Things of Middle-earth
Galvorn
Type: Gems & Jewelry
Meaning: shining black
Description:
A versatile black metal invented by the Sindarin smith, Eöl of Nan Elmoth:
[Eöl] learned much of metalwork, and came to great skill therein; and he devised a metal as hard as the steel of the Dwarves, but so malleable that he could make it thin and supple; and yet it remained resistant to all blades and darts. He named it galvorn, for it was black and shining like jet, and he was clad in it whenever he went abroad.
The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 16, Of Maeglin
Etymology
kal- (gal-) This root, meaning 'shine', appears in Calacirya, Calaquendi, Tar-Calion; galvorn, Gil-galad, Galadriel.
The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names
... [In] Helevorn the first element is Sindarin heledh 'glass'...; Helevorn means 'black glass' (cf. galvorn).
"kheliek-", Ibid.
Contributors:
Elithien 8Feb03
Elena Tiriel 11Oct10
