Skip to main content

the lord of the rings - Who were the greatest archers in Middle-earth, according to Tolkien?


I've read about quite a few prodigious archers in Middle-earth: Beleg, Legolas, Rangers like Aragorn (not sure about this one) as well as other Men of Gondor, Easterlings (not sure where I've seen anything about them, actually) and Bard.



Main question:
Who (according to Tolkien) was the greatest archer from each race?


Bonus question:
Was there a single archer (of any race) who Tolkien esteemed above all others?



Answer



Elves


The greatest Elf bowman appears to be Duilin of Gondolin, an Elf-lord of Gondolin and chief of the House of the Swallow


In his "Unfinished Tales", Tolkien specifically refers to him as being a soldier of impeccable physical prowess and has this to say about his abilities with a bow;



Now the folk of the Swallow bore a fan of feathers on their helms, and they were arrayed in white and dark blue and in purple and black and showed an arrowhead on their shields. Their lord was Duilin, swiftest of all men to run and leap and surest of archers at a mark.




Beleg Cuthalion(A.K.A. "Beleg the Archer", A.K.A. "Beleg Strongbow") is also repeatedly called out as being an exceptional archer and possessing the ability to fire arrows great distances:



Moreover Beleg the Archer was great among the people of Doriath; he was strong, and enduring, and far-sighted in mind as well as eye, and at need he was valiant in battle, relying not only upon the swift arrows of his long bow, but also upon his great sword Anglachel (needed only by an archer because the orcs were so many). And ever the more did hatred grow in the heart of Mîm, who hated all Elves, as has been told, and who looked with a jealous eye on the love that Túrin bore to Beleg. The Children of Hurin



and



Beleg: Elf of Doriath, a great archer; friend and companion of Túrin. Called Cúthalion ‘Strongbow’.



That said, there's no specific reason to assume he was the single greatest elf archer.




Orc


The orcs are invariably described as a bit crap with a bow, relying on mere force of numbers and volume of (poisoned) arrows to do damage:



Behind them orc-archers crowded, sending a hail of darts against the bowmen on the walls. - LotR: TTT



and



Dismayed the rammers let fall the trees and turned to fight; but the wall of their shields was broken as by a lightning-stroke, and they were swept away, hewn down, or cast over the Rock into the stony stream below. The orc-archers shot wildly and then fled. LotR: TTT




and



But orc-arrows are plenty, and the sight of one would not be taken as a sign of Doom by Boromir of Gondor. LotR: TTT



and



The orcs hindered by the mires that lay before the hills halted and poured their arrows into the defending ranks. - LotR: RotK



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more