Mithril

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Mithril is a fictional metal from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. It is silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The malleability, lack of tarnishing and use of the metal in jewellery could also indicate a reference to platinum. The author first wrote of it in The Lord of the Rings, and it was retrospectively mentioned^[1] in the third, revised edition of The Hobbit in 1966. In the first 1937 edition, the mail shirt given to Bilbo was described as being made of "silvered steel".^[1]

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes that mithril was found only in Khazad-dûm (Moria) in Middle-earth, where it was mined by the Dwarves. However, in Unfinished Tales he writes that it was also found in Númenor.

The name mithril comes from two words in Sindarin — mith, meaning "grey", and ril meaning "glitter". The metal's Quenya name is mistarillë. Mithril was also called "true-silver" or "Moria-silver"; the Dwarves had their own secret name for it.

The wizard Gandalf explained mithril to others while passing through Khazad-dûm:

"Mithril! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim."^[2]

The Noldor of Eregion made an alloy out of it called ithildin ("star moon"), which was used to decorate gateways and portals. It was visible only by starlight or moonlight. The West Gate of Moria bore inlaid ithildin designs and runes.^[2] It is implied at one point that the "moon-letters" featured in The Hobbit were also composed of ithildin.

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 the kingdom of the Dwarves at Khazad-dûm, 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.^[2] After the Dwarves abandoned Moria and production of new mithril stopped entirely, it became priceless.

Of all items made of mithril, the most famous is the "small shirt of mail" retrieved from the hoard of the dragon Smaug, and given to Bilbo Baggins by Thorin Oakenshield.^[1] It was later estimated by Gandalf that the value of this mithril-coat was "greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it."^[2]

"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.

Bilbo wore the mithril shirt during the Battle of the Five Armies,^[1] and took it with him when he left the Shire. Later, he gave the shirt to Frodo Baggins when the younger hobbit embarked on his quest in The Lord of The Rings. In Moria, the mail saved Frodo's life when he was hit by an Orc spear during the battle in the Chamber of Mazarbul.^[2] It saved Frodo's life again when an Orc-arrow struck him while escaping Moria,^[2] and again when he was struck by another Orc-arrow while crossing the River Anduin.^[3]

When Sam Gamgee believed Frodo to be dead outside Shelob's Lair, he left the shirt with Frodo. Frodo was taken by the orcs, who fought over the shirt. Frodo was saved, but one of the orcs escaped with the shirt. The shirt was, along with Frodo's other possessions, shown to Frodo's allies at the Black Gate to falsely imply that he was captured. Gandalf took the shirt and other tokens, but refused any offer of parley.

At the end of the story, Frodo wore the shirt at the celebrations and on the trip home. The shirt saved his life one more time when Saruman, who had taken over the Shire, tried to stab Frodo after Frodo had spared his life.^[4] Saruman was then killed by Gríma.

Searching through the closets of Orthanc, King Elessar and his aides found the long lost first Elendilmir, a white star of Elvish crystal affixed to a fillet of mithril. Once owned by Elendil, the first King of Arnor, it was an emblem of royalty in the North Kingdom. After Elendil fell in the War of the Last Alliance, his eldest son Isildur ascended to the throne. On his journey back to the northern capital of Arnor, his retinue was ambushed by orcs. Isildur tried to escape by jumping into a river but was killed by arrows. Saruman may have found his body there, and taken the Elendilmir from it. A replica was made, which was used by Isildur's successors up to the re-establishment of the kingdom (reunited with Gondor) by Elessar. He thus used both, using one or the other on certain occasions.

The Dwarves' beloved metal appears also in Gondor. The Guards of the Citadel of Minas Tirith wear helmets of mithril, "heirlooms from the glory of old days". As a result, the Citadel Guards are the only soldiers in Gondor that still bear the emblems of the lost Kings during the days of the Stewards: regular armour wore out over the centuries and was replaced, but as mithril armour never degrades it never needed to be replaced, and as mithril objects were no longer replaceable, the Stewards would not discontinue use of the rare and valuable armour despite the emblems they bore.

As Aragorn's ships sail up the Anduin to relieve the besieged Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring, the standard flying on his ship shows a crown made of mithril and gold.

After Gimli became lord of Aglarond, he and his dwarves forged great gates of mithril and steel to replace the gates of Minas Tirith which were broken by the Witch-king of Angmar.

Galadriel's Elven Ring, Nenya is made of mithril and is set with a stone of 'adamant' (probably diamond).

The name mithril or similarly spelled variations (mithral, mythril, and others) is present in other fictional contexts like roleplaying games, since the Tolkien Estate did not trademark the term. One early example is Dungeons & Dragons most notably the Forgotten Realms setting. It appears in many computer and video games such as: The Realm Online, Ultima Online, Nethack, Gemstone IV, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, IV: Oblivion, EverQuest, RuneScape, Shadowbane, Dark Age of Camelot, Diablo, Lineage II, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Tales of Symphonia, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross, Mabinogi, MapleStory, Patapon, Star Ocean, Cabal Online, Harvest Moon, Runes of Magic, Kingdom Hearts, Arx Fatalis,Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Aion: The Tower of Eternity. The name is usually used for a special type of metal (often used as armour, and is then almost always the best type second only to Adamantium), or as a denomination of currency, or as a name for a project or device. Mithril is also the name of a secret military unit in the anime Full Metal Panic.

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