alongside the last prince of Cardolan after he fell in battle. Much later, the halflings are imprisoned in that same barrow by a Wight. Tom Bombadil destroyed the Wight, freed the halflings, and gave them the blades.

Merry’s sword in particular played an important role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The blade had been enchanted long ago with the power to harm the Witch-king of Angmar. Merry stabbed the Witch-king in the knee, which gave Eowyn an opportunity to strike him down for good.

9 Hadhafang

Hadhafang doesn’t actually appear in the books. This sword was created specifically for Peter Jackson’s trilogy, drawing from existing lore. Apparently, Hadhafang once belonged to the Elven princess Idril, who fell in love with a mortal man. They bore Eärendil, the father of Elrond. Elrond wielded the blade in a battle against the forces of Sauron on the slopes of Mount Doom, before passing it on to his daughter Arwen.

8 Morgul-knife

The Morgul-knife is wielded by the Witch-king of Angmar, who uses it to seriously wound Frodo. The way the Morgul-knife works is that it’s intended to break of a shard of the blade in any wound it caused. The rest of the blade crumbles to dust, making it a one-use weapon, but the shard will slowly work its way into the victim’s heart.

If the shard stays in the victim too long, they become a wraith. Special healing is needed to halt the poisonous effects of the blade. Athelas, a healing herb regarded by many as a common weed, could be used to delay the effect long enough to receive true healing.

7 Ringil

Ringil appears in The Simlmarillion as the sword of High King Fingolfin. It was reportedly an Elvish sword that bit with fierce cold. Fingolfin used the sword in a duel with the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, supposedly the source of all evil. He even managed to wound Morgoth seven times before he himself was struck down. Right before Morgoth killed him, Fingolfin managed to deal a serious strike to Morgoth’s leg. The Dark Lord walked with a limp for the rest of his life. It might not seem like much, but crippling the Dark Lord forever is a pretty big deal.

6 Gurthang

This sword also appears primarily in The Silmarillion. Gurthang started its existence as Anglachel and belonged to Beleg Strongbow, a companion of Túrin Turambar. After Túrin accidentally slew Beleg with it, Anglachel was reforged as Gurthang. Túrin later used it to kill the dragon Glaurung and, after discovering his wife had killed herself, used it to take his own life in despair.

Gurthang appeared to be at least somewhat sentient. It rejoiced when it was drawn in battle and was literally bloodthirsty, described as drinking the blood of those it cut down on more than one occasion. However, it also grieved the innocent lives it took, specifically those of Beleg and of “Brandir slain unjustly.”

5 Sting

The iconic weapon of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Sting is well known for glowing blue in the presence of Orcs or Goblins. It was even sometimes described as glittering with blue fire. Sting was one of the weapons forged by the Elves and lost during the Fall of Gondolin. Bilbo discovers it inside a Troll-hoard and later uses it to defend himself against the giant spiders of Mirkwood. Bilbo gives the sword its name after “stinging” one such spider with it.

Bilbo passed the sword along to Frodo just before he left Rivendell. It eventually ended up an heirloom of the Gamgee family, after Frodo entrusted it to Sam after the defeat of Sauron.

4 Narsil

The legendary blade wielded by King Elendil during the War of the Last Alliance, Narsil became known as the “Sword That Was Broken” after it was shattered in a battle against Sauron. Elendil’s son Isildur took up the piece still attached to the handle and used the broken blade to sever the One Ring from Sauron’s hand and defeat him.

In the movies, Narsil was broken in six pieces instead of two, but the shards were still passed down by the heirs to the throne of Arnor. The last owner of the pieces was Aragorn, before the blade was reforged.

3 Orcrist

Another of the Elven blades of Gondolin, it was also called “Goblin-cleaver” and “Biter.” It is believed to have killed hundreds of goblins, and it possesses the same ability of glowing in the presence of Orcs. Unlike its brother Sting, there were runes on the sword that showed its name was Orcrist. Thorin wielded the blade with honor after being told of its significance by Elrond.  However, the sword was taken from him when he was captured by the Wood-elves of Mirkwood. Thranduil did not return the sword until after Thorin’s death, and Orcrist was placed on Thorin’s tomb.

2 Glamdring

The final Elven sword recovered from the Troll-hoard in The Hobbit, Gandalf recognized the exceptional make and claimed this one for himself. Before it was Gandalf’s, however, it was forged for the Elven King Turgon during the First Age. While it is still a powerful sword in the books, it’s really the movie trilogy where Glamdring shines.

Its crowning achievement is when Gandalf uses it to slay the Balrog. Glamdring is one of the few swords able to pierce the Balrog’s flesh without damaging itself into uselessness. Furthermore, as Gandalf is a powerful wizard, he’s also able to use the sword to channel lightning attacks, which succeeded in destroying the Balrog.

1 Andúril

This is Narsil after its broken pieces were reforged by the Elves of Rivendell. Not only is it used as evidence of Aragorn’s lineage, being the former sword of King Elendil, but it was also a powerful sword in its own right. Don’t forget, this was the blade that—even broken—was able to defeat Sauron the first time.

Using Andúril, Aragorn is able to raise the cursed army from the Paths of the Dead. The ghosts trapped there once allied with Isildur of Arnor, but refused to join the fight against Sauron in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Isildur cursed them so that their spirits would remain in the mountains until one of his heirs called upon them to fulfill their duty to fight against Sauron. Aragorn uses Andúril to prove himself Isildur’s heir, and the Army of the Dead follow him to defeat Sauron’s Orcs.

About The Author