The five-foot length could include a foot of hilt, easily. It's also not unusual for long swords to be sheathed over the back....

The book says that Elendil was called Elendil the Tall and stood over seven feet. Narsil was made especially for him. It was strapped to the ankle, in addition to the hip, to avoid it hitting the ground.

Aragorn draws it in front of Elrond, but not from his side. Just from the sheath, which he is holding.

The funniest thing is that it was made by a Dwarf - so it was way taller than its actual maker.

Is Narsil/Anduril just unsheathed the whole time we see it? I mean, it's in Strider's (or Elendil's, or Isildur's) hands a lot, but do we see it drawn, ever?

Following on from Sean's comment about the Paths of the Dead and asking roleplayers what was on their horses and what they were carrying, I noticed on my third rewatch that the sheath for Anduril was on Brego at that point-- Aragorn was carrying Andruil, and there was definately a sheath that long on his horse as it left.

So he carried it unsheathed, and would have drawn it from the sheath attatched to Brego the second time he did so-- the first time in front of Elrond, using the length of both arms.

I've decided that I want Ian McKellan to do a movie with Victor Garber and Hugo Weaving.

Throw in Harvey Keitel? Please?

Speaking of McKellan's Richard III, did anyone else flash back to the ending of that when Gollum was gleefully falling into the fires of Mt. Doom?

I keep wondering whether or not that was a sly little shout-out.

Is Narsil/Anduril just unsheathed the whole time we see it? I mean, it's in Strider's (or Elendil's, or Isildur's) hands a lot, but do we see it drawn, ever?

The five-foot length could include a foot of hilt, easily. It's also not unusual for long swords to be sheathed over the back....

Yes, five foot swords (for people who are not as tal as Elendil) are typically slung over the back, or on the side of your horse.

Throw in Harvey Keitel? Please?

Oh my yes.

Perhaps Narsil was 5 feet long, but Anduril lost a bit of height in the reforging? I can't remember ever seeing Aragorn unsheath it now.

Must rewatch.

So the sheath is on the horse, not the person. I can live with that. I'm thinking, though, that a 4-foot blade (assuming a foot of hilts) is still -- awfully long and unwieldy for someone on land, and not long enough to act like a jousting stick (what are those called?) or a polearm on a horse. So, one hopes, a sword more memorial than for getting dirty with.

(Still, it does make me laugh to think of a sword that all told come up to my chin. If you hung that sword on Strider's back, he'd be kicking it with every stride. Even Shaqille O'Neal Elendil would look kind of silly swinging around a sword the size of a full-grown woman.)

I'm thinking, though, that a 4-foot blade (assuming a foot of hilts) is still -- awfully long and unwieldy for someone on land,

I'm sure the weapon geeks have more detail, but the Scottish claymore was a bigass blade, wielded two handed (as was Anduril) and plenty devastating in battle. There's a particular technique used with two-handed blades which is different from one-handed sword-fighting.

Which LotR Character and personality problem are you?

I'm Elrond and his PMS. Hee.