Mithril

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 author first wrote of it in The Lord of the Rings, and it was retroactively mentioned in the second, 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".

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 mistarille. Mithril was also called "true-silver" or "Moria-silver"; the Dwarves had their own secret name for it.

Properties

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."

He also noted that the shirt Frodo is wearing is worth more than the combined value of the Shire.

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.

Abundance

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. After the Dwarves abandoned Moria and production of new mithril stopped entirely, it became priceless.

The mithril-coat

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.

"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, and took it with him when he left the Shire. Later, he gave the shirt to Frodo Baggins when he 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. It saved Frodo's life again when an Orc-arrow struck him while escaping Moria, and again when he was struck by another Orc-arrow while crossing the River Anduin.

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 other Frodo's possessions, shown to Frodo's allies at the Black Gate to falsely imply that he was captured. Gandalf took the shirt and other tokens.

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. Saruman was then killed by Gríma.

Other mithril objects in Tolkien's writings

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 and the first Elendilmir with it; at least he found the Elendilmir. A replica was made, which was used by Isildur's successors, up to the reestablishment 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).

Other contexts

Mithril, or similarly spelled names (mithral, mythril and others), have been used in other fictional contexts as a strong and semi-magical metal, or simply as a name for a project or device, due to the Tolkien Estate not trademarking the term, as it did with "Hobbit". It appears in many computer, video, and MMORPG-type games, where it is usually used for armor or as a denomination of currency.

Despite the fact that mithril is used in many role-playing game settings, its value varies depending on the setting. Mithril is usually more valuable than gold. In some settings mithril is worth ten times its weight in gold (as in Tolkien's writings), making it the same value as platinum.