Throughout the Lord of the Rings book and film series, the ranger Aragorn is repeatedly referred to as Isildur’s heir. What this means may be unclear to some readers, or even to some watching the films, as Isildur appears only briefly. However, Isildur was more than just the eldest son of Allendale and a brief king of Gondor – in fact, he was of the bloodline of Númenor, that ancient island kingdom filled with magic, intrigue, and for many years the faithful mortals who chose to follow the dictates of the Valar and remain friends with the elves. Unfortunately, this was not to last.

Living centuries longer than most mortals, the kings of Númenor became more and more haughty and prideful as time went on. They preferred the company of the elves less and less, and considered themselves to be not just lords of their island but over other men form other kingdoms as well. Though their pride grew great they still answered the calls when needed, and even captured the Dark Lord Sauron and brought him back as a prisoner for a time. This proved to be more hubris on their part, as Sauron was able to convince them he was cowed by their power and flattered them greatly. As they listened to the Dark Lord – who in those days was able to appear fair and beautiful – more and more, the Kings of Númenor became vulnerable to his influence. Though they had long lives they were fearful of death, and Sauron was able to use this fear to corrupt them utterly. Except for a remnant under the command of a man named Elendil, the island and everyone on it were destroyed.

Elendil and his family, along with those who remained faithful to the Valar, escaped the destruction of Númenor and founded the Midde Earth kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. When the armies of the survivors of Númenor joined with the elves in the Last Alliance to march against Sauron’s forces in Mordor, Elendil took with him the sword Narsil – not a human weapon, nor an Elvish one; Narsil (along with many other famous weapons) was forged by the dwarf Smith Telchar of Nogrod in the First Age of the world. For those keeping score at home this makes Narsil one of the oldest weapons in the world! When Elendil fell and Narsil broke, Isildur took up with the broken sword of his father and cut the ring from Sauron’s hand. By the death of his father and by the raising up of the shards of Narsil Isildur became the new king of Gondor.

Isildur’s reign would be short-lived, however, as he did not only take the shards of Narsil from the fields of battle but the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. Deeply affected by the dark magic of the Ring Isildur kept it close while it slowly corrupted him. He would die a few years later and lose the Ring, which would remain lost for two and a half thousand years. During that time the Kingdom of Gondor was never again ruled by the house of Elendil – not until Aragorn, a direct descendant to Isildur, would take up the shards of Narsil reforged into Anduril, Flame of the West, and seek to claim the throne that was his birthright.

Our Anduril Dagger, companion to our ever-popular Anduril Sword, is somewhat of a hybrid between a dagger and a short sword. With a blade length of 21” and a total length of 29.5″, it certainly carries with it more presence than the average dagger. The guard and pommel bear the White Tree of Gonder, symbol of the house of the king and identical to the Anduril sword (if smaller in size). The blade is an exact scale replica of the full sized sword blade, complete with intricate elven runes and a single fuller. For full size fans of Lord of the Rings, this is a fine companion piece to our primary version of the Anduril. For fans of smaller or slighter stature, this might make a more interesting piece as a small sword for riding or daily wear – similar to how Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien’s The Hobbit used a long elven dagger as a sword.

Blade: 5160 High Carbon Steel. Dual Hardened.
Total length: 29.5″
Blade length: 21″
Weight: 1 lbs. 14 oz.