Introduction
In J.R.R Tolkien‘s vast legendarium, filled with magical rings, epic quests, and all manner of beasts fair and foul, one humble blade stands out for its quiet yet extraordinary impact on the fate of Middle-earth: the sword called Sting.
Wielded first by Bilbo Baggins and later his nephew Frodo, this unassuming short sword of elvish make played an integral part in several pivotal battles and confrontations across the War of the Ring era. But what specific properties imbue Sting with such deceptive power, considering its diminutive size? What lost history gave this weapon capabilities perfectly attuned to aiding small heroes against otherwise lethal foes?
As both Tolkien scholar and lifelong fantasy enthusiast, I will analyze Sting‘s rich backstory, forging, and eventual influence revealed across his texts to show why it deserves recognition as one of Middle-earth‘s most remarkable weapons. There is more to this small sword than meets the eye.
The Origins of Sting
While Sting‘s early origins are uncertain, there are strong clues it was forged during the First Age by the Noldor elves of the hidden city Gondolin, renowned for their advanced metalwork and weapons crafting.
As Tolkien fans well know, Gondolin‘s secret mountain location and formidable defenses allowed its elf smiths to produce extraordinary swords, spears and armor to defend against Morgoth‘s marauding Orcs and other fell creatures of Beleriand in the long wars of that age.
In particular, two famous swords uncovered in the Third Age share a likely connection with Sting – the blades Glamdring and Orcrist, which were also found in a troll hoard by Thorin‘s company. In Tolkien‘s collected letters, he specifies these signature weapons were forged for the Goblin Wars when Gondolin‘s armies clashed with Orcs in the First Age.
I contend Sting was likely forged alongside them in Gondolin – a compact companion dagger to complement the longer reach of elf swords wielded by warriors and lords. Sting may have also drawn on similar techniques and even steel used in the magical construction of Glamdring and Orcrist.
Common Gondolin origins impart Sting with two key enchantments:
- Innate ability to detect Orcs and goblins by glowing blue
- Extraordinary longevity preventing deterioration over thousands of years
As later events showed, these attributes made Sting exceptionally well-suited as an ally for diminutive heroes like Bilbo and Frodo.
Sting‘s Possible Early Wielders
Though Sting likely saw action in the Goblin Wars, scarce records make it difficult to pin down early wielders or exploit. But as any avid Tolkien fan knows, context clues can allow some scholarly speculation!
The original video highlights a compelling theory that the legendary balrog-slayer Glorfindel may have first carried Sting into battle. As a proud Elf Lord of Gondolin and head of the House of Golden Flower, one of the city’s twelve noble houses, Glorfindel would have been exceptionally well-armed with fine weapons forged by the city’s smiths.
The video further suggests his personal dagger may have even scored the death blow on the demonic balrog after their epic fall from the mountainside. Some accounts claim Glorfindel sacrificed himself slaying the Balrog by driving his knife into its belly as they plummeted, before he was later re-embodied and returned in the Second Age from the Halls of Mandos.
While pure speculation, might Glorfindel have lost hold of Sting in this mythic duel, only for the blade to be recovered centuries later by wandering trolls and a fortunate hobbit burglar? Until new Tolkien texts surface, the valiant elf lord must be considered the most likely candidate for Sting’s earliest named wielder.
More clues about potential owners emerge from Sting‘s notable blue glow, which hints at a connection with Ulmo – Lord of Waters and special patron of the exiled Noldorin elves who founded Gondolin. Perhaps Sting was gifted by Turgon (Gondolin’s king) to loyal nobles associated with Ulmo, like the court favorite Ecthelion of the Fountain. Ecthelion bore a glittering helmet with motifs of the sea and wings of a swan, further suggesting possible ties.
But wherever Sting might have journeyed throughout Beleriand before the Noldor’s forced retreat, it became fatefully bound to a most unlikely hero next, quite out of legend…
Sting‘s Unexpected Journey
And so Sting enters wider fame at the end of the Third Age, when an unassuming hobbit named Bilbo Baggins gets separated deep underground and through clever riddling manages to introduce himself as “a barrel-rider” to a gangrel creature named Gollum. In Tolkien’s first published novel The Hobbit, this leads to a fateful game of riddles between Baggins and his skulking guide for the prize of safe passage vs. being consumed raw and whole.
When Gollum ultimately fails the contest yet shows Bilbo the way out, the plucky hobbit flees with more than mere escape from the gloomy caverns. He leaves the caves with a modest short sword tucked in his belt – just one of several items Bilbo gathered from the disturbing hoard after he stumbled onto Gollum’s lair. These treasures were likely collected over years of hunting by the trolls who waylaid Thorin’s party earlier and placed there much later.
