CuriousG
Gondolin
Nov 26 2025, 8:17pm
Views: 689
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In case someone with HOME at hand [i]doesn[/i]'t chime in, I do vaguely recall from past discussions that Frodo's sword was enchanted as well, and the fact that he missed the Wi-king still impressed on the latter that there was some magic present in the sword/knife that was harmful to him, which was part of the reason he withdrew so easily from the Weathertop fight (if you're like me and can't figure out why Aragorn and a burning stick can scare away 9 near-deathless sorcerers).
And someone cited Tolkien's musings on the topic somewhere that I forget ([i]The Hunt for the Ring[/i]? [i]Letters[/i]?).
As for the Wi-king breaking Frodo's sword at the Ford of Bruinen with a magical command, I think that does tie in with how easily Merry's sword/knife was destroyed even in carrying out its prime task. They weren't endowed with magic to overpower the Wi-king and/or block his spells, just break the spell that protected him from [i]another [/i]blade (like Eowyn's).
Just as a thought experiment: think of Merry stabbing Wi-king from behind, and the latter cries out in pain. Let's say Eowyn faints, leaving Merry alone. Could Merry either 1) run in circles and wait for the leg-wound to drain/kill the Wi-king, or 2) fight off the mace-bearing Wi-king with his short sword, even with its enchantment? YMMV, but I think Merry would be doomed to lose and die in either case.
**My point on #2 is that Merry was an inexperienced swordsman compared to Wi-king and would lose in combat for that reason. I bet if he could stab him again in some vital area he'd kill him, but that seems unlikely given who had more combat experience.
(This post was edited by CuriousG on Nov 26 2025, 8:22pm)
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