Rings of Power
The Rings of Power
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History
The Rings of Power were were the masterwork of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain of Eregion headed by Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor during the Second Age of Middle-Earth. The impetus for their creation came from Sauron, who could at that time still assume an appearance fair enough to deceive most of the Elves. The concept of these Rings of Power was to slow the 'decay' of the Elven realms in Middle-earth so that they resemble the beauty of Valinor. A total of nineteen Rings of Power were forged by the Elves, sixteen of which Sauron had a direct hand in creating. The greatest three Rings kept later by the Elves Celebrimbor crafted alone. Twenty were made in all- three rings for the Elven Kings, seven for the Dwarf Lords, nine for mortal men doomed to die. Many other lesser rings were made, described in The Silmarillion and by Gandalf, though they were generally considered as having been mere essays in the craft: practice, as it were, for the smiths. Sauron, however, planned to use the Rings to dominate the remaining Elves of Middle-earth. In accordance with this, he secretly and deceitfully forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, seeking to bring all the rings and their wearers under his sway. All the rings contained great power. The Ring of Fire was held by Gandalf the Grey, the Ring "Vilya" was held by Elrond Halfelven, and the Ring of Adamant was held by Lady Galadriel. The greatest of the Rings of Power was the One Ring, created and wielded by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. He used the One Ring to transform the nine human kings who wielded their nine rings of power into the Nazgul. The elves removed their rings and were unaffected, while the fates of the seven dwarf Rings are unknown.
However, when Sauron put the Ruling Ring on his finger, the Elves immediately knew him and took off their Rings. Furious at this turn of events, Sauron came against the Elves with open war and demanded that the Rings be given to him. Fortunately for the Elves, they were able to hide the greatest Three and pass one of the seven to the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, but Sauron recovered the other fifteen. These he then gave to mortals: the Dwarves and Men. Six he gave to Dwarves (for Seven in total), but Nine he gave to Men, knowing that they would most easily bend to his will. In time, the nine Men to whom the Rings were given became Ringwraiths, or Nazgûl, wraiths of great power under the command of Sauron. The Dwarf lords to whom the Seven were given became wealthy beyond measure, but they did not fall to Sauron's power. They were essentially too "tough" in spirit to be dominated by the will of another, even Sauron. However, the Rings kindled in them an overwhelming greed for treasure, and so ruin was brought to each regardless. According to Gandalf, one feature of the Rings of Power that appeared to be universal was that a mortal who wore any one of the Rings was granted a lifespan far beyond their natural one. It is likely that this is an unintended side-effect of the Rings' power, as Sauron originally intended for all the Rings to be worn by Elves, who were immortal to begin with. The individual who kept the Ring would not grow or obtain more life, however; they would merely continue on until living became unendurable. Bilbo Baggins stated near the end of his time possessing the One that he was beginning to feel "thin and stretched", a sign that this process was beginning to affect him.
Overview
Each of the rings were made using the craft taught by Sauron to give their wearers wealth and dominion over others. It was said that a Ring of Power enhanced the natural power of its wearer thus approaching its "magical aspect", which can be easily corruptible to evil and lust of domination.
Users
- Sauron :
- Gandalf :
- Galadriel :
- Elrond :
- Thráin II :
- Witch-king of Angmar :
- Khamûl the Easterling :
Notes
- The Rings of Power were created by J. R. R. Tolkien and featured in the setting of the Middle-earth universe.
In other media
Television
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Rings of Power appeared in the setting of the live-action television series adaptation.
Films
Video games
Appearances
- The Lord of the Rings:
External Links
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