Elven-rope

This article is about the piece of equipment. For the soundtrack, see Elven Rope.

Elven-rope given to the Fellowship in Lothlórien

Elven-rope was a special kind of rope made by the Elves.

History

In the book, Sam simply takes a coil of elven-rope from the three coils put in the bottom of each boat. Made of Hithlain, the ropes are light weight, grey, strong, and silky to touch. When Frodo slips while climbing down a cliff-side and temporarily loses his sight, the rope, gleaming faintly, was the first thing he saw. After both Frodo and Sam have made it safely to the bottom, the rope comes down when Sam tugs it.

Sam later uses the rope to tie-up Gollum, which causes him considerable pain due to the corruption wrought by the power of the One Ring on his body.

In adaptations

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

The elven-rope tied to the rock

In the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, elven-rope is the gift given to Sam by Galadriel.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, it helps him and Frodo climb down a cliff-side in Emyn Muil and unknots itself after Sam tugs it, believing that there was no way of retrieving it. Later on, Frodo and Sam capture and bind Gollum with it after being attacked by him in Emyn Muil. He complains that it "burns and freezes" him and demands that it be taken off of him. The rope burns Gollum in the book due to his dark tainted soul and body.