Editing Mithril

{{Short description|Fictional metal in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings}}
{{About|the metal in Tolkien's mythos}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
'''Mithril''' is a fictional metal found in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] writings. It is described as resembling [[silver]], but being stronger and lighter than [[steel]]. It was used to make armour, such as the helmets of the citadel guard of [[Minas Tirith]], and ''ithildin'' alloy, used to decorate gateways with writing visible only by starlight or moonlight. Always extremely valuable, by the end of the [[Third Age]] it was beyond price, and only a few arte<!--British English-->facts made of it remained in use.

Impenetrable armour occurs in [[Norse mythology]] in ''[[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks]]'', a story that Tolkien certainly knew and could have used for his mithril mail-coat. Mithril is the only invented mineral in his Middle-earth writings. Chemists note mithril's remarkable properties, strong and light like [[titanium]], perhaps when made into alloys with elements such as titanium or [[nickel]], and in its pure form malleable like [[gold]].

The scholar [[Charles A. Huttar]] states that Tolkien treats mineral treasures as having the potential for both good and evil, recalling the association of mining and metalwork in [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' with [[Satan]]. The scholar [[Paul H. Kocher|Paul Kocher]] interprets the [[Dwarves in Middle-earth|Dwarves]]' intense secrecy around mithril as an expression of sexual frustration, given that they have very few [[dwarf-women]].<!--lead summarizes cited content of article body-->

The metal appears in many [[Tolkien's impact on fantasy|derivative fantasy works]] by later authors.

== Tolkien ==

=== Etymology ===

The name ''mithril'' comes from two words in Tolkien's [[Sindarin]] language—''mith'', meaning "grey", and ''ril'', meaning "glitter".<ref name="moria" group=T/>  The Dwarves kept their own name for the material secret.<ref name="moria" group=T/>

=== Properties ===

In ''[[The Hobbit]]'', [[Thorin Oakenshield]] described some Dwarven treasures as "coats of mail gilded and silvered and impenetrable" and "a coat of dwarf-linked rings the like of which had never been made before, for it was wrought of pure silver to the power and strength of triple steel."<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|loc=ch. 12 "Inside Information"}}</ref> A little later the narrator describes "a small coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago. It was of silver-steel which the elves call mithril".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|loc=ch. 13 "Not At Home" (mention of mithril from 1966 edition onwards)}}</ref><ref name="Rateliff 2008"/>

In ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', the wizard [[Gandalf]] explained mithril to the rest of the Fellowship in [[Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria]]:

{{blockquote|''Mithril!'' All folk desired it. It could be beaten like [[copper]], and polished like [[glass]]; and the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than [[Tempering (metallurgy)|tempered steel]]. Its beauty was like to that of common [[silver]], but the beauty of ''mithril'' did not tarnish or grow dim.<ref name="moria" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"}}</ref>}}

The [[Noldor]] of [[Eregion]], the Elvish land to the west of Moria, made an alloy from it called ''ithildin'' ("star moon"), used to decorate gateways, portals and pathways. It was visible only by starlight or moonlight. The [[Moria (Middle-earth)#West-door|West Gate]] of Moria bore inlaid ''ithildin'' designs and runes.<ref name="moria" group=T/>

=== Abundance ===

{{further|Economy of Middle-earth}}

In Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]], mithril is extremely rare by the end of the [[Third Age]], as it was now found only in [[Khazad-dûm]]. Once the [[Balrog]] destroyed Khazad-dûm, the kingdom of the Dwarves in Moria, the only source of new mithril ore was cut off. Before Moria was abandoned by the Dwarves, while it was still being actively mined, mithril was worth ten times its weight in gold.<ref name="moria" group=T/> After the Dwarves abandoned Moria and production of new mithril stopped entirely, it became priceless.<ref name="moria" group=T/>

Tolkien hints that mithril was found in the lost island kingdom of [[Númenor]]<ref name="Disaster of Gladden Fields" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|loc=part 3, ch. 1 "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields}}</ref> and the inaccessible continent of [[Aman (Tolkien)|Aman]].<ref name="Many Meetings" group=T/>

=== 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/>

=== Other objects ===

[[File:Flag of the Kings of Gondor.svg|thumb|Artist's impression of the [[Heraldic flag|standard]] of the kings of [[Gondor]], with a crown made of mithril and gold.]]

