Rings of Power

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''

---from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, intro.

The Rings of Power were originally a project of the elven-smiths of Eregion headed by Celebrimbor who was descended from Fëanor.

Their purposes were put to use in the Third Age by the elves that used them to preserve the land and to gain insight into the present and the future. Sauron did have a hand in making the Rings of Power (although the Dwarves claim that the chief Dwarven ring was given to Durin III by Celebrimbor himself) but he never touched the three elven rings which is why they were not tainted by his power. The making of the rings was such an undertaking that when Sauron planned to make the One Ring he had to place a majority of his power in that ring in order to hold sway over the other rings made by the elves. That is why the rings were not used in the Second Age by the elves since Sauron wore his during that period. Sauron did steal the other rings and presented them to the leaders of the races of Men and Dwarves in order to control them. This plan easily worked for controlling men, but the dwarves were too hardy and the rings only made their lust for jewels greater.

The rings are the following:

The Three


"Three were given to the Elves: Immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings"

- Galadriel

The Three Rings of the Elves of Eregion were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and were never touched by Sauron. They were called Narya, the Ring of Fire, worn first by Círdan and then by Gandalf; Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, worn by Galadriel; and Vilya, the Ring of Air, borne first by Celebrimbor, who gave it to Gil-galad; and then by Elrond. They remained hidden, and the whereabouts of two were not revealed until the end of the Third Age, after the One Ring was destroyed, and the Dark Lord Sauron was overthrown (Galadriel reveals her possession of one of the rings to Frodo in Fellowship of the Ring).

It could, however, be argued that the possession of the three rings was hinted at during the council of the ring in the Fellowship of the Ring, where Elrond advises that that neither he nor Lórien nor the Havens have the power to withstand the might of Mordor. But Galadriel used Nenya to protect Lothlórien against the attacks from Dol Guldur, to protect the vegetation from dying, and even slowed down the time itself.

Narya
Narya, also named the Ring of Fire or Red Ring, is one of the Three Rings.

According to Unfinished Tales, at the start of the War of the Elves and Sauron, Celebrimbor gave Narya together with the Ring Vilya to Gil-galad, High King of the Noldor. Gil-galad entrusted Narya to his lieutenant Círdan, Lord of the Havens of Mithlond, who kept it after Gil-galad's death. According to The Lord of the Rings, Gil-galad receives only Vilya, while Círdan receives Narya from the very beginning along with Galadriel receiving Nenya from the start. In the Third Age Círdan, recognizing Gandalf's true nature as one of the Maiar from Valinor, gave him the ring to aid him in his labours. It is described as having the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair (in other words, evoking hope from others around the wielder), as well as giving resistance to the weariness of time: "Take now this Ring," he said; "for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill" (Círdan the Shipwright to Gandalf). Narya was worn by Gandalf at the Grey Havens. It was a gold ring adorned with a red ruby.

Nenya
Nenya, also named the Ring of Adamant and the Ring of Water, is one of the Three Rings. The name is derived from the Quenya nén meaning water.

Nenya is described as being made of mithril and set with a "white stone", presumably a diamond (this is never stated explicitly, although the usage of the word "adamant", an old synonym, is strongly suggestive). The ring is wielded by Galadriel of Lothlórien, and possessing radiance that matches that of the stars; while Frodo Baggins can see it by virtue of being a Ring-bearer, Samwise Gamgee tells Galadriel he only "saw a star through your fingers" (This appears in many editions as "finger" — which sounds more magical, since it suggests that her finger has somehow become transparent — but The Treason of Isengard, ch. 13, note 34, mentions it as an error.)

Nenya's power was preservation, protection, and possibly concealment from evil because "there is a secret power here that holds evil from the land". However, the fact that Orcs from Moria entered Lórien after the Fellowship of the Ring entered the forest and Lórien itself had suffered previous attacks from Sauron's Orcs sent from Dol Guldur suggests the power of the ring did not constitute military prowess. It was said that, protected as it was by Nenya, Lothlórien would not have fallen unless Sauron had personally come to attack it. Galadriel used these powers to create and sustain Lothlórien, but it also increased in her the longing for the Sea and her desire to return to the Undying Lands. After the destruction of the One Ring and the defeat of Sauron, its power faded along with the other Rings of Power. Galadriel bore Nenya on a ship from the Grey Havens into the West, accompanied by the other two Elven Rings and their bearers. With the ring gone, the magic and beauty of Lórien also faded along with the extraordinary mallorn trees (save the one that Samwise Gamgee grew in Hobbiton) that lived for centuries and it was gradually depopulated, until by the time Arwen came there to die in it was deserted and in ruin.

Vilya
Vilya, the Ring of Air or Ring of Sapphire is one of the Three Rings.

