What is Mithril in The Rings of Power?

The fourth episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Prime Video series, has left us eager to know how it will continue in the next. We recently told you about the Palantir or Seer Stones, which appeared earlier but have been gaining prominence. This time, we focus on a very characteristic element that you may be familiar with from many RPG video games: the Mithril. Do you know what it is and what is its origin?

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Mithril in The Rings of Power, the most precious metal

The first thing you should know is that Mithril or Mithril is a fictional metal that does not exist in the real world, created by J. R. R. Tolkien himself for his Middle-earth universe. It has a color similar to silver and is the hardest metal imaginable; it is capable of eternally resisting oxidation, and blackening and is much more valuable than diamonds or gold. It resembles silver but is stronger and lighter than steel.

Mithril has been used as an object in the universes of countless literary works, as well as in movies and video games. Who doesn't remember making a sword or armor using this material in franchises such as Tales of, Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy? Well, exactly the same happens in The Lord of the Rings: we saw Bilbo Baggins give Frodo a coat of mail forged with Mithril in The Fellowship of the Ring.

The twist is that The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, rather than the Third Age as the movies do. That is, in the Prime Video series we have not yet reached that age, so the Mithril has just been discovered. In episode 4, Elrond discovers that Durin and the dwarves have mined Mithril upon arriving at Khazad-dum. Since we already know what happened to this precious metal in the future, it is clear that it will soon begin to play a key role in the creation of weapons and armor in the coming episodes.

Source | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power