107-557: The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium , most prominently in his high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . The One Ring first appeared as a plot device , a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy novel, The Hobbit ; Tolkien later gave it a backstory and much greater power. He added nineteen other Great Rings, also conferring powers such as invisibility, that it could control, including
214-541: A cuttlebone mould, an ancient casting technique. These were given to Gil-galad (portrayed by Mark Ferguson ), Círdan (Michael Elsworth), and Galadriel ( Cate Blanchett ). The Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee , employed as a conceptual designer for the films, had a cameo as one of the nine human Ring-bearers who later became the Nazgûl. Sauron ( Sala Baker ) is seen forging the One Ring at the chamber of Mount Doom. The One Ring
321-463: A plot device , a mysterious magic ring that the titular character had stumbled upon, but its origin was left unexplained. Following the novel's success, Tolkien was persuaded by his publishers Allen & Unwin to write a sequel. Intending to give Bilbo another adventure, he instead devised a background story around the Ring with its power of invisibility , forming a framework for the new work. He tied
428-630: A Latin inscription at a Roman temple at Lydney Park was a "pivotal" influence , combining as it did a god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand. The god-hero was Nodens , whom Tolkien traced to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám , "Nuada of the Silver-Hand", and the inscription carried a curse on a stolen ring. "Silver-Hand" is the English translation of "Celebrimbor", the Elven-smith who made
535-412: A high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name.... He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them... On the land of Lórien there was no stain. Curry cites what he calls Max Weber 's crucial insight, namely that "The unity of the primitive image of
642-524: A key figure later in the chapter. Cyril Ritchard voiced Elrond in the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated film adaptation of The Hobbit . In Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , Elrond was voiced by André Morell . When Rankin/Bass attempted to finish the story (left incomplete by Bakshi and his financial backers) with The Return of the King in 1980, actor Paul Frees voiced Elrond, Ritchard having died shortly after voicing
749-862: A magic horn, brought from the North by Eorl the Young, founder of Rohan , from the dragon-hoard of Scatha the Worm. The horn, he explains, is "a magic one, though only modestly so": blowing it brings joy to his friends in arms, fear to his enemies, and it awakens the Hobbits to purify the Shire of Saruman's ruffians. Shippey suggests that Tolkien wished to do the same for England, and notes that with his novels he at least succeeded in bringing joy. The historian Caitlin Vaughn Carlos writes that Sam Gamgee's exclamation "This
856-435: A means of "power ... [and] domination of things and wills" that corrupts those who use it, for example, trapping the wizard Saruman in his desire for ultimate knowledge and order. Such magic contrasts with the enchantment of Tolkien's fictional elvish lands, which he saw as a form of pure art and an appreciation of the wonders of the world. In an unsent draft of a letter in 1954, Tolkien distinguished two kinds of magic with
963-828: A permanent guest some 60 years later. Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforeseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril--to Mordor. We must send the Ring to the Fire. – Elrond J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of the Ring Elrond headed the Council of Elrond , at which it was decided that the One Ring should be destroyed where it was forged, in Mount Doom in Mordor. He agreed that Frodo Baggins , Bilbo's nephew and heir, should bear
1070-600: A plain, and so escape the ogre." As Tolkien was well acquainted with fairy tales like The Brothers Grimm 's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , Jeanette White from Comic Book Resources suggested that his choice "to gift seven rings of power to the Dwarf Lords of the seven kingdoms is probably no accident". The nine rings for Mortal Men match the number of the Nazgûl. Edward Pettit, in Mallorn , states that nine
1177-407: A sufficiently powerful bearer to perceive what is done using the other rings and to govern the thoughts of their bearers. To use the One Ring to its full extent, the bearer needs to be strong and train their will to the domination of others. A mortal Man or Hobbit who takes possession of a Ring of Power can manifest its power, becoming invisible and able to see things that are normally invisible, as
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#17327729681881284-455: A supporting role, as he does in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion . Scholars have commented on Elrond's archaic style of speech, noting that this uses genuinely archaic grammar, not just a sprinkling of old words. The effect is to make his speech distinctive, befitting his age and status, while remaining clear, and avoiding quaintness. He has been called a guide or wisdom figure,
1391-611: A surrogate father to him. Aware of his daughter Arwen 's feelings for Aragorn, Elrond would permit their marriage only if Aragorn could unite Arnor and Gondor as High King. In The Hobbit , Elrond gave shelter to Thorin Oakenshield and his company during their quest to retake Erebor from the Dragon Smaug . Elrond befriended the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins , the company's "burglar", and received him as
