in the lord of the rings strider sword is broken at the end, but he still wields it, how realistic is this?

Question

im in the uk a big lord of the rings fan, im 34 and i remember that striders sword at the end is broken, but he continues to wield it and uses it to kill the orcs....i think he has a long sword of some sort.

but how realistic would that be in reality? a sword that was broken at the end with no point ? could such a broken weapon still be used effectively?

thanks

Answer 1

In most cases pretty effectively , it's the cutting edge that does the work , the point was there to take advantage of weaknesses like gaps in the opponents armour.

Answer 2

Not sure if you're thinking the books or the movies, but in either case, at one point or another, the sword gets repaired (reforged, no longer broken). Tolkien didn't emphasize the repairing a whole lot in the books, which may be where your confusion comes from. Aragorn (as Strider) does say something about the sword not being especially useful while it's broken.



As others have pointed out, even a broken sword can still cut, even if it doesn't have nearly as long of a reach.



The whole broken sword thing comes out of Arthurian and Norse legend. Arthur's original sword(pulled from the stone) breaks in a fight against Arthur's future ally King Pellinore, and he afterwards receives a new sword from the Lady of the Lake. In Norse myth, the hero Sigurd reforges his father's sword, which was broken by the god Othin.



In both cases, of course, as in Lord of the Rings, the sword grants remarkable combat abilities to a very specific bearer (Arthur, Sigurd, and Strider/Aragorn).

Answer 3

In reality a broken sword can still be used effectively.....cutting edge and all.

Narsil, the sword of Elendil was an Elven-made blade which had a light/glow/fire, and that went out when it cut Sauron's hand.

When Elrond had it re-forged in Imladris, it was wrought with spells and covered in runes and designs which rendered it pretty invincible.

In the book(s), Aragorn didn't have the sword until it was re-forged, and it was brought to him by Elrond's sons and Halbarad, another Dunedain, wrapped in a sheath made by Arwen with more magical devices woven into the fabric.

This sword was used in battle, a LOT, but I think it's other, mayhap more important purpose was to mark Aragorn as the royal he was. It was recognized by the Dead under the mountain at the Stone of Erech, it was recognized by Sauron when Aragorn showed it to him in the Palantir.

Answer 4

Very. Remember, Arthur pulled Caliburn from the stone, it broke during one of his battles and AFTER the Lady of the Lake loaned him Excalibur. Jagged steel and even bronze or iron can still be sharp and still do damage. Rest assured swords broke in battle until we stopped using them in battles.



To digress, I want to believe in Atlantis but I am sick of hearing about these new Atlantis is Spain theories. There are SEVERAL ruins which are where the sea once was or where marshes formed in Spain. What makes one Atlantis? It happened that cities and towns sank into the sea many times in our history. There isn't ONE place it's all based on.



Just so, Tolkien was a scholar of languages found mostly in medieval manuscripts. What are they about? Mostly Heaven and battles.



It happens in many accounts of battles, both historic and legendary because it happens that it happened many times.

Answer 5

he could still use the sword to slash, just not pierce. since it was a longsword and only the tip was broken it was still a usable weapon.

Answer 6

Of course. So long as it has a cutting edge.