Grond (hammer)

Grond, also known as the Hammer of the Underworld, was the great hammer of AngbandThe History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One: "The Grey Annals", pg. 55 (§156-7) that Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, wielded in the First Age.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin", pgs. 153-4
==History==
Forged at an unknown time in Angband, Grond was an extremely powerful weapon in Morgoth's arsenal, which "he wielded as a mace" in his single combat with Fingolfin, High King of the Ñoldor. Fingolfin had challenged Morgoth after the Ñoldor's devastating defeat at Dagor Bragollach.
Each heavy blow of Grond was brought down as a thunder-bolt, making the very earth shakeThe History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Two: "Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings", pgs. 284-5 while leaving craters of erupting fire and smoke.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: "The Lay of Leithian", Canto XII, pgs. 285, 293 Fingolfin swiftly evaded them, and struck Morgoth seven times, filling the great pits with his black blood. At last Fingolfin was "beaten to the earth" by Grond and pinned by the Dark Lord's left foot. As Morgoth readied a death blow, Fingolfin stabbed his foot. The blow crippled Morgoth, already weakened by his labors in corrupting Arda and grasping the Silmarils, and he would limp for the rest of his time on Earth.
In the Third Age, Sauron, Morgoth's great servant and successor, recalled the Hammer of the Underworld when he built a huge battering ram to break the Great Gate of Minas Tirith during the Siege of Gondor, naming it Grond after it.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, chapter IV: "The Siege of Gondor"
==Etymology==
Grond is a name in Sindarin meaning "very weighty and ponderous".Parma Eldalamberon 17, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings, pgs. 99, 183 It is also a name in Quenya meaning "club", from runda ("rough piece of wood").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", pg. 384 (entry RUD-)
Also, Grond means "ground" in Dutch, perhaps referring to the craters it rent in the ground.
==In other versions==
In the earliest version of the duel, Grond was a mace which Morgoth wielded "like a great hammer of his forges" rather than wielding a great hammer like a mace.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, III: "The Quenta", pg. 107
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Armenian 	Գրոնդ
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Грунд
Chinese (Hong Kong) 	葛龍得
Chinese (Mandarin) 	格龙得(攻城槌)
Georgian 	გრონდი
German 	Grond (Keule)
Greek 	Γρονδ
Gujarati 	ગ઼રોન્દ
Hebrew 	ג רונד ?
Hindi 	गरोड
Italian 	Grond (Martello da Guerra)
Kannada 	ಗ್ರೊಂಡ್
Kazakh 	Гронд (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Гронд
Macedonian Cyrillic 	Гронд
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Гронд
Nepalese 	घरोनद ?
Russian 	Молот Гронд
Sanskrit 	ङ्रोन्द्
Serbian (Cyrillic) Grond (Latin)	гронд
Tajik Cyrillic 	Гронд
Tamil 	கிராண்ட்
Sinhalese 	ග්‍රොඳ්
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Ґронд
Yiddish 	גראָנד
==References==
Category:Weapons
de:Grond (Keule)
es:Grond
fr:Grond (Marteau)
it:Grond (Martello da Guerra)
pl:Grond
ru:Молот Гронд