knives or short swords for adult Men or Elves could function as formidable swords in the hands of Hobbits, a diminutive people. In "The Scouring of the Shire", Saruman attempts to stab Frodo with a knife, but is foiled by the mithril shirt worn under his jacket. Shortly afterwards Saruman's throat was fatally cut with a knife borne by Wormtongue. For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Legolas possessed twin fighting knives carried in sheaths near his quiver. Special unnamed knives There are some knives in Tolkien's fiction which do not have formal names, but nevertheless play important roles in the plot. Morgul-blades The Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the Nazgûl, used a magical dagger called a "Morgul-blade" to wound Frodo Baggins at Weathertop. The dark magic of the knife gravely affects Frodo's well-being, threatening to turn him into a wraith, especially because its detachable point migrated in Frodo's body for more than two weeks before it could be extracted, thus causing great damage. Recurring ill effects from the wound contribute to Frodo's eventual departure to Valinor. According to the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, the weapon may owe something to the tradition of the "elf-shot" found in Old English medical texts and charms, where it denotes illnesses of presumed supernatural origin. Barrow-blades Tom Bombadil recovers four magical daggers, forged by the Men of Westernesse to fight the powers of Angmar, from a tomb guarded by the Barrow-wight. He gives them to Frodo Baggins and his Hobbit companions, for whom the daggers are effectively swords. One of these "Barrow-blades" – that given to Merry Brandybuck – proves instrumental in bringing about the death of the Witch-king. The daggers had varying fates in The Lord of the Rings. When the Nazgûl attacked Aragorn and the hobbits on Weathertop, Frodo slashed at one of them with his dagger but only damaged its cloak. He broke the blade when he fell from a horse, and left it behind in Rivendell, taking Bilbo's sword Sting instead. Sam Gamgee left his beside Frodo in Cirith Ungol and later had it returned to him by Gandalf. Pippin Took made use of his dagger in the Battle of the Black Gate to slay a Troll-chief. Merry's blade is destroyed during his attack on the Witch-king. Axes Battle axes are especially favoured by Dwarves in Tolkien's writings; Gimli uses the battle cry: Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are