Bilbo gave the sword he found in the trolls’ cave the name Sting in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Bilbo discovered the blade with two other swords after the trolls were turned to stone. Gandalf took Glamdring, Thorin took Orcrist, and Bilbo chose the smaller weapon. In The Hobbit, Bilbo names it Sting after using it to threaten giant spiders in Mirkwood.
Sting is an elvish blade from Gondolin, an ancient city in Tolkien’s mythology. Its distinctive property is that it glows blue when Orcs or goblins are nearby. Bilbo later gives Sting to Frodo, who carries it during the quest to destroy the One Ring.
Readers often mix up Sting with Glamdring or Orcrist because all three swords come from the same discovery. Glamdring belonged to the Elven king Turgon, while Orcrist was known as the Goblin-cleaver.