The shards of Narsil

One fine scene in Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, which I think is in the second book in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings hexology, brings Strider and Boromir together at the shrine in Rivendell to those who fell against Sauron. Among the relics there is Elendil's sword Narsil - what is left of it.

Recently (thank you to the gifters!) I acquired Putting the Science in Fiction, which one Dan Koboldt edited and published 2018. Overall it is good, albeit playing it Deep-State safe on Global Warming. I do wish to take issue with Gwen Katz (the chemist)'s essay on the aging process, as applicable to ... what she's assuming is natural iron. She was annoyed with Narsil. She thought a three-thousand-year-old sword shouldn't exist in Rivendell's seasonally-warm and always-humid air. This by the way applies to all the "magic" swords in the story, including Orcrist and even humble Sting.

Katz's complaint says more about Katz than it says about Tolkien. Or about Jackson.

I don't actually know the extent of Tolkien's or Jackson's knowledge of chemistry. I am pretty sure that both were aware that normal iron doesn't last this long. Orcrist and Sting came from First Age Gondolin, according to The Hobbit. We mortal brutes use words like "magic" but that's not getting into Tolkien's mind here. He would say those two were crafted by Noldor exiles from Valinor who still recalled the light of the Two Trees. 'Tis true that the Noldor had fallen from grace by then. But if so, Narsil could well be holier; on account it was crafted for warriors in a state of grace - for the Faithful of Numenor.

These weapons of righteousness aren't of this world. They are not chemical; they are celestial. The dark powers were able to break Narsil - for which they needed the Ring (which by the way demonstrates the brute-power aspect of that particular bane). I assume that the dark powers own, also, some means to profane holy steel. It is just that with Narsil, the dark powers haven't done that. Narsil was used for the purpose it was intended, which was to fight evil - to fight that Ring. In this, Narsil succeeded.

To sum up, Jackson's scene and Tolkien's setup are in harmony that - in this world - Narsil remains broken yet unblemished. The authors were making exactly the opposite of a chemical point: they had made a moral point. It is right and just that a holy sword break physical laws.

And if Katz doesn't understand that, she shouldn't be reviewing Tolkien.