Aeglos- the spear of Gil-galad

[GildorInglorion]

I have always been fascinated with Aeglos (or Aiglos), the spear of Gil-galad, but I know so little about it.

What was it made from?
Where did it come from?
What happened to it after Gil-galad was killed?
Why was it such a great weapon?

I Can't find anything mentioned about it except in Rivendel where I think Elrond said it was the spear of Gil-galad, which no foe could withstand.

Do you know, or do you have any ideas? About anything that has to to with aeglos

[Man-of-the-Wold]

If memory serves it was consumed by the heat of Sauron, like Gil-Galad.

The shaft was probably made of wood, reinforced with metal, and was the long kind of thrusting spear that one might use either standing or on horse, although it might have had more than just a sharp point at the end but also large barbs and blades.

Such a weopon is hard to imagine, but as part of disciplined attacking force with similar or complimentary weopons it could be quite devasting as the opponent would be harmed before getting too close. The scene at the start of the Film may be suggestive in that a row of warriors flash spear-like weopons in coordinated unison.

The danger is in more chaotic, hand-to-hand situations is that once a foe gets to close, the spear is at a disadvantage compared to a sword or short axe, which is why one might expect a spearman to have an auxilary weopon at easy grasp.

Still, I've always thought of the irony that with a spear Gil-Galad should be more able to avoid the proximity to Sauron that seems to have killed him first, before Earendil.

So, I might speculate that Sauron when he first issued on to the battlefield at the bitter end was at his "hottest" so to speak, and that Gil-Galad bore the brunt of is initial personal attack. This then gave Earendil the opportunity to fight him with Narsil, followed by Isildur's final blows with the shards thereof.

[Elenna]

Ummm, don't you mean Elendil, Man of the Wold?

And I picture Aeglos being made of Mallorn wood, with a mithril point. They did say that it shines like the snow on the mountain, which is what Aeglos means.

As for a spear being at a disadvantage, it all depends. A throwing spear is truly at a disadvantage, it's haft not being strong enough or heavy enough to give the user much advantage. But a skillful spearman with a stabbing spear, as I assume Gil-Galad was, would probably be able to do just as well as many swordsmen.

[Raefindel]

From The Tolkien Companion

Aiglos"Icicle" (sindarin) The spear of Gil-Galad,last of the High-elven Kings of Middle-earth. He used this weapon throughout his long wars with Sauron:At the Battle of Dagorlad(3434 second age) the Spear was indefatigable. It was destroyed with Gil-galad on the slopes of Orodruin, in final combat with Sauron.

[ October 19, 2002: Message edited by: Raefindel ]

The Roman Legion's main weapon was a battle-spear with a full body-shield. The battle-spear, when used correctly, would be able to keep a swordsman at bay due to its longer reach. It could also be shortened, simply by choking up on it. If it was dropped or knocked away, most warriors carried a backup blade as well.

[Rumil]

I wonder if Aiglos was a spear for use on foot or mounted? I could imagine Gil Galad resplendant in finery on a gaily caparisoned horse, charging at the head of Elven knights, almost definitely bad news for the poor snagas on the other side!

I'd imagine the fight with Sauron was on foot, as it may have proved tricky to get a horse up Orodruin (unless they took Sauron's road?) and a horse woud be unlikely to tolerate the presence of Big S.

Perhaps an 8ft to 12ft spear capable of being used mounted or on foot would be appropriate. Perhaps its staff was painted in a eye catching design, something not unknown in our history.

I don't think it would have resembled the Roman spear, the pilum, as this was generally used to throw at the enemy, apart from a few occasions where it was weilded as a spear to ward off enemy cavalry.

[StarJewel]

Probably steel, but the shaft may have been wood. Going out on a limb, but, i dunno, mybe Celebrimbor made it. He was a smith and everything, so why not? As to what happened to it when Gil Galad died, I would assume that Elrond may have it. He has Gil-Galad's ring, and the pieces of Narsil, so it would be likely that he also has the spear

[Finwe]

I don't think there was much left of Aeglos after Gil-galad's death. Because, the way I see it, it was either splintered by Sauron's mace/sword/random club-shaped weapon, or burned up by his body heat. The way it probably happened was that Gil-galad charged at Sauron when he first saw him, and got his spear knocked aside, and probably splintered. Then, he probably got thrown around a bit by Sauron, and eventually killed. But before he died, he drew his sword/back-up blade, and managed to inflict some serious wounds on the Big S. After that, Elendil took over, inflicted a few more serious wounds, and also got himself killed. After that, once Isildur charged up screaming, we know what happened.
I think that the movies represented Aeglos fairly correctly. The curved blade would be of far more use than a simple point. It could double as a kind of sword. If you look closely at the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring, in the Prologue, Gil-galad uses the spear as a kind of axe, to finish off an already fallen Orc. There are also some promo pictures and pictures in Movie Companion books of Elvish armor and weapons that you guys might want to look at.