Weapons of Middle-earth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aiglos

"Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing;
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea"
--"The Fall of Gil-galad", as sung by Sam in "The Fellowship of the Ring"

Gil-galad was the last High King of the Noldor who dwelled in the Middle-earth and one of the leaders of what became known as the "last alliance of Elves and Men". He and Elendil led forces against Sauron and managed to cut the One Ring off the Dark Lord's hand. In doing so, Gil-galad lost his life though it was for a noble cause.

Gil-galad was the son of Fingon of the House of Fingolfin. He lived in Lindon and was a great friend to the Men of the area. He became the High King of the Noldor upon the death of his uncle Turgon in the fall of Gondolin.

Gil-galad was adept at many weapons, but the named spear, Aiglos (later Aeglos) was very deadly in battle. Its name means "icicle" and the orcs knew it would bring them a cold death. It was likely lost or destroyed after Gil-galad's death in the war against Sauron, in Second Age 3431.

Answer: Grond

Morgoth was a very powerful Ainu who was the main antagonist of the First Age of the Middle-earth. When he was created, his name was Melkor and he was the most powerful Ainu. Despite his position, from the get-go he desired more power and this led him to go against Eru Ilúvatar and created discord in Arda. The other Ainur warred against Melkor and he was cast from Arda after he destroyed Almaren and quenched the light of the Two Lamps.

Looking for a different realm to rule, Melkor set his eyes upon Middle-earth. He found mortals that he was able to corrupt and beings that he was able to enslave. He was renamed Morgoth, gathered all that harboured a feeling of evil and dominated all of the other free people. He fortified himself in the north in Angband and unleashed hordes of orcs, trolls, balrogs and dragons upon the Middle-earth. He was finally brought down in the War of Wrath and sent to the Void, from which it is prophesized that he will return.

Morgoth's primary weapon was a mace called Grond which was known as 'The Hammer of the Underworld'. It was so powerful that it would rend the ground when it struck it. He fought Fingolfin with it, and though the elf was able to evade its blows, Morgoth was able to make Fingolfin weary and eventually defeat him.

Answer: Herugrim

"Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"
--"The Ride of the Rohirrim", "The Return of the King"

Théoden, son of Thengel, was the King of Rohan during the time of the War of the Ring. At that point, he had already been king for nearly forty years though the latter part of his reign was clouded in darkness due to the influence of Saruman's lackey, Gríma Wormtongue. Gandalf was able to break the hold that Saruman had over Théoden and the Mark was mustered into battle against the forces of Sauron. It was in this war that Théoden lost his life; he was crushed by his horse, Snowmane, when they were set upon by the Lord of the Nazgûl and though he was saved from the Witch King, he succumbed to his injuries slowly after.

Herugrim was an heirloom of the Second Line of the Kings of Rohan. It was at least 500 years old when Théoden died with it in his hand. The name of the sword means "very fierce", and, certainly, when Théoden grasped it again for the first time in ages, he looked younger and more fierce. Indeed, grasping the sword, Théoden was able to lead his men into fierce battles as though he was a much younger man.

Answer: Gurthang

Túrin Turambar was a tragic hero of the First Age. He was a man of the House of Hador and he was cursed by Morgoth and was eventually consumed by this curse. His sister died from the plague at a very young age. His father, Húrin Thalion, was captured in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and chained to a rock so that he could see the woes that befell his family. Túrin was sent away from home at the age of nine not knowing that his mother would have another sister. Adopted by Thingol, elven-king of Dor-lómin, Túrin learned to hunt orcs with chilling efficiency.

When he was a young adult, Túrin was provoked and killed one of the king's advisors. Not waiting for judgement, Túrin fled into the woods and joined with a band of outlaws which he took over. He was joined by his friend Beleg, but an accident caused Túrin to kill Beleg with Beleg's own sword. Broken, Túrin returned to Nargothrond and killed many of the enemy, but was tricked by the dragon Glaurung to return home to save his mother and sister. He found the home empty and left for Brethil. He believed the curse over and set about living his life, taking to wife a woman he rescued. However, his happiness was short-lived as Glaurung came to do battle with Túrin. The two fought and Túrin prevailed, but, with the dragon's last breath, he revealed that Túrin's wife was actually his sister. She killed herself, and Túrin soon followed suit.

