Middle-earth

Artifact

Narsil and Anduril

Also known as The Sword that was Broken, The Flame of the West, The Sword of Elendil

The sword of Elendil, broken when he fell before Sauron and reforged in Rivendell as Anduril, the Flame of the West, the blade that passes to the heir of Isildur.

Tolkien’s textsSupported by the narratives published in Tolkien’s lifetime.
Type
Weapon
Forged by
Narsil was made by Telchar of Nogrod in the First Age; Anduril was reforged by Elven smiths in Rivendell
Narsil and Anduril

Description

Narsil is an heirloom sword of the Numenorean kings, long and bright, and it entered the deepest history when Elendil bore it in the War of the Last Alliance. When Elendil fell, the blade broke beneath him, and its shards were kept by his heirs in the north as a relic and a claim. Nearly three thousand years later the shards were reforged in Rivendell and given to Aragorn as Anduril, and the reforged sword became the visible sign of the returning king. Its edge is real, but its greatest weight is symbolic: whoever holds it carries the inheritance of Isildur.

Powers

  • A strong and keen blade that shines with light, said to have gleamed in the battles of the Last Alliance.
  • As Narsil it cut the One Ring from Sauron hand in the moment of his overthrow.
  • As Anduril it rallies the heirs of Numenor and serves as the token of the king returned.

Limitations

  • Narsil was broken in the fall of Elendil and could not be used again until reforged.
  • The reforged blade is a sword like any other in battle; its power is chiefly the claim it embodies.

Line of owners

  1. 1

    The line of Elendil

    Second Age

    Narsil is borne by Elendil at the War of the Last Alliance.

  2. 2

    Isildur

    S.A. 3441 - T.A. 2

    Uses the blade to cut the Ring from Sauron hand; the sword is later broken at the Gladden Fields.

  3. 3

    The shards kept in Rivendell

    Third Age

    Held by the heirs of Isildur and guarded by Elrond until the reforging.

  4. 4

    Aragorn

    T.A. 3019 onward

    Reforged as Anduril and carried through the War of the Ring and into the Reunited Kingdom.

Symbolism

Symbolism

Kingship restored, and the long patience of a broken line waiting to be made whole again. The break and the reforging mirror the ruin and renewal of the kingdoms of Men.

Fate

Anduril survives the War of the Ring and remains with Aragorn as king. Its later keeping by his heirs is not narrated in detail.

Interpretation

Reasoned analysis — not from the books

The earlier history of Narsil before Elendil is only lightly told. Its maker and its passage through the Elder Days rest on brief references rather than a full account.

Characters

In the histories

Sources

  • The Lord of the Rings · 1954–55

    Three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.

  • The Silmarillion · 1977

    Posthumously edited. Contains the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power.

  • Unfinished Tales · 1980

    Expanded and alternative accounts of the First, Second and Third Ages.

  • The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · 1981

    Authorial commentary useful for interpretation, but not always narrative canon.

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