When Sauron laid waste to Eregion, Vilya was sent to the Elven-King Gil-galad far away in Lindon, where it was later given to Elrond, who bore it through the later years of the Second Age and all of the Third. As Gil-galad was the High King of the Noldor elves at the time of the rings' distribution it was thought that he was best fit to care for the most powerful of the three Elven rings.

Like the other two Rings of the Elves, Vilya was jewelled: it contained a great blue stone set in a gold band, which contributed to its title as the Ring of Sapphire. Less common titles of Vilya were the Ring of Air, signifying its preeminence even over the other Rings of the Elves, and the Blue Ring; it is generally considered that Vilya was the mightiest of these three bands (as mentioned in the ending chapter in The Return of the King). The exact power of Vilya is not mentioned; however it is reasonable to speculate that it also possesses the power to heal and to preserve (it is mentioned in The Silmarillion that Celebrimbor had forged the Three in order to heal and to preserve, rather than to enhance the strengths of each individual bearers as the Seven, Nine, and the lesser rings did). There is some speculation that the ring controlled minor elements, considering the event where Elrond had summoned a torrent of water as the Nazgûl attempted to invade Rivendell.

Upon Sauron's destruction, the power of Vilya faded and it was taken over the sea by Elrond at the end of the Third Age.

The Seven


"Seven to the Dwarf-lords: Great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls."

- Galadriel

Sauron gave the Seven Rings to the Dwarf-lords (although according to dwarvish tradition the elves gave one of them to the dwarf Durin III). The dwarves used their Rings to establish their treasure hoards, but Sauron, according to portions of the Silmarillion, was unable to force the Dwarven bearers to submit. Indeed, the rings did not even turn them invisible; they were immune to some of the more detrimental of the rings' effects. 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. Of the Seven, at the time of The Lord of the Rings all had either been consumed by dragon fire or acquired by Sauron. (Gandalf tells Frodo in "The Shadow of the Past" chapter that Sauron acquired three of them, which means that the remaining four were consumed by dragons). The final of the Seven was taken from Thráin II, who had been captured, imprisoned, and tormented by Sauron (in the guise of the Necromancer) in TA 2845.

The Nine


"And nine...nine rings were gifted to the race of Men...who above all else, desire power."

- Galadriel

The nine rings for mortal men were those divided amongst those evil-hearted men doomed to become the Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths. None are mentioned specifically throughout the Lord of The Rings save their leader, the Witch-king of Angmar. His second-in-command is named in the Unfinished Tales as Khamûl, the Black Easterling. The early Middle-earth Role Playing games name the eight other Ringwraiths, Er-Murazor (the Witch-king, of Númenórean race), Dwar, Ji Indur, Akhorahil, Hoarmurath (Númenórean), Adunaphel (female Númenórean), Ren and Uvatha, but none of these names are considered canon, and especially the idea of a female Ringwraith is unlikely within the context of Tolkien's work, although possible, given that three Númenórean Queens ruled under their own power, Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën and Tar-Vanimeldë. There is also an unlikely precedent for evil female characters in the entities of Ungoliant and Shelob. In "The Battle for Middle-earth 2: The Rise of the Witch-king", one of the Nine, given the non-canon name Morgamir, is the Witch-king's second-in-command in Angmar.

Note: The famous line quoted above: "Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die" reflects the point of view of beings for whom being immortal is the norm and who regard humans' mortality is the exception deserving of special notice.

The One Ring


"But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom...the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a Master Ring...to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice...and his will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all."

- Galadriel

The One Ring, secretly forged by Sauron in the heart of Mount Doom, had the power to dominate the other 19 Great Rings. His dominion over the other rings was incomplete, but the force Sauron could bring to bear with the Ring was amazing nonetheless. This was due in part to his placing a large amount of his own power into it at its forging; a necessity that later led to his downfall at Frodo's hands. It was Isildur which cut the ring off Sauron's hand. He had the chance to destroy the One, but didn't. Later it betrayed him, resulting in his death. It was found, 2500 years later, by a Hobbit named Deagol. Deagol was killed by his friend, Smèagol (later Gollum), who then took the Ring. Smèagol was quickly corrupted, but had a strong physical resistance to the Ring, and "for 500 years the Ring poisoned his mind." Later another Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, found Smèagol living under the Misty Mountains. Bilbo got the Ring by chance, and at the end of all his adventures he still had it. Later the One was passed down to Frodo Baggins, who was forced to flee to Rivendell, chased by Black Riders (Nazgûl). He was chosen there to take the chance Isildur threw away: to destroy the One in the fires of Mount Doom. He, after a long and difficult journey, ultimately failed. Right before he destroyed the One Ring, it corrupted him, and he tried to take it to keep it for himself. Sméagol came up behind him, bit off his finger and the Ring, and fell off the edge into the lava below. The One Ring was destroyed, and Sauron defeated.