Phial of Galadriel

Representation of the Phial of Galadriel

The Phial of Galadriel is an object in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. It is a gift from the Elf-lady Galadriel to the protagonist Frodo Baggins, who uses its brilliant light at several critical moments during his journey to Mount Doom.

Tolkien added the Phial late in the writing of The Lord of the Rings; it appears only in his fifth version of the chapter "Farewell to Lothlórien".

The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger describes the Phial as a splinter of the created light. This came ultimately from the Two Trees of Valinor, by way of a Silmaril made from their light, and then via Galadriel's fountain which captured a little of that Silmaril's light, shining as Eärendil's star. The Phial is one of the elements that associate the character of Galadriel with light, water, and Mary, mother of Jesus, indicating Galadriel's psychological pairing with the evil spider Shelob, symbolising light against darkness.