Gurthang, Túrin's sword, was forged of the sword of Beleg - Anglachel. The new sword was named "Iron of Death" and was the one that killed Glaurung, yet also the one that Túrin used to commit suicide. In this act, Gurthang broke and the shards were buried with Túrin.

Answer: Dramborleg

Tuor was a man of the House of Hador (but actually descended from all three houses of Men) and a cousin to Túrin Turambar. His father, Huor, died in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad before Tuor was even born. His mother, Rían, was distraught and gave birth to Tuor, fostered him with the elves of Mithrim, and then gave up her life. Thus, Tuor was orphaned as an infant and grew up amongst elves. When his home was assaulted by orcs, Tuor chose to stay and fight rather than flee and was captured and made into a slave of the Easterlings.

Tormented and kept under strict guard, Tuor languished, but soon found an opportunity to escape. Chosen by the Vala Ulmo, Tuor was shown the way to Gondolin, the hidden kingdom, and came with a message for its king, Turgon: Abandon the city because desolation is coming. Turgon chose to ignore the warning and, for a while Tuor dwelt in Gondolin in bliss. He married an elf, Idris, the daughter of the king, and together they had a son, Eärendil. However, the doom foretold came to be and Tuor was forced to flee Gondolin.

On the run, Tuor, Idris and Eärendil managed to evade the enemy for a while and reached the sea. They built a ship and sailed west, and Tuor was counted among the Eldar and was granted immortality in Valinor.

Tuor wielded an axe called Dramborleg. The name means "thudder-sharp". According to "The Book of Lost Tales Part 2", the name was given because it "smote both a heavy dint as of a club and cleft as a sword". The axe was given to Elros, Tuor's son, and was kept as an heirloom on Númenor.

Answer: Narsil

Elendil the Tall was a man who was one of the few to manage to escape from Númenor when it sank back into the sea. He was the son of Amandil, of a royal lineage, and was the leader of the Faithful - a group of Men who believed that they needed to return to the old ways and not give into the corruption that was secretly being spread by Sauron. He had two sons, Isildur and Anárion, who escaped with him, and they founded the Realms in Exile. These would later become known as the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor.

Elendil was also one of the architects of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Together with Gil-galad, Elendil and his men, ex-Númenoreans, withstood an assault by Sauron's forces and managed to repel it all the way to Barad-dûr. There, Isildur cut off the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Elendil, however, perished in the attack upon Sauron.

Elendil's sword was Narsil, the "red and white fire". This was reminiscent of the sun and the moon who were the natural enemies of darkness. Narsil was originally forged by Telchar of Nogrod, a famous dwarven smith. Narsil was broken when Sauron killed Elendil. Isildur took the shards of the sword upon Elendil's death and made them a family heirloom that was passed down by the leaders of the Rangers of the North. They eventually came to Aragorn who had the sword reforged.

Answer: Glamdring

Gandalf was a wizard, one of the Istari, who was sent to the Middle-earth to combat Sauron. Originally one of the Maiar of Manwë, and then named Olórin, he was considered one of the wisest of his people. Initially, Gandalf wandered the Middle-earth and met many of the peoples who lived there, particularly connecting with the elves, but also keeping a soft spot in his heart for the Hobbits, a previously overlooked race.

Gandalf was considered the wisest of the Istari, but was not their leader - that honour went to his compatriot Saruman. However, due to his devotion and wisdom, Gandalf became the greatest of the wizards and was instrumental in pulling down Sauron. One of the first steps in this endeavour was the Quest of Erebor and the demise of the dragon Smaug. The second was finding Frodo and helping him achieve his goal of destroying the One Ring in the Cracks of Doom. At the end of the War of the Ring, Gandalf sailed back to the Undying Lands openly wearing the elven ring Narya.

