| This article is about the hammer. For the battering-ram, see Grond. Additionally for the soundtrack, see Grond - The Hammer of the Underworld. |
Grond, also known as the Hammer of the Underworld, was the great hammer of Angband[1] that Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, wielded in the First Age.[2]
History[]
Forged at an unknown time in Angband,[1] Grond was an extremely powerful weapon in Morgoth's arsenal, which "he wielded as a mace"[1] in his single combat with Fingolfin, High King of the Ñoldor. Fingolfin had challenged Morgoth after the Ñoldor's devastating defeat at Dagor Bragollach.[2]
Each heavy blow of Grond was brought down as a thunder-bolt, making the very earth shake[3] while leaving craters of erupting fire and smoke.[4] Fingolfin swiftly evaded them, and struck Morgoth seven times, filling the great pits with his black blood. At last, Fingolfin was "beaten to the earth" by Grond and pinned by the Dark Lord's left foot. As Morgoth readied a death blow, Fingolfin stabbed his foot. The blow crippled Morgoth, already weakened by his labors in corrupting Arda and grasping the Silmarils, and he would limp for the rest of his time on Earth.[2]
In the Third Age, Sauron, Morgoth's great servant and successor, recalled the Hammer of the Underworld when he built a huge battering ram to break the Great Gate of Minas Tirith during the Siege of Gondor, naming it Grond after it.[5]
Etymology[]
Grond is a Sindarin name meaning "very weighty and ponderous"[6] that is derived from the root RON ("solid, tangible, firm").[7]
It is also a name in Quenya meaning "club", from runda ("rough piece of wood").[8] Coincidentally, Grond means "ground" in Dutch, perhaps referring to the craters it rent in the ground.
In other versions[]
In the earliest version of the duel, Grond was a mace which Morgoth wielded "like a great hammer of his forges" rather than wielding a great hammer like a mace.[9]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Armenian | Գրոնդ |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Грунд |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 葛龍得 |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 格龙得(攻城槌) |
| Georgian | გრონდი |
| German | Grond (Keule) |
| Greek | Γρονδ |
| Gujarati | ગ઼રોન્દ |
| Hebrew | ג רונד ? |
| Hindi | गरोड |
| Italian | Grond (Martello da Guerra) |
| Kannada | ಗ್ರೊಂಡ್ |
| Kazakh | Гронд (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Nepalese | घरोनद ? |
| Russian | Молот Гронд |
| Sanskrit | ङ्रोन्द् |
| Serbian (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin) | гронд |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Гронд |
| Tamil | கிராண்ட் |
| Sinhalese | ග්රොඳ් |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Ґронд |
| 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[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One: "The Grey Annals", pg. 55 (§156-7)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin", pgs. 153-4
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings", pgs. 284-5
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: "The Lay of Leithian", Canto XII, pgs. 285, 293
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, chapter IV: "The Siege of Gondor"
- ↑ 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-)
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth: The Quenta, The Ambarkanta, and The Annals, III: "The Quenta", pg. 107