Yes, but other elves, IE the Sindar, and what we would call the Wood elves, use curved blades. In fact, only these type sof elves used these swords, while others used straight swords. You're also forgetting the elves of Beleriand are dead at the time of LOTR.Formendacil wrote:As I have stated before (to the consistent irritation of those listening to me in person), the 'elvish' swords from the LR movies are NOT legitimate Tolkien: Tolkien's elves are very much north-western European. They look like handsome Europeans, they speak European-styled languages, they fight with European-style weapons. In the Book of Lost Tales, Egalmoth is specifically singled out as the ONLY elf in Gondolin to fight with a sword that wasn't straight. While it is possible that Tolkien later decided the Egalmoth bore a normal sword like Glorfindel, Ecthelion and the others, the conception that elven swords are straight remains, as evidenced by the predisposition of orcs towards curved or bent blades, and by the representation of Glamdring, Orcrist, and Sting as straight swords. As the only swords of elvish make in the LR or the Hobbit to be shown, they are the best examples of elven sword-styles, not some Peter Jackson movie prop. (My apologies to all the Peter Jackson freaks out there: I loved the movies, they are my favourites, but details like Arwen's sword and Earnur's crown really irritate me. )JPinoy wrote: BTW, some of the LOTR weapons like those Elvish swords aren't that much different in shape from an Ancient Philippine "Panabas". Sith-like tools originally used for farming, which later made its way into the battle field. They varied from 2 ft to 4ft long.
If anything the prop designers in the LOTR films probably just "borrowed" the design and added Celtic decor to make it look elvish.
The top panabas is the elvish-like one. The middle one (3rd from top) I like to call the "hockey stick of death".
By the way, they made the weapons that way to give a unique sense of culture and elegance, and from what I can see JP, your "panabas" isn't even close to what Legolas' daggers look like. So, they didn't steal any design.