[[Nenya]], the [[Rings of Power|Ring of Power]] wielded by [[Galadriel]], was made of mithril.<ref name="Grey Havens" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 6, ch. 9 "The Grey Havens"</ref>

The guards of the citadel of [[Minas Tirith]] wore helmets of mithril, "heirlooms from the glory of old days". They were the only soldiers in Gondor who still bore the emblems of the lost kings during the days of the stewards.<ref group=T name="Grey Company">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5, ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"</ref>

As Aragorn's ships sailed up the [[Anduin]] to relieve the besieged Minas Tirith during the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], the [[Heraldic flag|standard]] flying on his ship showed a crown made of mithril and gold.<ref name="Pelennor Fields" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"</ref>

After [[Gimli (Middle-earth)|Gimli]] became lord of [[Helm's Deep#Later writings|Aglarond]], he and his Dwarves forged great gates of mithril and steel to replace the gates of Minas Tirith, which had been broken by the [[Witch-king of Angmar]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A, part 3.</ref>

The ''Elendilmir'', the Star of Arnor, was a "white star of Elvish crystal upon a [[fillet (clothing)|fillet]] of mithril". It was made for Silmariën, mother of [[Valandil]]; it passed down to [[Elendil]].<ref name="Disaster of Gladden Fields" group=T/> It was found in [[Orthanc]] when the Ents returned the tower to King [[Aragorn]], evidence that Saruman had found and apparently destroyed [[Isildur]]'s remains.<ref name="Disaster of Gladden Fields" group=T/>{{sfn|Libran Moreno|2013|pp=146–147}}

Greatest of all, according to legend, was the ship of [[Eärendil]], Vingilótë, which he sailed into the sky, making the gleam of ''truesilver'' visible to the world as the [[Venus|Evening and Morning Star]]. The "[[Song of Eärendil]]", written by Bilbo and Aragorn, contains the lines "A ship then new they built for him / of mithril and of elven-glass".<ref name="Many Meetings" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 1 "Many Meetings"}}</ref> The linguist of Elvish languages [[Anthony Appleyard]] wrote that this machine, with "no shaven oar nor sail", was evidently of an advanced technology, "sound[ing] suspiciously like most people's image of a spaceship."<ref name="Appleyard 1996">{{cite journal |last=Appleyard |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Appleyard |title=Tolkien and Space Travel |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |date=December 1996 |issue=34 |pages=21–24 |jstor=45321694}}</ref>

