The enchanted sword has been a part of heroic fantasy since the beginning. Beowulf slays Grendel’s mother with an elder blade he conveniently finds in her underwater cave. The entire Arthurian canon is powered by Arthur’s blade, Excalibur. The Jabberwocky is killed with a Vorpal blade. I mean it is half of “Sword & Sorcery”. We expect heroes with swords (sometimes axes, like King Kull, who is devastating in battle with a good ax.) The weapon is an extension of the hero’s prowess and strength in the cause of good.
Many Fantasy characters have not had a named weapon. Conan the Cimmerian and the other Howard heroes are good examples. Their might is in their own sword arm, not in some magical weapon. Karl Edward Wagner’s anti-Conan, Kane, is another example. He is brutal and immoral but not because he has had his soul sucked out by a magical sword. Others include Roger Zelazny’s Dilvish the Damned, who has a magical horse but not a sword. Stories with supernatural weapons are locked into some kind of prophecy or fate when that weapon is used. The writers of these other characters had their own fish to fry.
Now I know even before we start that you will not necessarily agree with my picks. That’s okay. There are lots of other great swords in S&S out there. I’d love to hear what your picks are. Leave me a comment.
10 Frostfire
Frostfire is Kothar the Barbarian’s sword from novelist and comic book writer Gardner F. Fox. Frostfire is given to Kothar by Afgorkon, the living-dead wizard. Kothar has many adventures with his magic sword and one of them is called Kothar and the Magic Sword (1969).
“Frostfire was forged in the primal ooze by the devils summoned up by me five hundred centuries before. It was wrought of a metal fallen from the skies, it was dipped in the molten middle of the world, it was cooled in the snows on a mountain so high nothing but a sylph—a winged spirit of the air— could take it there. It can pierce any armor, any helm. It can be carried only by a man who has no other wealth.” (“The Sword of the Sorcerer”, 1969)
9 Kincaid
Keith Taylor’s bard, Felimid Mac Fal, has an enchanted blade scrolled with Ogham script. When the sword is stolen is comes with a curse.
Kincaid was ancient, one of the treasures of the Tuatha de Danann, children of Earth-Mother Danu. He was reputed to be the first weapon made from iron in the island of Erin. The smith Goibniu had come by him in the form of a fallen star, brought up from the depths of an enchanted lake. Goibniu had not known how to work the metal. None had, in those days. In fasting and visions, Goibniu had learned the secret, lying alone on a raft anchored in the midst of the lake. (Bard, 1981)
8 The Sword of Nemedis
Thongor is famous for using a barbarian’s longsword but in the first novel he is armed with a magic blade forged from sky metal. This blade is the only thing that can slay the Dragon-Kings. Swords made from meteorites will become a common theme. The original idea is that iron blades forged in this fashion were stronger than bronze ones.
Sharajsha reached the edge of the well. From beneath his cloak he drew out a fragment of the Star Stone and a hammer inscribed with runes and queer letters of magic writings, and a long-handled pair of tongs. He clamped the tongs about the fragment of unknown star-metal and held it within the dancing green cone of the Eternal Fire of Yamath. Whatever caused this mysterious green flame lent it far greater and more intense heat than any ordinary fire, for the fragment of star-metal soon glowed cherry-red, then pale orange-yellow. The stone hissed and crackled in the dancing green Fire. (The Wizard of Lemuria, 1965).
7 Vakar’s Star-Sword
Lin Carter got some of his inspiration from his buddy, L. Sprague de Camp, who wrote this novel in the spirit of John W. Campbell’s Unknown. He does everything he can to demystify the Fantasy elements in a Sword & Sorcery tale. (Not my cup of tea.) The sword is forged from a meteorite and brings in the era of Science, an event the Gods have been trying to forestall.
“How can an honest craftsman make a living with you rascals cheating him? But I will make your sword. I, Fekata of Gbu, keep my word, and the biggest sword an insect like you could swing will take less than half the star. Give me that thing. Angwo, fetch a few of your brothers; we shall need all the lungs we can get on the blow-pipes. You see, Vakar, the trick in working the starmetal is that it must be forged at a brightred heat where copper or bronze would shatter, and with a hammer of double the normal weight…” (The Tritonian Ring, Two Complete Science-Adventure Books, Winter 1951)
6 Skalof’s Sword
The Broken Sword is oddly unnamed. Only the giant Bolverk is able (or willing) to reforge it. Skafloc wants it for his war on the trolls, but the giant warns that he who wields it will be betrayed by it, for it contains a demon. The novel was written in 1954 (around the same time as Poul’s more obvious, Three Hearts and Three Lions). The sword may have been a euphemism for nuclear weapons.
“Can you not sense it? The power and hunger locked in that steel, held by those unknown runes. The sword may be from the gods, but it is not of them. There is a curse on it, Skafloc. It will bring the bane of all within its reach.” She shivered with a cold not that of the dungeon. “I think … Skafloc, I think it were best if you walled that sword up again.” (The Broken Sword, 1954)
5 Orcist and Glamdring
This pair of Elvish swords are found in the trolls’ cave in The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien. Their names mean “Goblin Cleaver” and “Foe Hammer”. They were created for the Goblinwars by the High Elves. Glamdring becomes Gandalf’s blade. Thorin claims Orcrist. Bilbo also gets an elvish dagger than he nicknames “Sting” after his fight with the spiders. All these blades glow blue when in the presence of goblins or orcs.
