Magic item

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For other uses, see Magic item (disambiguation).
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"Alberich puts on the Tarnhelm and vanishes" illustration by Arthur Rackham to Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold: a magical item with the ability to make the wearer invisible
"Alberich puts on the Tarnhelm and vanishes" illustration by Arthur Rackham to Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold: a magical item with the ability to make the wearer invisible

A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy. Their fictional appearance is as old as the Iliad in which Aphrodite's magical girdle is used by Hera as a love charm.[1]

Magic items often act as a plot device to grant magical abilities. They may give magical abilities to a person lacking in them, or enhance the power of a wizard. For instance, in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the magical ring allows Bilbo Baggins to be instrumental in the quest, matching the abilities of the dwarves.[2]

Magic items are often, also, used as plot coupons. The characters in a story must collect an arbitrary number of magical items, and when they have the full set, the magic is sufficient to resolve the plot.

[edit] Fairy tales

Certain kinds of fairy tales have their plots dominated by the magic items they contain. One such is the tale where the hero has a magic item that brings success, loses the item either accidentally (The Tinder Box) or through an enemy's actions (The Bronze Ring), and must regain it to regain his success.[3] Another is the magic item that runs out of control when the character knows how to start it but not to stop it: the mill in Why the Sea Is Salt or the pot in Sweet Porridge.[4] A third is the tale in which a hero has two rewards stolen from him, and a third reward attacks the thief.[5]

[edit] Types of magic items

Many works of folklore and fantasy include very similar items, that can be grouped into types. These include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daniel Odgen, "Binding Spells", p 35, Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome ISBN 780812-217056
  2. ^ Tom Shippley, The Road to Middle-earth, p 77, ISBN 0-628-25760-8
  3. ^ Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p 70-1, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
  4. ^ Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p 73, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
  5. ^ Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p 72, University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
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