== Analysis ==

=== Origins ===

Norse culture contains myths of impenetrable armour, such as the shirt made by elves and used in battle by [[Örvar-Oddr]] (Ørvar Odd),<ref name="Fox 2020">{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Michael |title=Following the Formula in Beowulf, Örvar-Odds saga, and Tolkien |chapter=The Folktale Formula: Beowulf and Örvar-Odds saga |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |publication-place=Cham |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-48133-9 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-48134-6_5 |pages=157–194}}</ref> as related in the ''[[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks]]''.<ref name="Hervarar Saga p10">{{cite book |last=Thorarensen |first=G. (trans.) |editor-last=Petersen |editor-first=N. M. |title=Hervarar Saga |date=1847 |publisher=Det Nordiske Literatur-Samfund |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EmgAAAAAcAAJ |language=Old Norse}}</ref> The saga was translated by [[Christopher Tolkien]], with a commentary, and his father was certainly familiar with the text.<ref name="Hammond Scull 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Hammond |first1=Wayne G. |author1-link=Wayne G. Hammond |last2=Scull |first2=Christina |author2-link=Christina Scull |title=Christopher Tolkien, 1924–2020 |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |publisher=[[Project Muse]] |volume=17 |issue=1 |year=2020 |issn=1547-3163 |doi=10.1353/tks.2020.0001 |pages=7–24}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=Review of The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |via=[[Project Muse]] |issue=8 |year=2011 |volume=8 |pages=136–142 |doi=10.1353/tks.2011.0009 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/20/article/434402/summary|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|+ The myth of the impenetrable mail-coat
|-
! ''[[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks]]''<ref name="Hervarar Saga p10"/> !! Prose translation
|-
|''Oddr svarar: "ek vil berjask við Angantýr, hann mun gefa stór högg með Tyrfingi, en ek trúi betr skyrtu minni, enn brynju þinni, til hlífðar"''
|[[Örvar-Oddr|Oddr]] answers: "I want to fight [[Angantyr|Angantýr]], he will deliver a mighty blow with [his magic sword] [[Tyrfing]], but I trust my shirt better than your armour for protection"
|}

[[File:IY188 pg157 KIMBERLEY DIAMOND MINE, GRIQUALAND WEST, SOUTH AFRICA, 1885.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Schematic drawing|Semi-schematic drawing]] of [[Kimberley Diamond Mine]] in South Africa, 1885. Tolkien was born near deep mines, and may have chosen to use them in his fiction.<ref name="Barberis 2006"/>]]

The mining executive Danièle Barberis notes that Tolkien was born in [[Bloemfontein]], South Africa, in [[Mining in South Africa|a busy mining region]]. She writes that it is "impossible ... not to make parallels" between Tolkien's descriptions of the deep mines of Moria and the exceptional depth of South African mines, some as much as {{convert|4,000|metre|feet}} deep.<ref name="Barberis 2006">{{cite journal |last=Barberis |first=Danièle |title=Tolkien: The Lord of The Mines – Or A Comparative Study Between Mining During the Third Age of Middle-Earth by Dwarves and Mining During Our Age by Men (or Big-People) |journal=Minerals & Energy - Raw Materials Report |volume=20 |issue=3–4 |year=2006|pages=60–68 |doi=10.1080/14041040500504392 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2006MERMR..20...60B }}</ref>

=== Metallurgy ===

The chemist Suze Kundu describes mithril as a [[metal]], a pure [[chemical element]] with "a range of amazing chemical and physical properties" not matched by any real metal, and many applications. Of those that approach it, [[titanium]] is light (has a low density) and strong, but it is not [[Ductility|malleable]] (able to be beaten into shape) like mithril. In Kundu's view the nearest material would be a [[stainless steel]] alloy of [[iron]] with enough nano-scale [[carbon]] to make it hard.<ref name="Kundu 2019">{{cite journal |last=Kundu |first=Suze |title=Elements of Heroism |journal=Chemistry International |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH |volume=41 |issue=4 |date=1 October 2019 |doi=10.1515/ci-2019-0411 |pages=34–37}}</ref>

The metallurgist James Owen suggests that Mithril could be "an fcc <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[face-centred cubic]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> metal like [[aluminium]] or [[nickel]], or possibly a bcc <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[body-centred cubic]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>" metal like titanium".<ref name="Owen 1994"/> Owen comments that it could form "strong, stiff, tough alloys" with those elements, suitable for "light sword blades and armour", or used as the pure element, when "it would be soft and malleable" like copper or gold.<ref name="Owen 1994">{{cite journal |last=Owen |first=James |title=Metallurgy in the Third Age |journal=Other Hands |date=January 1994 |issue=4 |pages=19–21 |url=https://www2.otherminds.net/downloads/oh-archive/other-hands-issue-04.pdf}}</ref> The [[geologist]] [[William Sarjeant]], however, notes that mithril crystallises out "at so high a temperature that it is only found in veins at great depths", and proposes that it may be a [[native metal|native]] alloy of [[platinum]] with another metal, which might be [[palladium]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sarjeant |first=William Antony Swithin |date=1996 |title=The Geology of Middle-earth |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2167&context=mythlore |journal=Mythlore |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=334–339 |access-date=11 July 2024}}</ref>

