*** Welcome to piglix ***

Middle-earth objects

External image
Crown of Gondor sketch by J. R. R. Tolkien from J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy legendarium includes several noteworthy objects. The following list includes weapons, armour, jewellery, and other items.

A wondrous large white gem, the royal jewel of the Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain). It was sought by Thorin Oakenshield, the claimant to the kingdom, in The Hobbit. The Arkenstone had been discovered at the heart of the Mountain by Thorin's ancestor, Thráin I the Old, and shaped by the Dwarves. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of Durin's line, but was lost when the dragon Smaug captured the mountain from the Dwarves (T.A. 2770). The Arkenstone shone of its own inner light, but having been cut and fashioned by the Dwarves, it also reflected and multiplied any light glancing upon its surface with marvellous beauty. It was also called the Heart of the Mountain, and as Thorin describes to Bilbo: "It shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon..."

When Bilbo Baggins found it on Smaug's golden bed deep inside the Lonely Mountain (T.A. 2941), he pocketed it, having learned how much Thorin valued it. While his Dwarf companions sorted the treasure, Thorin sought only the Arkenstone, unaware that Bilbo was hiding it in his pillow. When the Dwarves refused to share any of the treasure with Bard (who had killed Smaug) and King Thranduil, Bilbo crept out of the Dwarves' fort inside the Mountain, and gave them the Arkenstone; Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf then tried to trade it for Bilbo's fourteenth share of Smaug's hoard. The dispute was interrupted by goblins and wargs from the Grey Mountains, the Battle of Five Armies ensued, and Thorin was killed. When Thorin was buried deep under Erebor, Bard placed the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast.


...
Wikipedia

...