What Is The Black Sword In Rings Of Power’s SDCC Trailer?
Black sword appeared in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powe trailer but what exactly is it?
The Lord of the Rings was one of the most anticipated panels at the San Diego Comic-Con as Amazon released a new trailer for the mega-budget The Rings of Power TV series.
The three-minute-long trailer was power packed with some new faces and possible plot points in the series. Of course, with any trailer, there are easter eggs or secret reveals that catch the eye, and the SDCC 2022 trailer for Lord of the Rings followed suit.
The 6000 crowd in Hall H saw the trailer firsthand, and many fans noticed a broken black sword that stood out throughout the clip.
The mysterious black sword extended into a firey shadow, reconstructing itself into a fully functioning sword. The sword also appeared as a symbol in an icy mold etched onto an anvil in the trailer.
Amazon also used the image of Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo holding the black sword in a promotional image back in mid-April. The character isn’t canon but is specifically created for TV as part of the plot progression.
The broken black sword has sparked discussion and debate in the fandom as to the real nature of the mysterious weapon. If you are still looking for clarification on the sword, worry not, we’ve got you covered; Keep scrolling to find out more.
MAGICAL BLACK SWORD s’ ORIGIN EXPLAINED
According to the middle earth history books, the broken black sword is Gurthang which belonged to Turin Turamber.
Gurthang is Sindarin for “Iron of Death” from gurth (“death”) + ang (“iron”). Gurthang was originally known as Anglachel and was forged from a meteorite by a legendary Elf named Eöl. However, the sword eventually came into the possession of a man named Túrin Turambar.
After Túrin accidentally used the sword to kill its previous master, Anglachel was reforged as Gurthang (meaning “Iron of Death”).
The sword was black and was said to have been imbued with the malice of its original creator, which resulted in it achieving an undetermined level of sentience.
After its reforging, Túrin went on to use Gurthang whenever he rode into battle. He famously used the sword to kill the evil dragon known as Glaurung, but Túrin was subsequently struck with a revelation that led him into a suicidal depression.
He threw himself upon Gurthang after speaking with the sword, which told him it would “slay thee swiftly” so that it could forget the blood of the innocent men Túrin had killed with it.
When Túrin threw himself upon it, Gurthang broke beneath the body of its final wielder, and its shares were later buried with Túrin’s body beneath the Stone of the Hapless.
IS THEO HOLDING TURIN S’ GURTHANG?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place 1,000 years before Lord of the Rings and is set during Middle-earth’s Second Age.
A key point to highlight is the sword exists in the middle earth history books, and its appearance in the Rings of Power trailer could not be just a coincidence. Furthermore, Turin s’ grave, along with the shards of his sword, survived after the end of the first age, which raises an interesting theory.
Was Gurthang recovered in the Second Age, and did Theo come across the sword’s broken remains in the trailer? We can’t say it for sure, but it looks like he did by theory.
The descriptive text under The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power poster reads:
“Close up of someone’s right hand holding a broken sword pointing upward. We do not see this person’s face. The sword is old and jagged, and the hilt is ornate. They are clad in a robe of fur and animal skin.“
It doesn’t tell much, but if take a look at this passage describing the sword from the Children of Hurin, which says:
“The sword Anglachel was forged anew for him by the cunning smiths of Nargothrond, and though ever black, its edges shone with pale fire.”
This description also appears as the imagery of fire enveloping the black sword features in the trailer.
The trailer also gives us a first look at the Orcs who inadvertently became the reason for the death of Turin s’ good friend, Beleg. As a result, He reforged his sword from Anglachel into Gurthang.
Christopher Tolkien notes that Anglachel contains the Sindarin word ang (“iron”) and probably the element lhach (“leaping flame”). This would give the meaning of “Flaming Iron,” which is again evident in the trailer as the black sword recreates itself from the leaping flames from its edges.
SECOND THEORY ON THE BLACK SWORD
The sword’s origin and irrefutable parallelism with the trailer make a compelling case for Gurthang’s theory.
On the other hand, Theo, as mentioned, isn’t a canon character, and his inclusion was necessary as the show doesn’t have the right to use Gurthang because it’s a part of the Lord of the Rings mythology.
Showrunner Patrick Mckay in an interview with Vanity Fair, said:
We have the rights solely to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, the appendices, and The Hobbit,” Payne says. “And that is it. We do not have the rights to The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, or any other books.
Vanity Fair
Considering this hypothesis, it could simply mean the sword like Theo was created for the writer J. R. R. Tolkien as respect for ancient weaponry.
Patrick Mckay also echoed this theory by stating:
“As long as we’re painting within those lines and not egregiously contradicting something we don’t have the rights to, there’s a lot of leeway and room to dramatize and tell some of the best stories that [Tolkien] ever came up with.”
Vanity Fair
The creators can take a few other options if they adapt a few parts from the Silmarillion.
One option is the sword can be Anguirel which was created by Eol using the same iron meteor, Gurthang was forged. Anguirel vanishes from the story and has no reference again, leaving a door open for the creators to reintroduce the sword.
The sword is broken, as we see in the trailer, another choice could be Angrist, the legendary knife of the First Age hero Beren. Likewise, Dagmor, Aranruth, and Ringil are all ancient swords inherited by kings, which could be used to explain the black sword.
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CONCLUSION
Whether you subscribe to the Gurthang or the second theory, the weapon will inevitably have a significant interest of power and mystery in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