Elrond knew all about runes of every kind. That day he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls’ lair, and he said: “These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblinwars. They must have come from a dragon’s hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore. Keep them well!” (The Hobbit, 1937)
4 Scalpel & Graywand
Fritz Leiber’s famous Fantasy duo need famous swords. Gray Mouser’s rapier blade is named Scalpel and his accompanying dirk is Cat’s Claw. Fafhrd’s two-handed sword is Graywand. When the two meet they find they both like naming their weapons. The two are, of course, the two best swordsmen in Lankhmar. Their weapons are not enchanted. They are just very skilled. Being the servants of two powerful wizards, the boys have enough magic in their lives without running around with magic swords.
When he said, “And so with a whish and a snick I bared Scalpel ― “
Fafhrd remarked, “Oh, so you’ve nicknamed your sword as well as yourself?”
The Mouser drew himself up. “Yes, and I call my dirk Cat’s Claw. Any objections? Seem childish to you?”
“Not at all. I call my own sword Graywand. All weapons are in a fashion alive, civilized and nameworthy. Pray continue.” (“Ill-Met in Lankhmar”, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1970)
3 Gilendree
Larry Niven might not like being included here. “Not Long Before the End” was meant to be something of a scathing attack on thud & blunder barbarians and their enchanted blades. That aside, his Magic series is great heroic fantasy. The blade Gilenree is a demon made into a sword. Warlock simply has to unlock it for his poor, dumb barbarian to see his error.
The name of the sword was Glirendree. It was several hundred years old, and quite famous.
As for the swordsman, his name is no secret. It was Belhap Sattlestone Wirldess ag Miracloat roo Cononson. His friends, who tended to be temporary, called him Hap. He was a barbarian, of course. A civilized man would have had more sense than to touch Glirendree, and better morals than to stab a sleeping woman. Which was how Hap acquired his sword. Or vice versa. (“Not Long Before the End”, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1969)
2 Narsil
Narsil is the broken sword that must be reforged for Aragorn, son of Arathorn, to become King of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings. Poul Anderson featured similarly myth-based ideas in The Broken Sword though Narsil is not demon-haunted. In fact, it may not be anything more than an Elvish blade. Why it is important is the prophecy that says it will be reforged when the true king returns. Which it is and he does. Prophecy are like that.
‘I was the herald of Gil-galad and marched with his host. I was at the Battle of Dagorlad before the Black Gate of Mordor, where we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand. I beheld the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him; but Sauron himself was overthrown, and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father’s sword, and took it for his own.’ (The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954)
1 Stormbringer and Mournblade
Stormbringer, Elric’s wicked blade sword that drinks the souls of his victims, is certainly my Number One. Moorcock was doing anti-Conan, of course. Where Conan is strong, Elric must be a weak albino. So how do you get a weakling to run through all these adventures? You give him a magic sword that sucks the life out of others and channels it into the wielder. Moorcock was also working from a Gothic frame work rather than a pulpy fantasy one. That means Elric has to kill his gal by accident. (You can practically hear Emily Bronte cheering from the wings.) It sounds like I’m not a fan but that simply isn’t true. Moorock re-vitalized the sub-genre in much the same way Niven did. There are other ways to tell a heroic fantasy story than copying REH.
Stormbringer was giving forth a peculiar moaning sound which sighed over the shrieking, unearthly music accompanying the licking, chilling fire. The runesword writhed in Elric’s fist and he had difficulty in controlling it. Summoning all his strength he plunged up the last few steps and aimed a wild blow at Yyrkoon…The two blades met and a terrible shrieking roar went up. Elric felt his whole arm go numb and it tingled sickeningly. Elric felt like a puppet. He was no longer his own master—the blade was deciding his actions for him. The blade, with Elric behind it, roared past its brother sword and cut a deep wound in Yyrkoon’s left arm…But even if he could have controlled the whistling blade, Elric would not have sheathed it. Hate dominated his being and he would sheathe it in his cousin’s evil heart before he put it aside. (“The Dreaming City”, Science Fantasy, 1961)
Conclusion
There are plenty of swords I haven’t included. The Sword of Shannara has it right there in the title as does The Sword of Truth. I even had to leave out some favorites like Fred Saberhagen’s Books of Sword series. But how do I pick between these nine fantastic blades, given to humanity by the Gods in a kind of contest which never does the humans much good? Trust Saberhagen to do the whole cursed power sword so well.
I decided to have a little fun with this trope (is it a cliche? parodies always seem to have goofy named blades) with my Arthan Bearshirt series. My were-bear hero calls his sword Salimander. But were-bears are notorious for losing things. (They have no pockets in their bear shirts.) So he calls all his swords Salimander. The original Salimander, a gorgeous blade given to him by a thankful princess, is long gone. He makes the excuse that “Salimander” is not so much a certain blade as the sensation he gets when he wields a beautifully crafted weapon. But he is making excuses after all…
