: : The swords, according to Aragorn, were made for the "bane of Mordor", not just for the bane of the Witch-king. They probably would have been deadly against many sorts of creatures. We might be able to infer from the tradition of Malbeth the Seer (who lived some centuries later) and the magic inherent in the barrow-blades that Arnor retained some of the ancient lore that Gondor lost, at least in the areas of "magic" and "lore".

: : I've never really considered these implications before.

: Originally, I was confused why only Dunedain in the north appeared to have these special blades and not Gondor whose culture and arts seemingly surpassed the lost realms of Arnor. It puzzled me why Boromir or Faramir had only regular swords. Boromir's could not even cut through troll skin.

: Then it occurred to me that the northern kingdoms would have had much more contact with Elven (particularly Noldorin) nd Dwarven smiths that Gondor would have. Thus at least in smith-craft and the ensorcellment of blades, the dunedain in the north wouldhave been at an advantage in making blades for the bane of mordor.

: Russ

Good point.
This is an area where I consider ICE's interpretation to be okay. They have stated that the Gondorians were the more active, potent do-thingers, warlike and ordered (much like the Roman Republic in its later days and the early Roman Empire), while the Arnorians were more spiritual, dwelling on visions and magic more than armies and weapons. In my own Interpretation for role-playing, this gives a potent combination when reunited in the Fourth Age.
;-) Neithan Turambar