Gil-galad and Celebrimbor believe this tale to be true, and furthermore, that the remnants of the Silmaril’s light in mithril could save the Elven race from fading and being forced to return to Valinor. Mithril was a precious, silvery metal, very lightweight but immensely strong, that was discovered by the Dwarves. Mithril plays an important role in Tolkien’s books and in both of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogies. Bilbo describes it as “light as a feather and as hard as dragon scales.” In The Hobbit, Thorin gifts him a shirt of mithril rings that no blade can pierce.
Mithril is supposed to be relatively easy to work (at least by beating), and yet extraordinarily hard and resistant to cutting. These are contradictory material properties, so no, there is no existing substance that can match. Plate armor has the problem of penetration between the plates, but a hybrid of chain-mail or woven kevlar protecting the inter-plate areas could be effective, though not exactly as light or thin as Egyptian cotton. The scholar Charles A. Huttar states that Tolkien treats mineral treasures as having the potential for both good and evil, recalling the association of mining and metalwork in John Milton’s Paradise Lost with Satan.
The Rings of Power is a beautiful ode to Tolkien’s Middle-earth, sharing deep cuts but also expanding the lore. In the Second Age, the dwarves of Khazad-Dûm, also known as Moria, discover mithril as we see on The Rings of Power. The rare ore will bring fame and fortune to their kingdom… and also trouble. But for now, the dwarves’ discovery of mithril is momentous.
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy
- Mithril is supposed to be relatively easy to work (at least by beating), and yet extraordinarily hard and resistant to cutting.
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- “It was close-woven of many rings, as supple almost as linen, cold as ice, and harder than steel…” and studded with white gems of unknown variety.
The mail comes in handy once again when Frodo is captured by orcs in Return of the King. It’s also important to note that mithril, in the books, doesn’t do anything considered magical by today’s standards on its own; it is merely stronger and lighter than steel. Frodo is stabbed by an orc, not a troll, and thus his mithril chain shirt, in protecting him, is merely doing what good chainmail does — and at a much better efficiency than a weaker metal would. It is described as resembling silver, but being stronger and lighter than steel. It was used to make armour, such as the helmets of the citadel guard of Minas Tirith, and ithildin alloy, used to decorate gateways with writing visible only by starlight or moonlight.
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According to Wikipedia, the band is composed of Tom Morley (fiddle, bouzouki, mandolin, guitar), Andra Bohnet (Irish flute, penny whistle, fife, Celtic harp), Ben Harper (guitar, bass guitar, flute), and Sam Gaston (djembe, doumbek, percussion, melodica). It would have to be some new type of material we have yet to discover or possibly one of the new carbon structures that can be computed. Please consider whether you can edit the question, or guide the asker in how to edit it, to be about in-universe explanations rather than real-world science, and vote to reopen the question if appropriate.
Resonating is how the dwarves know where to mine, where to tunnel, and where to leave the mountain untouched. This sounds wise, but, as we know, they will eventually delve too deep on their hunt for the precious ore. We hope the quest for Mithril does not prove to perilous on The Rings of Power. Mithril is dangerous to mine, with quakes collapsing the shaft. King Durin III is cautious and shuts down the whole Mithril operation in The Rings of Power.
Properties
Celebrimbor tells his elven smith, Mirdania, that he had just enough is mithril real Mithril left over from the elven Rings of Power to make one more creation. In its Ithildin form, Mithril is only visible in the moonlight and otherwise, it becomes invisible. We know that this precious version of Mithril will be used someday soon to build the Doors of Durin and cement a bond between elves and dwarves.
Ithildin in The Rings of Power
“The wealth of the Dwarves was not in gold or jewels, the silver of the Dwarves; nor in iron for it’s worth was more than that of gold, and now it is beyond price; for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare not delve here for it.”‘… It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim. For the literal-minded reader, it is unclear whether or not mithril is a real metal; many have thought it to be platinum or iridium, however, both are far too heavy to qualify as candidates. Other possibilities are aluminium, or magnesium; these metals are even lighter than titanium, but not as strong or as silvery and shiny.
But we know Prince Durin IV’s objections will eventually prevail, and the wealth of Khazad-Dûm will flourish with this discovery. After all, by the Third Age, a shirt made of mithril is worth more than the Shire and everything in it. Also, unlike gold, silver or copper, aluminium almost never occurs as a pure substance – it has to be refined from ore such as bauxite using energy-intensive processes unlikely to be possible in Tolkien’s world.