Rings of Power - Tolkien Gateway
Rings of Power
Rings of Power
The Rings of Power were Rings created by the Elves of Eregion , nineteen Great Rings (and many other lesser rings) with knowledge obtained from Sauron , and several of them with Sauron aiding the creation. Sauron forged the twentieth Great Ring, called the One Ring or the Ruling Ring, secretly in the fires of Mount Doom .
Contents
8 References
[ edit ] The Twenty Rings
The Three Rings of the Elves were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and were never touched by Sauron. They were made last, however, and their forging involved some of the arts taught by "Annatar". Thus they too were bound to the One Ring to some extent. They were named Narya the Ring of Fire, Nenya the Ring of Water and Vilya the Ring of Air; they remained hidden from Sauron.
Sauron gave some six Rings to the Dwarf-kings, although according to Dwarvish tradition the Elves already gave another to Durin III . The Dwarves used their Seven Rings to establish their treasure hoards, but Sauron was unable to force the Dwarven bearers to submit. It is believed that the dwarves' natural hardiness, and the fact that it was only the more powerful dwarf lords who possessed them, made them resistant to Sauron's control, yet allowed them to accumulate treasure. The final ring to leave the possession of the dwarves occurred when Thráin II was captured.
The remaining Nine Rings were divided amongst those evil-hearted men who saw their abilities increase, and became sorcerers and Kings among Men. They gained longevity but then faded away to become the Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths , dominated under Sauron's will.
The One Ring , secretly forged by Sauron in the heart of Mount Doom , had the power to dominate the sixteen rings owned by Dwarves and Men. His domain over the other rings was incomplete, but he placed a large amount of his own power into it at its forging; a necessity that later led to his downfall at Frodo Baggins ' hands.
A verse that summarizes the Great Rings and their ownership is an important part of the lore of Middle-earth.  It translates as follows:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
[ edit ] The Creation of the Rings of Power
Celebrimbor forges the Rings of Power
Around S.A. 1200 , Sauron started to corrupt the Elves . [1] He did not manage to approach Gil-galad and Elrond but he had better luck with the Elven-smiths of Eregion . The Gwaith-i-Mírdain of Eregion were mostly Noldor , and wished to have the same joys in Middle-earth as the Elves who had returned to Valinor . Sauron therefore presented himself as " Annatar ", an emissary from the Valar , [2] and tempted the Elves by offering the knowledge to transform Middle-earth.
"Annatar" taught the smiths the knowledge how to create Rings, which would grant the Elves who wear them certain powers. At first the Elves created some lesser rings , which were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown. In approximately S.A. 1500 the Greater 16 were created. [1] When Annatar departed from Eregion, Celebrimbor went on to forge the Three Rings using the knowledge he had gained from him, but without his involvement, and finished them around S.A. 1590 .
Sauron then created The One Ring around 1600 , alone, in the heart of Mount Doom . Its purpose was to rule over all the other rings, and Sauron put a great part of his power into it. The Elves, upon creation of the One, heard Sauron speak the spell , and realized they had been betrayed. [3]
[ edit ] Advent of Sauron
As soon as Sauron put on The One Ring, the bearers of the Three became aware of him and took them off in fear and anger. They defied Sauron and refused to use the Rings. Seeing this, Sauron attempted to claim the Rings to distribute them to other peoples; he waged War against the Elves , and although the Elves fought valiantly, Eregion was destroyed. Celebrimbor however managed to salvage the Three he created himself and secretly gave them to Gil-galad and Galadriel . During the Sack of Eregion , Sauron took Nine Rings and other lesser works from them; but he could not find the rest. Then Celebrimbor was put to torment, and he revealed about the Seven of them. [4]
Sauron then distributed them to Lords who trusted him, Men who became powerful sorcerers and Kings; and Dwarves who grew greedier and augmented their treasures. [2]
The Mannish lords who held the Nine were consumed by them and entered the wraith-world , becoming the Ringwraiths , servants of Sauron without will. The Dwarves who held the Seven were largely (but not totally) unaffected. The Three were always held by the Elves, and Gandalf upon his arrival.
[ edit ] Final disposition
During the Third Age , four of the Seven were destroyed during the Dwarves' conflicts with Dragons , and after Sauron's return he recaptured the remaining three, the last from Thráin II . The Nine he took back from his Ringwraiths , and they were still in his possession at the time of the War of the Ring .
Nothing is known of the fate of the lesser rings , made as essays to the craft, but, according to Gandalf , still dangerous for mortals that might have found them. [5]
The One was lost and refound until it was destroyed in the Crack of Doom . With its destruction, the existing Rings were freed from Sauron's control, but may have lost their power altogether. They were presumably buried in the ruins of Barad-dûr , or perhaps simply faded, while the (powerless) Three were taken with their bearers to Aman .
[ edit ] Powers and properties
The Rings of Power all had certain abilities, shared amongst them; the only different ones were the three. The chief power of all the rings was the prevention or slowing of decay, the preservation of what is desired or loved. Men and Hobbits would see their lifespan increase.
They also enhanced the natural powers of the wearer, thus seemingly granting ‘ magic ’ abilities (a motive easily corrupted into evil) and increasing lust for domination. Additionally, they had the ability to tap into the Unseen at different degrees. The One could completely shift the wearer to the Spirit World, rendering the material body invisible to mortals. [6] The Nine and the Seven were so strongly under Sauron's control that they could cause the wearer, especially Men, to fade and turn into a wraith under Sauron's domination. [7]
The Dwarves however were more resistant to most of these effects. They mostly suffered under an increased lust for gold, which provided occasion for quarrels among themselves. They used their rings to increase their treasure troves; the treasure hoards of these dwarves drew the mightiest of dragons and opponents. [2]
The Three did not do as the other rings. They did not make one invisible (though they themselves could be made so [8] ), and their benefits were largely secondary to the main effect the Elves achieved - that of stasis. A wearer of one of the Rings of Three gained the power to heal and preserve, in many different ways, whatever they controlled. Galadriel's and Elrond's Rings allowed them to fend off Sauron and protect and preserve Lothlorien and Rivendell . Narya also had the power to inspire hope and courage [9] in those around the bearer.
[ edit ] The One
For The One to have the ability to control The Three, it was necessary for Sauron to allow a significant amount of his power and will to flow into it during its forging. Any bearer could use this power, though it would take time, determination, skill, and knowledge to do so. As it was the Master Ring, whoever mastered the One also had control over the other rings and, in a limited sense, over the bearers
The wearer also was able to understand speech in languages he/she didn't know. [10]
However the Ring corrupted the heart and mind, making its wearer obsessed with it.
[ edit ] Other versions of the legendarium
In one draft it is said that the Rings of Power transformed their bearers into wraiths , thus creating elf-, goblin-, men-, or dwarf-wraiths. [11]
[ edit ] Inspiration
The Rings were the background story as fleshed out by Tolkien, out of the Ring that appeared in The Hobbit . The lore of the Rings (especially the One) are often compared to the "Ring of the Nibelungs" although Tolkien denounced any direct inspiration. [12]
[ edit ] Portrayal in adaptations