The LOTR Item That's Strikingly Similar To Harry Potter's Sword Of Gryffindor

When experiencing the Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings franchises, it's hard not to see some overlap between the mythologies. Both include kind and powerful wizards (Gandalf and Dumbledore), both of their main villains are referred to as the "Dark Lord" and seek to regain their power and physical forms (Sauron and Voldemort). And then there's the Dementors and Nazgul, who are both hooded, shadowy creatures with mysterious physical shapes hunting down the main protagonists. Though it's unclear how conscience J.K. Rowling was of her Tolkien overlaps when writing Harry Potter, there are clearly many comparisons that can be made. 

One lesser-known comparison involves the magical Sword of Gryffindor.

Originally belonging to notable wizard and Hogwarts co-founder, Godric Gryffindor, the Sword of Gryffindor appears several times throughout the Harry Potter series. It first comes to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, magically manifesting in the Sorting Hat for Harry to use to defeat the Basilisk. It again appears as a means to destroy Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, and Salazar Slytherin's locket, and we see Neville Longbottom use it to behead Nagini in the final film. Considering the sword's great power, it's easy to see why it's such a prized possession.

In The Silmarillion, there is a similarly prized possession called the Nauglamír. The Nauglamír is a highly treasured necklace crafted by Dwarves. When the Elf king, Thingol, took possession of it, he summoned the Dwarves of Nogrod to embed the Silmaril in it. While the Sword of Gryffindor is made of pure silver and encrusted with rubies and the Nauglamír is loaded with gems, the two items are not only similar in their beauty, but in their origins.

The Sword of Gryffindor and the Nauglamír's greatest similarity is their crafter's desire to regain possession of their creations. The Sword of Gryffindor was crafted by Goblins one thousand years ago. Ragnuk the First, the goblin silversmith who crafted the blade, desired it so much that he "pretended that Gryffindor had stolen it from him, and sent minions to steal it back." (via J.K. Rowling's The Sword of Gryffindor) But Gryffindor used his wand to defeat his Ragnuk's minions, and kept the sword.

Similarly, the Nauglamír was crafted by dwarves, who would eventually desire the Silmaril-embedded necklace. They demanded Thingol give them the necklace as payment for their work. He refused and the king was subsequently slain, while the dwarves took the necklace back.

Both items also seem to go in and out of the hands of various heroes and villains, throughout the franchises. While the dwarves and elves change possession of Nauglamír, the Sword of Gryffindor is possessed by Harry, Neville, and Godric at different times, but at one point, it also falls into the hands of Griphook, the goblin who takes the sword after abandoning Harry in Bellatrix Lestrange's Gringotts vault.

It seems that whichever item you obtain, you better guard it with your life: if you're not careful, a goblin or a dwarf will take it.