Editing Mithril (section)

=== The mithril-coat ===

The principal item made of mithril in the works of Tolkien is the "small coat of [[mail (armour)|mail]]" that [[Thorin Oakenshield]] gave to [[Bilbo Baggins]] after it had been retrieved from the hoard of [[Smaug]] the dragon.<ref name="hobbit" group=T/> [[Gandalf]] stated that the value of this mithril-coat was "greater than the value of the whole [[Shire (Middle-earth)|Shire]] and everything in it".<ref name="moria" group=T/> The mail-shirt was first described in ''[[The Hobbit]]'' in 1937,<ref name="hobbit" group=T/> but without any mention of mithril. Tolkien first described the shirt as being made of mithril in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' in 1954,<ref name="moria" group=T/> and it was retrospectively mentioned in the third, revised edition of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' in 1966.<ref name="Rateliff 2008">{{cite book |last=Rateliff |first=John D. |author-link=John D. Rateliff |chapter=The Second Phase, "While the Dragon's Away..." |title=[[The History of the Hobbit]]: Volume 2, Return to Bag-End |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-00-726647-0 |page=(ii) "The Arkenstone as Silmaril", note 13}}</ref> In the first 1937 edition, the [[Mail (armour)|mail]] shirt given to [[Bilbo Baggins]] is described as being made of "silvered steel".<ref name="hobbit" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937}} ch. 13 "Not at Home"</ref>

{{blockquote|Also there is this!" said Bilbo, bringing out a parcel which seemed to be rather heavy for its size. He unwound several folds of old cloth, and held up a small shirt of mail. It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel. It shone like moonlit silver, and was studded with white gems.<ref name="moria" group=T/>}}

Bilbo wore the mithril shirt during the Battle of the Five Armies.<ref name="hobbit" group=T/> He donated it to the Mathom-house, a museum in [[Michel Delving]]. However he later reclaimed it, and took it with him when he left the Shire for his journey to [[Rivendell]]. There, some years later, he gave the shirt to [[Frodo Baggins]] when the younger [[hobbit]] embarked on his quest in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Frodo wore the mail underneath his tunic and other shirt unbeknownst to the rest of [[Fellowship of the Ring (characters)|the fellowship]]. The mail saved Frodo's life when he was struck by an orc chieftain's spear thrust during the battle in the [[Chamber of Mazarbul]], and again when orc-arrows struck him while escaping [[Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria]] and while crossing the River [[Anduin]].<ref name="moria" group=T/><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 9 "The Great River"}}</ref>

When [[Sam Gamgee]] believed Frodo to be dead outside [[Shelob]]'s Lair, he left the shirt with Frodo.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=book 4, ch. 10, "The Choices of Master Samwise"}}</ref> Frodo was taken by the orcs, who fought over the shirt. Frodo was saved, but one of the orcs escaped with the shirt.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 6, ch. 1, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"}}</ref> In both Tolkien's and [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|Peter Jackson's]] versions, the shirt was, along with Frodo's other possessions, shown to Frodo's allies at the [[Battle of the Morannon]] to imply falsely that he was imprisoned in [[Barad-dûr]].<ref name="Black Gate Opens" group=T/><ref name="Kocher 1974">{{cite book |last=Kocher |first=Paul |author-link=Paul H. Kocher |title=[[Master of Middle-Earth]] |date=1974 |orig-year=1972 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=0-1400-3877-9 |page=141}}</ref><ref name="Bogstad Kaveny 2011">{{cite book |editor1-last=Bogstad |editor1-first=Janice M. |editor2-last=Kaveny |editor2-first=Philip E. |chapter=Introduction |title=Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' Film Trilogy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNjKrXRP0G8C&pg=PA1 |year=2011 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=978-0-7864-8473-7 |page=14}}</ref> Gandalf took the shirt and other tokens, but refused any offer of parley.<ref name="Black Gate Opens" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 10 "The Black Gate Opens"}}</ref>

At the end of the story, Frodo wore the shirt at the celebrations and on the trip home. The shirt saved his life one last time when [[Saruman]], who [[The Scouring of the Shire|had taken over the Shire]], tried to stab Frodo after Frodo spared his life.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 6, ch. 8 "[[The Scouring of the Shire]]"}}</ref> When he left to sail to Elvenhome, he gave all his possessions to Sam.<ref name="Grey Havens" group=T/>