Gandalf's sword was Glamdring. It was originally wielded by Turgon, the elven king, and was lost in the fall of the city of Gondolin. It was found by Gandalf in a troll-cave and was worn by him throughout the War of the Ring. It was known by the orcs (goblins) as 'Beater' and was feared by them.

Answer: Ringil

Fingolfin was an elf who was the son of Finwë and Indis, and the High King of the Noldor. He was the younger half-brother of Fëanor and they had a rivalry. This was exploited by Melkor and caused great strife between the two. Fingolfin was publicly humiliated by his half-brother but he eventually forgave him when Melkor revealed his true face. Nevertheless, when Fëanor departed for Middle-earth, he did not trust Fingolfin to be useful, and he was stranded. Nevertheless, Fingolfin led his people to Middle-earth.

Shortly after Fëanor was killed, Fingolfin became the High King of the Noldor. This was due to the abdication of Fëanor's eldest son, Maedhros. As king, Fingolfin defeated the forces of Morgoth at the Dagor Aglareb, but could not penetrate Angband. Morgoth stayed holed up in his fortress for about 400 years all the while Fingolfin maintained a siege. This was broken at the Dagor Bragollach where the elves suffered a terrible defeat. Fingolfin attempted to end the war by challenging Morgoth to combat, but despite his eagerness, Morgoth prevailed.

Fingolfin wielded Ringil, a sword which was supposed to have "glittered like ice". When in combat with Morgoth, Fingolfin was able to wound his enemy seven times, the last being a deep blow to the foot. It was not said by Tolkien what became of the sword. Since it is not mentioned in later histories, it may have been buried with Fingolfin's body upon a mountain.

Answer: Orcrist

Thorin II Oakenshield was a dwarf who was the King of Durin's Folk. His father was Thráin II and his grandfather was Thrór, both of whom wore one of the seven rings of power given to the dwarves. This ring was not passed on to Thorin, fortunately, though the greed and lust for gold and mithril that usually came along with wearing the ring was.

Thorin was a young dwarf in Erebor when the dragon Smaug descended upon the mountain. He was not inside the mountain at the time, something that saved his life. He, his father, and his grandfather led the remaining dwarves into exile. When his grandfather was murdered by the orc Azog in Moria, Thráin and Thorin led the dwarves in a retaliatory war. In the Battle of Azanulbizar, Thorin was wounded and his shield broken. Nevertheless, he kept on fighting using an oaken bough as a makeshift shield. This later gained him the name Oakenshield.

Thorin led some of his kinsmen and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on a quest to retake the Lonely Mountain and to defeat Smaug. Along the way, the party was captured by trolls. When they managed to escape, they found the troll-cave with treasures in it. One of the things found was an old elven-sword called Orcrist, and known to the orcs as 'Biter'. He wore it up to his death in the Battle of the Five Armies and it was placed in his grave under the mountain.

Answer: Andúril

Aragorn II son of Arathorn II was a man and a Ranger of the North. As the Chieftain of the Dúnedain, Aragorn claimed lineage all the way back to Isildur and, thus, also to the thrones of both Gondor and Arnor. He led the forces against Sauron and managed to help defeat the hordes. In doing so, he was able to claim the crown and reestablish the United Kingdom of the Middle-earth, over which he ruled for 120 years until his death.

Aragorn's father died when Aragorn was only two years old, and he was brought up in the house of Elrond. It was there that he met Arwen, Elrond's daughter, and fell deeply in love. In order to become worthy of her love, Aragorn served in the army of Rohan, and also as a soldier of Gondor, both roles in disguise. He also assisted Gandalf in his search for Gollum, and later Frodo escape from Ringwraiths and to reach Rivendell. He then was appointed the leader of the Nine Walkers as they set out to destroy Sauron, every step nearing him to his destiny.

Aragorn carried the shards of Narsil, the sword of Elendil. When in Rivendell, Aragorn had the sword reforged and he renamed the sword Andúril. The meaning of the name was 'flame of the west' and it had the symbols of Elendil and his descendants engraved on it.