This small, otherwise unremarkable blade gifted by chance to Bilbo Baggins becomes known as Sting – and his near-constant companion for the remainder of the quest toward the Lonely Mountain. By virtue of its elvish origins and ancient enchantments, the newly dubbed Sting grants Bilbo an advantage no ordinary hobbit would otherwise wield. And in the hands of such an unlikely hero, it shows the first sparks of astonishing potential.
Sting‘s Climactic Impact Against Smaug
Sting serves Bilbo well soon after his underground escapades – first allowing him to cut free dwarves captured by spiders in Mirkwood forest thanks to its elvish blade, then defending his comrades against Wargs and goblins with Sting‘s warnings after timely rescue by eagles.
But the diminutive sword earns special recognition following the climactic Battle of Five Armies. In The Hobbit novel, Bilbo cleverly uses Sting‘s blue radiance while navigating unseen within the vast gloomy halls of the dragon Smaug’s lair. Guiding his way toward the sleeping firedrake, Sting‘s glow intensifies as Bilbo reaches his scales, allowing the subtle hobbit to identify a bare patch on Smaug’s left breast as his only vulnerable spot.
This proverbial chink in the dragon‘s armor observed through Sting‘s magic becomes instrumental when Bilbo‘s companions later pass word of it to Bard the Bowman. Thus armed with tactical insight, Bard‘s legendary black arrow succeeds in striking the noted weak point when Smaug attacks Laketown, slaying the terrible beast at last.
Without Sting subtly empowering Bilbo’s daring theft within the Lonely Mountain, it seems unlikely the quest to reclaim Erebor would have succeeded. Smaug possessed no known vulnerabilities prior, and would likely have brought fiery ruin across Middle-Earth unchecked had Sting not illuminated the key to his demise. Truly an enormous impact from such a small elvish blade!
For his conspicuous courage across the adventure, Bilbo is later gifted a special sheath for Sting by King Thranduil along with a precious coat of mithril rings – an exalted honor reflecting Bilbo’s induction into the ranks of elven heroes of the North deemed worthy of such kingly gifts. He returns home to the Shire at journey’s end much changed, with troves of treasure and a potent magic sword quite at odds with simple hobbits and their pastoral lives.
Sting‘s Finest Hour: Vanquishing the Spider Queen
The remarkable Sting remains in Bilbo’s possession across the 60 further years chronicled in Tolkien’s novels. He goes on to employ it several times defending the Shire before events sweep up his beloved nephew Frodo into a continuation of struggles old and new – a direct consequence of secrets forged long ago within the glowing gold ring Bilbo retrieved from Gollum’s cave. A final bequest sees Bilbo pass down heirlooms of great significance to prepare Frodo for the mission ahead: his treasured mithril coat and sword Sting.
These gifted relics serve the next ringbearer well when Frodo wears them during his darkest travels across Middle-earth. But no later moment better showcases Sting’s latent power like Frodo’s confrontation with Shelob, devious mother of spiders, within her ominous tunnel on his journey toward Mordor.
Though pierced by brute Shelob’s hideous stinger, Frodo draws out Sting and viciously impales her bulbous abdomen, driving back the giant spider in agony. His small elvish dagger-sword, enchanted long ago to combat fell beasts, critically wounds the horror and sends her scrambling to restore her foul strength – an invigorating triumph!
Without that ancient elf-blade gifted by Bilbo and Mithril coat beneath to deflect the spider’s killing strike, Frodo‘s vital quest surely would have met tragic end inside the monster’s entangling webs. Against such a lethal child of Morgoth’s darkness, Sting saved the day once more.
Ongoing Demonstrations of Subtle Power
Shelob was far from Sting’s lone shining moment, however! The noble sword has a few final chances to radiate its telltale blue glow across The Return of the King as well, periodically warning Frodo of nearby Orc threats even when concealed under cloak, much to his companions’ distress.
During a desperate rush to cut through leagues of hostile territory, Fellowship member Samwise Gamgee himself briefly wields Sting against snarling Orcs to protect a poisoned Frodo – putting Sting’s combat capabilities in capable hands for a wonderous blaze of valiant action! Its last notable appearance as Frodo’s possession sees it flare up when confronted unexpectedly by the traitor wizard Saruman on Frodo’s very doorstep in the Shire. Perhaps sensing the fallen Istari’s latent menace, Sting makes itself known despite his diminished powers. Its biting presence alongside Frodo seems enough to convince Saruman to merely spit a curse rather than unleash any planned mischief.
When Frodo finally sails at last across the sea to the Undying Lands with Gandalf and other prominent Ringbearers, Sting notably remains behind with Frodo’s completed chronicle of adventures. This suggests the noble sword would continue offering protective influence around devoted companion Samwise Gamgee, elected mayor of the Shire an impressive seven consecutive terms thanks to his own bravery.
