The Rings of Power

by Aeneas2

Introduction

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.

That is the famous verse, written by the Elves, telling of the possession of the Rings of Power. Their possession that is after Sauron took 16 from the Elves, and distributed them to Men and Dwarves, in an attempt to subjugate those two races.

As stated in the verse above, there are Twenty Rings of Power that are classified as Great Rings. The Seven and the Nine were forged by the Elves with Sauron’s aid, while the Three were forged by the great Elven smith Celebrimbor alone. The One, mightiest of all the Rings, was forged by Sauron, in the fires of Orodruin (Mount Doom). The Great Rings were incredibly powerful, but even more dangerous. In addition to the Great Rings, a number of Lesser Rings were created (the exact number is unknown).

The Creation of the Rings of Power

Many years after the fall of Morgoth, Sauron, knowing that the Valar had long lost interest in Middle Earth, began to increase his power. Although Men were easily swayed to his side, Sauron sought to convince the Elves to join with him. For he knew that the Elves still held greater power than Men. To this end, Sauron traveled among the Elves for many years, taking the name Annatar, Lord of Gifts. He was warmly received by many; only in Lindon, where the power of Gil-galad and Elrond was strong, did the Elves reject him.

It was in Eregion that Sauron was most warmly received. In the chief city of Ost-in-Edhil, a group of Noldorin smiths, the Gwaith-i-Mirdain had formed. Sauron instructed these smiths, who learned much from him. They soon gained control of the area, while their skill continued to grow.

Around 1500 of the Second Age, with the aid of Sauron, the Elves began to forge the Rings of Power. At first only Lesser Rings were forged, but later the forging of the Great Rings began. Sixteen Great Rings were forged with the aid of Sauron. Then in 1590, Celebrimbor forged the Three: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya. This was done without the aid of Sauron. However, around the year 1600, the One Ring was forged in Orodruin by Sauron.

Once Sauron set the One on his finger, the Elves were aware of it, and they realized that the One had power over the other Rings. When they took their Rings off, Sauron was enraged, and started open war. Sauron quickly crushed Elven resistance in Eregion, and captured Celebrimbor. Through torture, he forced the locations of the Seven and the Nine out of him, but Celebrimbor died rather than reveal the locations of the Three.

Though furious at being “cheated” out of the Three, Sauron continued with his plan. He gave the Seven to the dwarves, and the Nine to Men. However, Dwarves are resistant to the powers of the Rings, the only effect being that their greed and lust for wealth are increased. Therefore, it was only in the race of Men that the plans of Sauron were fulfilled. The bearers of the Nine slowly “faded” and became Ringwraiths, the Nazgûl.

The Nine

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die

The Nine were the Great Rings given to Men by Sauron. Like all Rings of Power, forged by the Elves, the primary purpose of the Nine is to preserve life. For this reason, the bearers were granted an extended lifespan (the downside being that the bearers eventually became wraiths). They also granted their wearer (i.e. they have a Ring on their finger) invisibility. (This was done by shifting the wearer to the “wraith world.”) The bearers of the Nine eventually became the Nazgûl.

The Seven

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone

Seven Rings of Power were given to Dwarf Lords by Sauron in an attempt to sway them to his cause. However, in this he failed. For Dwarves have a resistance to the power of the Rings. They could not be dominated through the Rings, have their lives extended, be made into wraiths, or be turned invisible. The one power that the Rings did have over the Dwarves was to increase their greed. One additional power the Seven had (though it didn’t directly affect the Dwarves) was the ability to “breed” wealth.

The Three

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky

The Three are the Great Rings that were not taken from the Elves by Sauron. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya are their names. Forged by Celebrimbor without the aid of Sauron, they are the mightiest of the Rings of Power, save the One. More than any of the other Rings, the Three were made to preserve the beauty of nature.

Narya is the Ring of Fire. A ruby is set in the center. Originally borne by Círdan, he gave it to Mithrandir (Gandalf) when he landed in the Grey Havens. Narya is also called the Red Ring.

Nenya is the Ring of Water. It is made of mithril and set with an adamant. Galadriel carries this ring. Nenya is also known as the Ring of Adamant.

Vilya, the Ring of Air, is the mightiest of the three Elven rings. Made of gold, it is set with a sapphire in the center. Originally carried by the Elven king, Gil-galad, it was given to Elrond upon Gil-galad’s death. Vilya is also called the Ring of Sapphire.

The One

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

The One was the Ruling Ring, forged in secret by Sauron, in the fires of Orodruin; it has the power to dominate all of the other Rings. It exerted its power over the bearers of the other Rings, allowing Sauron to see and control the thoughts and actions of the bearers. Although the power of the One was absolutely incredible, it fortunately was not able to completely control the other Rings, due to the natural resistance of the Dwarves, and the caution of the Elves.

In addition to its power over the other Rings, the One had other powers. All of the powers possessed by the Nine were also found in the One. The One also greatly increased the senses of its bearer (i.e. sight, smell, etc.) as well as giving the bearer the ability to understand other languages (e.g. Bilbo being able to understand the spiders in Mirkwood). Finally, the One also had the ability to corrupt the thoughts of those around it, even if they had never touched it.

A picture of the One Ring

The Final Disposition of the Great Rings

The final locations of the Great Rings at the end of the Third Age are as follows. The Nine had been kept by Sauron, and it is thought that they were destroyed during the fall of Barad-dur. Four of the Seven were destroyed by the dragons, while the remaining three suffered the same fate as the Nine. Narya was in the possession of Gandalf, Nenya was with Galadriel, and Vilya was kept by Elrond, who took them along to the Undying Lands. The One was destroyed in the fires of Orodruin.

References

Rings of Power. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RingsofPower
Celebrimbor and the Rings of Power. Lord of the Rings Fanatics Library http://lotrlibrary.com/agesofarda/celebrimborrings.asp
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion.