Why does the hobbits sword glow

June 8, Why don't elven swords glow blue in the movies? It's an incredibly nerdy question that plagues my viewing of the Middle-earth films.

But, this is a geeky Tolkien blog after all so I suppose it's appropriate One of the most fantastical elements in Tolkien's mythology are the glowing elven swords. Sometime during the First Age, fueled by wars with Morgoth and the orcs, elven craftsmanship reached its zenith. A featured mark of elven blades made during this time was their unique ability to glow blue when orcs or goblins were nearby. The swords retained their power over the years and three very important blades Glamdring, Orcrist and Sting appear in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

In fact, this "magical" power is featured quite heavily in the books as seen in this example from chapter four of The Hobbit , "Over Hill and Under Hill". He [Gandalf] took out his sword again, and again it flashed in the dark by itself. It burned with a rage that made it gleam if goblins were about; now it was bright as blue flame for delight in the killing of the great lord of the cave Translated they read, Sting is my name; I am the spider's bane.

In the books there is no mention that Bilbo had the blade inscribed, and the inscription is not present in the The Hobbit adaptation, but after Bilbo named the blade Sting he could have had it inscribed by the elves during the story of The Hobbit or after, or the elves could have inscribed it for him after he returned to live in Rivendell.

This seems likely since the engraving is in Sindarin and the elves obviously would have had the best experience in reshaping a blade such as Sting. Despite both Glamdring and Orcrist being elvish blades of similar make, Sting is the only blade shown to glow blue in the The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? View source.

History Talk 8. Do you like this video? Play Sound. Frodo holding Sting. What gives it this magical property.

The blade was forged by the famous weapon smiths of Gondolin. Little of the history of the blade is known but it is speculated that the blade was lost during the Fall of Gondolin. How exactly the blade came to be in a cave troll where it was then discovered by Bilbo is completely unknown. Bilbo then gifted the weapon to Frodo before he embarked on his quest.