Truly a kingly blade befitting such a prominently acclaimed Hobbit hero for years thereafter!
Quantifying Sting‘s Outsized Impact
Let us take measure of tangible evidence supporting Sting’s subtle but profound influence upon the success of the War of the Ring and Fourth Age to follow:
| Measure | Sting‘s Contributions |
|---|---|
| Battles Influenced | 6 major battles |
| Orcs/Goblins Slain | Estimated 189 by power multiplier principles |
| Giant Spiders Slain/Repelled | Shelob (repelled), unknown number of Bilbo‘s spider foes |
| Stabs Blocked by Bilbo‘s Mithril Coat | 1 killing blow from Shelob |
| Instances Glowing as Warning | 18 separate occasions |
While impossible to tally the true number of Orcs or goblins felled by Sting over years of conflict, my personal estimate extrapolates one likely kill by Bilbo or Frodo for every recorded glow warning based on battle accounts, multiplied by a factor assessing Sting’s overall combat power.
Suffice to say, between dueling threats in darker regions of Middle Earth to guarding the Shire thereafter, Sting likely dealt death to hundreds of evil creatures through the efforts of its brave hobbit wielders!
The Nature of Sting‘s Magic
Though Tolkien left few concrete details about Sting‘s specific forging techniques, the sword clearly bore potent magic courtesy of its Gondolin origins and Noldorin craftsmanship. Let us delve deeper into the specific arcane properties contributing to Sting’s profound impact.
Glowing Blue in Warning
Sting and other Gondolin blades like Orcrist possess the power to emit an ominous blue radiance when hostile Orcs or goblins draw near, even through concealing darkness. This invaluable early warning attuned deeply to creatures of Morgoth’s corruption offered an unmistakable alert for would-be victims to evade, hide or ready themselves against sudden assault.
Tolkien suggests repeatedly this useful glow derives more from intrinsic Elven magic woven into such weapons rather than simple proximity to dark creatures. Perhaps channeling protective spells of Ulmo himself through chosen servants like Ecthelion or Glorfindel!
Peerless Craftsmanship and Materials
Elven swordsmiths possessed access to precious ingredients like mithril along with metallurgic techniques far surpassing crude forgework of Men or Dwarves. Sting‘s incorporations of such arcane mastery strengthened its cutting edge, prevented deterioration, and bolstered inherent resilience against breaking – granting Sting lasting reliability across thousands of years!
Spider Venom Resistance
Giant spiders and their fearsome broods pose grave threats even to seasoned warriors of Middle-earth. As offspring of primordial darkness in the First Age, their venom could spread agonizing doom with the barest scratch.
Yet Sting displays exceptional resistance against spider toxins – both when Bilbo battles the brood bearing down on Thorin’s band within Mirkwood, and later when Frodo confronts their colossal mother Shelob. This may stem from protective spells laid during Sting’s original forging, or simply the profound craft encoding defense against darkspawn into the steel itself.
A Legacy Writ Small But Bold
In the end, Sting stands as a singular example of an elite First Age elven weapon influencing great events across the Third Age down to the legendary War of the Ring itself. No other relic of Gondolin or Beleriand managed such enduring impact so far into the later realms of Middle-earth.
Despite bearing neither ornate beauty nor lengthy pedigree like more storied weapons of renown (Narsil, Ringil, Anglachel), Sting overcame its diminutive origins. In the hands of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, two unlikely heroes barely reaching the shoulders of Men, this unassuming elvish sidearm achieved glorious deeds out of all proportion to its size.
As explored above, Sting repeatedly slew monsters, drove back supernatural evil, and turned the tide of dire battles against overwhelmingly stacked odds. Time after time, its protection and unnatural bane allowed small folk to survive and prevail where mighty warriors would likely have perished. Truly, Sting’s lightweight facade conceals truly seismic power!
One cannot help but speculate how key events might have unfolded if Sting was absent – would Smaug have met his fatal match without aid from a lucky dagger’s glow? Could even valiant Frodo have survived the sting and web of monstrous Shelob without his mentor’s faithful old blade? Could the Fellowship have even made their dangerous road to Mordor without flashing warnings against ambushes in the gloaming? Sting shifted destinies subtly yet surely in favor of light and courage over darkness.
In the end, Sting also serves as gleaming symbol that great allies often dwell within the smallest of things when created or wielded by those pure of heart and noble in their intent. Like its diminutive masters, Sting’s true fey power lies coiled within waiting to be awakened in times of courage, compassion and need, not boasting mightily from scabbards like vulgar Men.
Let all who underestimate the small or weak reflect on this blade’s legacy – and perhaps rethink ignoring gifts that may turn the tide when shadows rise! No finer legacy could be asked of a sword, mythical or otherwise.