Mithril is a fictional metal from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F It is silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The author first wrote of it in The Lord of the Rings, and it was retrospectively mentioned^[1] in the second, revised edition of The Hobbit in 1966. The Lord of the Rings is an epic Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy In the first 1937 edition, the mail shirt given to Bilbo was described as being made of "silvered steel". ^[1]

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes that mithril was found only in Khazad-dûm (Moria) in Middle-earth, where it was mined by the Dwarves. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J However, in Unfinished Tales he writes that it was also found in Númenor. Unfinished Tales (full title Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth) is a collection of stories and essays by J Númenor (ˈnuːmɛnɔɹ is a Fictional place in J R R Tolkien 's writings which the author intended to be an allusion to the legendary Atlantis.

The name mithril comes from two words in Sindarin — mith, meaning "grey", and ril meaning "glitter". Sindarin is an Artificial language developed by J R R Tolkien. The metal's Quenya name is mistarille. Quenya 'kwɛɲa is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi, "those who speak with voices" because when Mithril was also called "true-silver" or "Moria-silver"; the Dwarves had their own secret name for it.

Properties

The wizard Gandalf explained mithril to others while passing through Khazad-dûm:

"Mithril! All folk desired it. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim. "^[2]

He also noted that the mithril Frodo is wearing is worth more than the combined value of the Shire. ^[2]

The Noldor of Eregion made an alloy out of it called ithildin ("star moon"), which was used to decorate gateways and portals. In the works of J R R Tolkien, the Noldor (meaning those with knowledge) were those of the second clan of the Elves, the Tatyar, who came In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age It was visible only by starlight or moonlight. The West Gate of Moria bore inlaid ithildin designs and runes. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth ^[2]

Abundance

In Tolkien's Middle-earth, mithril is extremely rare by the end of the Third Age, as it was now found only in Khazad-dûm. The Third Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings Once the Balrog destroyed the kingdom of the Dwarves at Khazad-dûm, the only source of new mithril ore was cut off. This article deals with J R R Tolkien's Balrogs For other uses see Balrog (disambiguation. Before Moria was abandoned by the Dwarves, while it was still being actively mined, mithril was worth ten times its weight in gold. ^[2] After the Dwarves abandoned Moria and production of new mithril stopped entirely, it became priceless.

The mithril-coat

Of all items made of mithril, the most famous is the "small shirt of mail" retrieved from the hoard of the dragon Smaug, and given to Bilbo Baggins by Thorin Oakenshield. Mail (also maille, often given as chain mail or chain maille) is a type of Armour or jewellery that consists of small metal rings linked Smaug is a fictional dragon character in The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of Characteristics Thorin is described as being very haughty stern and officious ^[1] It was later estimated by Gandalf that the value of this mithril-coat was "greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it. " ^[2]

"Also there is this!" said Bilbo, bringing out a parcel which seemed to be rather heavy for its size. He unwound several folds of old cloth, and held up a small shirt of mail. It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel. It shone like moonlit silver, and was studded with white gems.

Bilbo wore the mithril shirt during the Battle of the Five Armies,^[1] and took it with him when he left the Shire. Later, he gave the shirt to Frodo Baggins when he embarked on his quest in The Lord of The Rings. In Moria, the mail saved Frodo's life when he was hit by an Orc spear during the battle in the Chamber of Mazarbul. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth ^[2] It saved Frodo's life again when an Orc-arrow struck him while escaping Moria,^[2] and again when he was struck by another Orc-arrow while crossing the River Anduin. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River ^[3]

When Sam Gamgee believed Frodo to be dead outside Shelob's Lair, he left the shirt with Frodo. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J Frodo was taken by the orcs, who fought over the shirt. Frodo was saved, but one of the orcs escaped with the shirt. The shirt was, along with Frodo's other possessions, shown to Frodo's allies at the Black Gate to falsely imply that he was captured. Gandalf took the shirt and other tokens.

At the end of the story, Frodo wore the shirt at the celebrations and on the trip home. The shirt saved his life one more time when Saruman, who had taken over the Shire, tried to stab Frodo after Frodo had spared his life. Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings ^[4] Saruman was then killed by Gríma. Gríma, called (the Wormtongue, is a fictional character in J

Other mithril objects in Tolkien's writings

Searching through the closets of Orthanc, King Elessar and his aides found the long lost first Elendilmir, a white star of Elvish crystal affixed to a fillet of mithril. For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. "Arkenstone" redirects here For the composer of electronic and new age music see David Arkenstone. Once owned by Elendil, the first King of Arnor, it was an emblem of royalty in the North Kingdom. Literature Elendil is first introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring. In the fictional Legendarium of J R R Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador After Elendil fell in the War of the Last Alliance, his eldest son Isildur ascended to the throne. J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and Isildur is a fictional character in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. On his journey back to the northern capital of Arnor, his retinue was ambushed by orcs. Isildur tried to escape by jumping into a river but was killed by arrows. Saruman may have found his body and the first Elendilmir with it; at least he found the Elendilmir. Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings A replica was made, which was used by Isildur's successors, up to the reestablishment of the kingdom (reunited with Gondor) by Elessar. He thus used both, using one or the other on certain occasions.

The Dwarves' beloved metal appears also in Gondor. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the The Guards of the Citadel of Minas Tirith wear helmets of mithril, "heirlooms from the glory of old days. This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. " As a result, the Citadel Guards are the only soldiers in Gondor that still bear the emblems of the lost Kings during the days of the Stewards: regular armour wore out over the centuries and was replaced, but as mithril armour never degrades it never needed to be replaced, and as mithril objects were no longer replaceable, the Stewards would not discontinue use of the rare and valuable armour despite the emblems they bore.

As Aragorn's ships sail up the Anduin to relieve the besieged Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring, the standard flying on his ship shows a crown made of mithril and gold. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River In the fictional Fantasy -world of J R R Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth

After Gimli became lord of Aglarond, he and his dwarves forged great gates of mithril and steel to replace the gates of Minas Tirith which were broken by the Witch-king of Angmar. Character overview Gimli was a Dwarf of Durin's Folk who volunteered to accompany Frodo Baggins as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring Literature Within the context of Tolkien's Legendarium, the Witch-king was originally a great king of Men.

Galadriel's Elven Ring, Nenya is made of mithril and is set with a stone of 'adamant' (probably diamond). Appearances Literature Stories of Galadriel's life prior to The Lord of the Rings are collected in the Unfinished Tales. The Three Rings of the Elves of Eregion are fictional magical artifacts in J Adamant and similar words are used to refer to any especially hard substance whether composed of Diamond, some other Gemstone, or some type of

Other contexts

The name mithril or similarly spelled variations (mithral, mythril and others) is present in other fictional contexts like role-playing games, since the Tolkien Estate did not trademark the term. In roleplaying, participants adopt and act out the Role of characters, or parts that may have personalities motivations and backgrounds different from A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual One early example is Dungeons & Dragons and its derivatives (e. Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by g. Forgotten Realms). The Forgotten Realms is a Campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D Fantasy Role-playing game, created by It appears in many computer and video games such as EverQuest, Runescape, World of Warcraft and Kingdom Hearts. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. EverQuest, often called EQ, is a 3D fantasy -themed Massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) that was released RuneScape is a Java -based MMORPG ( Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) operated by Jagex Ltd World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG is an Action role-playing game developed and published by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 Video game console The name is usually used for a special type of metal (often used as armour), or as a denomination of currency, or as a name for a project or device.

When used as metal, the value of mithril varies from setting to setting. It is usually more valuable than gold. In some settings, mithril is worth ten times its weight in gold (like in Tolkien's writings).

References