Meriadoc Brandybuck - Appearances - Literature - Weapons and Attire

Weapons and Attire

Merry was unarmed (except for a small pocket-knife) until the encounter with the barrow-wights. The Hobbits found several long Dúnedain daggers in the wight's treasure. These served as short-swords for the Hobbits, and Merry used his to stab the Witch-king in the back of the knee at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Upon doing so, the dagger was destroyed, as all blades that touched the unseen flesh of the Witch-king suffered this fate. This power was said to be what destroyed the head Nazgûl. It was as a result of his bravery in this battle that Merry subsequently gained the soubriquet "The Magnificent".

At the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, Merry was dressed as a typical Hobbit: knee breeches, jacket, waistcoat, cloak. After being waylaid by the barrow-wights, he lost his lighter, summer-weight clothes and was left in a burial shift. He was forced to wear heavier woollen clothing packed on his pony the rest of the way to Rivendell. Later, he was presented an Elven cloak in Lórien, which gave him an ability to blend into natural surroundings. Merry offered his services to Théoden, King of Rohan, and was equipped with mail, a light leather helmet, and a small green shield with a white horse emblem. He also received the horn of Rohan from Éowyn, sister to Éomer, the king of Rohan. Upon returning to the Shire, Merry was described as wearing chain-mail and presumably had a new sword of Gondor or Rohan-make. Later, he and his friend Pippin Took were known to ride about the Shire dressed in their Lórien cloaks with distinctive leaf-shaped clasps.