=== Significance ===

The scholar of English literature [[Charles A. Huttar]] writes that ''mithril'' was the only mineral that Tolkien invented. He notes that in Tolkien's underworld, whether the [[Glittering Caves of Aglarond|caves at Helm's Deep]] or the mines of Moria, "beauty and terror [were] side by side".<ref name="Huttar 1975">{{cite book |last=Huttar |first=Charles A. |author-link=Charles A. Huttar |editor-last=Lobdell |editor-first=Jared |editor-link=Jared Lobdell |title=[[A Tolkien Compass]] |date=1975 |publisher=[[Open Court Publishing Company|Open Court]] |isbn=978-0875483030 |pages=137–139}}</ref> Greed for ''mithril'' could unleash the terror of the [[Balrog]], by digging too far down into the dark realm, but at the same time, he writes, the metal was prized for both its beauty and its usefulness, yielding the best armour. He compares the Dwarves' greed for ''mithril'' with that of the [[Barrow-wight]]s for treasure, and indeed that of the [[dragon]]s in ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[Beowulf]]'' for gold. In his view, these symbolise the evil "inherent in the mineral treasures hidden in the womb of Earth",<ref name="Huttar 1975"/> just as mining and metalwork are associated with [[Satan]] in [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (I, 670–751). Huttar sums up with a reflection on Tolkien's moral vision in the story: just as the characters at every point have to decide for good or ill, so objects have the potential to be both good and evil: "Mithril is both the greatest of treasures and a deadly bane."<ref name="Huttar 1975"/>

The Tolkien critic [[Paul H. Kocher|Paul Kocher]] interprets the Dwarves' intense secrecy around mithril and their devotion to artistry in metal and stone as "a sublimation of their sexual frustration", given that they have very few [[dwarf-women]] and love beauty with a "jealous possessiveness", or (quoting Tolkien) "being engrossed in their crafts".<ref name="Kocher p95">{{cite book |last=Kocher |first=Paul |author-link=Paul H. Kocher |title=Master of Middle-Earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien |title-link=Master of Middle-earth |date=1974 |orig-year=1972 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0140038779 |page=95}}</ref>

The name "mithril" (also spelt ''mith'', ''mithral'', or ''mythril'') is used in multiple [[Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien|fictional contexts influenced by Tolkien]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mithril |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412201844/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mithril |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 April 2019 |title=mithril |publisher=[[OxfordDictionaries.com|Oxford Dictionaries]] |access-date=2019-04-12}}</ref> For example, the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' game series, begun in 1987, involves dwarves and mithril.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sakaguchi |first1=Hironobu |author1-link=Hironobu Sakaguchi |last2=Sakakibara |first2=Moto |title=Final Fantasy |publisher=Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |year=2006 |page=143 |url= |quote=Sakaguchi borrowed heavily from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, especially ''The Hobbit'' and ''Lord of the Rings''. His game also featured elves, dwarves, and mithril, a mythical blend of steel and silver.}}</ref>

== References ==

=== Primary ===

{{reflist|group=T|28em}}

=== Secondary ===

{{reflist|28em}}

== Sources ==

* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Libran Moreno |first=Miryam |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Elendilmir |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=146–147}}
* {{ME-ref|TH}}
* {{ME-ref|FOTR}}
* {{ME-ref|TT}}
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}}
* {{ME-ref|UT}}

{{The Lord of the Rings}}
{{Middle-earth}}

[[Category:Middle-earth objects]]
[[Category:Fictional metals]]