One of the few heirlooms to survive the destruction of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the King's Sword of Númenor was in origin Aranrúth, the sword of King Thingol of Doriath. After the fall of Doriath, Aranrúth came into the keeping of Thingol's great-granddaughter Elwing, and from her it passed to her son Elros. As the Second Age began, Elros went to the new land of Númenor and became its first King, Tar-Minyatur. Thus Aranrúth became a treasured heirloom of the Kings of Númenor that succeeded Elros.
By the closing years of the Second Age, the King's Sword was at least three thousand years old, and quite possibly much older still. It was lost at the time of the Downfall of Númenor, either in the fall of Númenor itself, or possibly in the disastrous invasion of Aman by Ar-Pharazön the last King of Númenor.
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Our first specific mention of the King's Sword comes from the story of Túrin, at a time when it was still held by King Thingol. The events concerned took place in the year I 485, so in principle all we can say is that the sword was forged at some point before that date. We do, however, have an account of a time long before this, when incursions by Morgoth's creatures forced Thingol to forge arms for his people. That was the first time that the Sindar had considered the need for weapons, so it would be a reasonable time for their King to have acquired his sword. The dating of these events places them about 1,600 years before the first rising of the Sun.
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- Updated 11 August 2022
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