Discovery of the Swords

After Gandalf tricked the three trolls, Bert, Tom, and William, into arguing until dawn turned them to stone, the company searched for their hidden cave. Following the marks of the trolls' stony boots, they found a stone door that they could not open until Bilbo produced a key he had picked up from the ground where the trolls had fought. Inside the cave, among bones and a nasty smell, they discovered a jumble of plunder, including pots of gold coins, clothes, and several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. Two swords in particular caught their eyes because of their beautiful scabbards and jewelled hilts. Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these; Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath, which was as good as a short sword for the hobbit.

Discovery and Identification

Gandalf, half-drawing the blades and looking at them curiously, remarked that they were not made by any troll nor by any smith among men in those parts and days, and that when they could read the runes on them, they would know more about them. Later, at Rivendell, Elrond examined the swords and identified them. He declared that they were not troll-make but old swords of the High Elves of the West, his kin, made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. The runes on Thorin's sword named it Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; Gandalf's sword was Glamdring, Foe-hammer, once worn by the king of Gondolin. Elrond advised them to keep them well.

Significance in the Journey

These swords proved their worth almost immediately. In the goblin tunnels, the goblins recognized Orcrist at once, calling it Biter, and it had killed hundreds of goblins in its time. The Great Goblin's rage upon seeing it led to the confrontation where Gandalf killed him with Glamdring, which the goblins called Beater. The swords' light and power helped the company escape the goblins and later served as symbols of their heritage and purpose. Bilbo's knife, which he later named Sting, also proved invaluable, especially in his battles with the spiders of Mirkwood.