Were Eöl's Swords Black?
I was surprised to find in putting together my answer on Weapons of the First Age that there is, to the best of my knowledge, no confirmation that Anglachel and Anguirel were originally black. The black colouring of Anglachel-Gurthang seems to have been the result of a change that came over it after Beleg’s death. Here is the description of Anglachel at the Pools of Ivrin, after Beleg’s death:
And Gwindor gave the sword Anglachel into his hands, and Túrin knew that it was heavy and strong and had great power; but its blade was black and dull and its edges blunt. The Children of Húrin, Chapter 9: Death of Beleg
The phrasing suggests that the blackness of the blade is a new feature.
This sent me down a rabbit hole of researching meteoritic iron blades, to see if they were historically black — and I found that, no: while they have a unique metallic quality to them (and look very badass), weapons forged from meteoritic iron are typically silver. So where does the idea that Anglachel and Anguirel were black come from?
