The number of mentions of background stories and events in The Lord of the Rings is extremely large, and takes many forms. These include songs and poems interspersed in the text, such as of Beren and Lúthien sung by Aragorn; mentions of objects like the prized Silmarils, by the Hobbit Sam Gamgee; and people from past ages like the Elven-smith Celebrimbor, described by the Elf-lord Elrond. All these mentions made use of existing but at the time unpublished texts. Similarly, the lady of Rohan, Éowyn, does not just give Merry Brandybuck a horn; she gives him an ancient silver horn from the Hoard of Scatha the Worm. The mentions give the reader the feeling that Middle-earth is far larger than the parts described in the story, and that it had a deep history much older than the War of the Ring.