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What Is Mithril, the Rare Dwarven Metal on RINGS OF POWER?
- Impenetrable armour occurs in Norse mythology in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, a story that Tolkien certainly knew and could have used for his mithril mail-coat.
- While it is never explicitly stated where the mithril shirt originally came from, in the extended edition, Gandalf tells the Fellowship that Bilbo had a set of mithril rings given to him by Thorin.
- In modern times, aluminum and its alloys are used for many industrial purposes due to its light weight — at 35 to 45% less weight than steel, when built to the same standards, it is considered much stronger per unit weight.
- The Rings of Power is a beautiful ode to Tolkien’s Middle-earth, sharing deep cuts but also expanding the lore.
Frodo should at least have had broken ribs and crushed organs; squished like a bug. More likely, he’d have had a deep wound with Mithril chain mail stuffed into it. Elsewhere on Middle-earth, other mithril remnants remain. As mentioned, the elves learned to make the metal ithildin using mithril. It reflects only starlight and moonlight and marks the door at the West-gate to Khazad-Dûm. The helmets of Gondor’s guards of the citadel are also mithril.
The scholar Paul Kocher interprets the Dwarves’ intense secrecy around mithril as an expression of sexual frustration, given that they have very few dwarf-women. Other than workability, Graphene seems to match the properties. It is being actively researched for a number of applications, including electronics. Possibly an alloy of Osmium and iridium, which is extremely hard and used for things like fountain pen nibs which need to resist high wear. I’d say its nearest real world analog is some kind of titanium alloy.