| This article is about the battering ram. For the hammer, see Grond (hammer). Additionally for the soundtrack, see Grond - The Hammer of the Underworld. |
- "Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if stricken by some blasting spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground."
- —The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor"
Grond, or the Ram,[1] was a huge battering ram with a hideous head resembling that of a ravening wolf. It was used in the arsenal of Sauron for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, toward the end of the Third Age.[2]
History[]
Grond was forged "in the dark smithies of Mordor" for a long time during the final years of the Third Age, specifically for use by the Morgul-host besieging the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor, at the climax of the War of the Ring. Spells of ruin were laid on it and it was named in homage after the Hammer of the Underworld, a great mace wielded by Morgoth, Sauron's former master.[2]
Grond's deployment against Minas Tirith's gate, by Ralph Damiani
Grond was said to be as "great as a forest-tree a hundred feet in length", making it much larger than any other such battering ram in Middle-earth. On March 14,[3] Grond was brought up to the Great Gate of the City by a group of great siege beasts, escorted by bands of Orcs, and pushed by several mountain-trolls. While Grond itself was fire-proof, the beasts pulling it were not and would occasionally go mad and run through the battlefield, trampling anything and anyone underfoot.[2]
After failing to smash the gates the first time, the Witch-king of Angmar spoke in "some forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone" and thus aided Grond in smashing open the formidable Great Gate of the City with just three more blows.[2]
Etymology[]
Grond is a Sindarin name meaning "very weighty and ponderous"[4] that is derived from the root RON ("solid, tangible, firm").[5]
It is also a name in Quenya meaning "club", from runda ("rough piece of wood").[6]
In adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King[]
- "Bring up the wolf's head."
- —Gothmog
In Peter Jackson's 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Grond has fire spewing from its carved jaws, and is pulled by "Great Beasts": four huge rhinoceros-like creatures. The ram's wolf design is extended, with the entire battering ram carved to resemble a great wolf. Gothmog refers to it as both "Grond" and the wolf's head in the film; in the Extended Edition of the film, he summons it after a failed attempt to breach Minas Tirith with a standard battering ram. As the Host of Mordor and its allies watched it approaching Minas Tirith, they could be heard chanting its name: "Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond!" It is much like its portrayal in the book, as it strikes Minas Tirith's gates four times before breaking through. Grond was said to be 60 feet high and 150 feet long. Fire burned in its great maw.
The Return of the King (1980 animated film)[]
Grond in the 1980 Rankin/Bass film
In the 1980 animated film, Grond is depicted as drooling acid in one shot, and its eyes glow red. Here the Great Beasts that tow it into position are Oliphaunts.
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
In Chapter 8 of Book 3 in The Lord of the Rings Online, the player is able to damage Grond to delay its coming for the battle. However, the arrival of Gothmog forces the player to retreat.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth[]
Grond makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(video game)[]
Grond makes an appearance in video game of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Gallery[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ግሮንድ |
| Arabic | جروند |
| Armenian | Գրոնդ |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Грунд |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 葛龍德 |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 格龙得 |
| French | Gronde |
| Georgian | გრონდი |
| Greek | Γρονδ |
| Gujarati | ગ્રોન્ડ |
| Hebrew | גרונד |
| Hindi | गरोड |
| Japanese | グロンド |
| Kannada | ಗ್ರೋನ್ಡ್ |
| Kazakh Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Korean | 그 론드 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Malayalam | ഗ്രൊംദ് |
| Marathi | ग्रोन्द |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Persian | گراند |
| Punjabi | ਗ੍ਰੋਨ੍ਦ |
| Russian | Гронд |
| Sanskrit | ङ्रोन्द् |
| Serbian (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin) | гронд |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Sinhalese | ග්රොඳ් |
| Tamil | கிராண்ட் |
| Telugu | గ్రోన్డ్ |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Ґронд |
| Urdu | گراونڈ |
| Uzbek | Гронд (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin) |
| Yiddish | גראָנד |
| Named weapons of Middle-earth | |
|---|---|
| Hobbits | Barrow-blades • Sting |
| Dwarves | Durin's Axe • Orcrist |
| Servants of Evil | Grond (battering ram) • Grond (hammer) • Morgul-knife |
| Elves | Aeglos • Anglachel • Anguirel • Angrist • Aranrúth • Belthronding • Dailir • Glamdring • Orcrist • Ringil |
| Men | Andúril • Dramborleg • Black arrow • Dagmor • Gúthwinë • Gurthang • Herugrim • Narsil • Red Arrow |
References[]
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 8: The War of the Ring, Part Three: Minas Tirith, VII: "The Ride of the Rohirrim"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. IV: "The Siege of Gondor", pgs. 101-2
- ↑ The Chronology of The Lord of the Rings, pg. 72
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pg. 99
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XVII: Words, Phrases and Passages in various tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pg. 183
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", pg. 384 (entry RUD-)