Arwen wielding Hadhafang
Hadhafang (Throng-cleaver) was a sword once belonging to the Elven princess Idril who wed a mortal man (Tuor) and bore Eärendil, the father of Elrond, who in turn was father to Arwen.
Hadhafang was wielded by Elrond during the battle between the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron on the slopes of Mount Doom. Many years later, his daughter Arwen used this sword when she aided Frodo in his escape from the Ringwraiths.
The blade is Inscribed with Cirth runes in Sindarin that say "Aen estar Hadhafang i chathol hen, thand arod dan i thang an i arwen." Which translates to "this blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady." (In Sindarin "Arwen" actually means "noble (or royal) woman").
Behind the Scenes
- This sword does not appear in the books, it was created by Weta Workshop and it’s back-story by the filmmakers for Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels.
- The name Hadhafang is a newly-coined Sindarin word meaning "throng-cleaver".
- Some viewers claimed that Hadhafang was a Japanese-type sword. This is not true. Hadhafang was inspired by western cavalry sabers and the Assyrian sickle-sword. Hadhafang is made for use on horseback, as evidenced by the fact that Arwen was to carry a borrowed Rohiric sword during the actual Battle of Helms Deep, but Hadhafang during the charge and the Warg battle. However, the decision to not include Arwen in Helms Deep was made and we never got to see this sword in battle. Some people have also commented on the bad balance of the prop, not realizing that is meant for work from horseback.
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