Morgul-blade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Morgul-blade, featured in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, is a magical poisoned dagger.

At Weathertop, during his journey to Rivendell with the One Ring, the Hobbit Frodo Baggins was stabbed by the leader of the Nazgûl. A fragment of the blade remained within the wound, working its way toward his heart and threatening to turn Frodo into a wraith. Elrond was able to remove the shard and heal the wound, but each year on the anniversary of his stabbing Frodo became seriously ill. Only his eventual departure to Eldamar offered a permanent cure.

Athelas (or Kingsfoil) is known to slow the poisonous effect of the morgul-blade. This remedy is also known to heal other Mordor illnesses.

Another victim of a morgul-blade was Boromir I, the eleventh Steward of Gondor (not the Boromir of Frodo's company). He eventually died of his wound but did not become a wraith.

In the side-story video game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Berethor, a Citadel Guard of Gondor who is tasked with finding Boromir, son of Denethor, encounters several Nazgûl and is injured gravely by a Morgul-blade, but is saved by a she-elf named Idrial (though how she was able to without access to the proper treatments is unknown, though she may have been carrying them to begin with). The Morgul-blade is also an attack used by the Ringwraiths in the game, though they do not have the same effect.

In the Middle-earth Role Playing games, the Morgul-blades are said to have been forged in the fires of Minas Morgul by the Witch-king of Angmar and he embalmed them with his dark sorcery, but this is considered non-canonical as it does not appear outside of the role playing material.

Weapons of Middle-earth

Aeglos | Andúril | Anglachel | Anguirel | Angrist | Aranrúth | Belthronding | Black Arrow | Dagmor | Dailir | Dramborleg | Durin's Axe | Glamdring | Grond | Gúthwinë | Gurthang | Herugrim | Morgul-blade | Narsil | Orcrist | Red Arrow | Ringil | Sting