Q: How Did Glamdring, Orcrist, and Sting End up in the Trollshaws?
ANSWER: This is one of those perennial curious but unanswerable questions. Based on the facts provided in The Hobbit we know where these weapons began (Gondolin in the First Age) and we know that Bert, Tom, and William — the three trolls — stashed them in a cave near where Gandalf tricked them into staying up too late. But where did the trolls get the weapons?
I don’t know of any notes or stories J.R.R. Tolkien left behind that would explain how the trolls found the weapons. But if you feel a need to fill in some gaps, here are some extrapolations that may work for you.
From Gondolin to Angband Gondolin fell to an army that Morgoth sent to destroy the city. Many of the Elves were taken captive and their treasures looted — or so we believe, since the only full account of the battle is found in The Book of Lost Tales, which is not part of the Middle-earth mythology. Still, we know that Tolkien intended to rewrite this story and included the event in his various “Silmarillion” narratives.
From Angband to … Eriador? When Angband was destroyed at the end of the War of Wrath many of Morgoth’s surviving servants fled east. The trolls and orcs sought refuge in the northern Misty Mountains. The dragons sought refuge in the northern wastes later called “the Withered Heath”. These lands remained infested with evil creatures throughout the Second Age and the Third Age. The Longbeard Dwarves had to contend with the large influx of orcs and they eventually lost control of Gundabad, the most ancient Dwarven city.
From the wilds to … Angmar? It is almost certain that when the Lord of the Nazgul went north to establish the realm of Angmar that he probably took control over every evil creature living in northern Eriador and the northern vales of Anduin. By this time the swords could have changed hands many times as various groups might have plundered each other: orcs, trolls, men, and so on. The Witch-king could have commanded all his servants to bring him their treasures, although that is not entirely necessary.
From Angmar to the Trollshaws The final leg of the weapons’ journey through time would have lasted about a thousand years. All that we need to assume is that they were never lost completely. Either someone among all those evil creatures either knew where the weapons were or they were easily rediscovered as the centuries passed. Given that the Éothéod seized control over Angmar’s former eastern lands in the northern Vales of Anduin, I think it unlikely that the weapons would have been carried across the Misty Mountains. They were probably kept in Eriador for thousands of years.
Nor do I think it a stretch of the imagination that the trolls might have carried some treasures with them as they migrated into the Trollshaws. If you are writing fan fiction or a role-playing adventure one possible incentive for the three trolls’ journey into the lands of men might be that they stole something from rivals in the Ettenmoors and thus needed to find a place to hide out until things calmed down.
See also:
- Should the Sword Sting Have an Inscription?
- How Could the Great Goblin Recognize Glamdring and Orcrist?
- Should Glamdring Have Been Named in Sindarin or Quenya?
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
A few of the Valar were known to prepare items for future use. Ulmo had Turgon leave armor behind for Tuor prior to leaving secretly for Gondolin. Perhaps Ulmo(or even Manwe) again instructed survivors of the Wrack of Gondolin to cache weapons far to the East against the day when they might be needed. How else to explain why two mighty blades fit for Kings were grouped with a letter opener?
[…] one that might have occurred to J.R.R. Tolkien had he given the matter any thought — is that the swords might have changed hands a few times among evil creatures. Thus, if the Great Goblin had ever seen the weapons in the possession of some […]