Biter and Beater

Biter and Beater are the dread names by which the goblins of the Misty Mountains know the two great elvish swords Orcrist and Glamdring, blades forged in the lost city of Gondolin for the wars against the goblins. These weapons, carried by Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf, become instruments of terror and liberation when the company is captured in the goblin tunnels, and their mere appearance triggers panic and slaughter among the goblin ranks.

Origins and Goblin Hatred

The swords were made in Gondolin, the hidden city of the High Elves of the West, during the ancient Goblin-wars. Elrond, examining them in Rivendell, identifies them as "old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin" and names them: Orcrist, meaning Goblin-cleaver in the tongue of Gondolin, and Glamdring, Foe-hammer, once worn by the king of Gondolin. The goblins, however, know them by simpler and more hateful names: they call Orcrist "Biter" and Glamdring "Beater." The goblins' hatred for these blades is ancient and personal; Orcrist "had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls," and the goblins "hated it and hated worse any one that carried it."

Appearance in the Goblin-Caves

When the dwarves and Bilbo are dragged before the Great Goblin in his cavern, a driver holds up Thorin's sword, and the Great Goblin "gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped." The goblins recognize the blade at once as Biter. The Great Goblin, in his fury, orders the prisoners taken "away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again" and rushes at Thorin with his mouth open. At that moment, Gandalf extinguishes all lights and kills the Great Goblin with a flash of his own sword, Glamdring, which "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." The sword cuts through the goblin-chains with ease, freeing the prisoners.

The Pursuit and the Names' Power

As the company flees deeper into the tunnels, goblins pursue them with increasing closeness. At a sharp corner, Gandalf and Thorin turn to face the chase. The goblins "came scurrying round the corner in full cry, and found Goblin-cleaver, and Foe-hammer shining cold and bright right in their astonished eyes." The ones in front are killed; those behind shriek "Biter and Beater!" and fall into confusion, "hustling back the way they had come." The mere utterance of the names—Biter and Beater—is enough to halt the pursuit and send the goblins into retreat, so deep is their ingrained terror of these blades.

Significance

The goblin-names Biter and Beater encapsulate the asymmetric terror that ancient elvish craftsmanship holds over the goblin race. The swords are not merely weapons but symbols of a past age when the High Elves of Gondolin actively hunted and destroyed goblins, and the goblins' memory of that age is encoded in the very names they have given the blades. The names function as a kind of curse or talisman: spoken aloud, they trigger panic and rout, transforming a desperate flight into a moment of triumph. The swords' power is not only physical but psychological, and the goblins' hatred for them is matched only by their fear.