1498-563: A wise person able to provide useful counsel to the protagonists. It has been noted that just as Elrond prevented his daughter Arwen from marrying until conditions were met, so Tolkien's guardian, Father Francis Xavier Morgan , prevented Tolkien from becoming engaged or marrying until he came of age. Elrond was born in the First Age at the refuge of the Mouths of Sirion in Beleriand ,
1605-476: Is "Silver-Hand", or in Elvish "Celebrimbor", the name of the Elven-smith who made the Rings of Power. The inscription contained a curse upon a ring, and the site was called Dwarf's Hill. The Rings of Power have been described as symbolising the way that power conflicts with moral behaviour; Tolkien explores the way that different characters, from the humble gardener Sam Gamgee to the powerful Elf ruler Galadriel ,
1712-690: Is "the commonest 'mystic' number in Germanic lore". He quotes the " Nine Herbs Charm " from the Lacnunga , an Old English book of spells, suggesting that Tolkien may have made multiple uses of such spells to derive attributes of the Nazgûl: against venom and vile things and all the loathly ones, that through the land rove, ... against nine fugitives from glory, against nine poisons and against nine flying diseases. The One Ring first appeared in Tolkien's children's fantasy The Hobbit in 1937 as
1819-659: Is "to be yourself". Tolkien was certainly influenced by the Germanic legend: Andvaranaut is a magical ring that can give its wielder wealth, while Draupnir is a self-multiplying ring that holds dominion over all the rings it creates. Richard Wagner 's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen adapted Norse mythology to provide a magical but cursed golden ring. Tolkien denied any connection, but scholars agreed that Wagner's Ring powerfully influenced Tolkien. The scholar of religion Stefan Arvidsson writes that Tolkien's ring differs from Wagner's in being concerned with power for its own sake and that he turned one ring into many, an echo of
1926-489: Is answered in different ways: the monster Gollum is weak, quickly corrupted, and finally destroyed; Boromir , son of the Steward of Gondor , begins virtuous but like Plato's Gyges is corrupted "by the temptation of power" from the Ring, even if he wants to use it for good, but redeems himself by defending the hobbits to his own death; the "strong and virtuous" Galadriel , who sees clearly what she would become if she accepted
2033-483: Is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of time will sweep it away". Hood further writes that Tolkien was suggesting technology , such as the making of Rings of Power, is in itself neither good nor evil; both the Elves and Sauron (with his armies of orcs ) use that technology, as they also both make and wear swords and mail armour , and shoot with bows . Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated film The Lord of
2140-492: Is that one should not try to double-guess the future through any device, but should trust in providence and make one's own mind up, bravely facing one's duty in each situation. The One Ring offers power to its wearer, and progressively corrupts the wearer's mind to evil ; the effect is strongly addictive. Shippey applied Lord Acton 's 1887 statement that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men" to it, noting that this
2247-406: Is worse than Mordor! ... It comes home to you, they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was ruined" encapsulates the impulse to nostalgia . Elrond Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium . Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing , were half-elven , having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of
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#17327729681882354-609: The Journal of Tolkien Research , analysed why Tolkien wrote "Master" Elrond, only once calling him "Lord of Rivendell" and never writing "Lord Elrond", in contrast for instance to "Lady Galadriel", "Lord Celeborn ", and "the Elven-king Gil-galad". She notes that Elrond is certainly important, being "the thread that ties together all three of the great tales of the legendarium: Beren and Lúthien , The Fall of Gondolin , and The Children of Húrin ." She notes too that
2461-688: The Dwarves are described as "masters of stone", as the Rohirrim are "masters of horses" and the Wizard Radagast is a "master of shapes and changes of hue". Applied to Elrond, he is a "master of healing", but more centrally he is the "greatest of lore-masters", a master of ancient wisdom and knowledge. She notes that among the Elves, the lore-masters were the Noldor: indeed that was the meaning of their name. 'Alas, no', said Elrond. 'We cannot use
2568-743: The Dúnedain . When the Grey Company found Aragorn and the Rohirrim during their journey to Gondor, Elrond's son Elrohir told Aragorn, "I bring word to you from my father: The days are short. If thou art in haste, remember the Paths of the Dead ." Aragorn took Elrond's advice, using the Paths of the Dead to reach Gondor in time to come to its aid. Elrond remained in Rivendell until the destruction of both
2675-752: The Elves when the choice of kindreds was given to him. When Beleriand was destroyed at the end of the First Age, Elrond went to Lindon with the household of Gil-galad , the last High King of the Noldor . During the War of the Elves and the dark lord Sauron in the Second Age , the king Gil-galad sent Elrond to the defence of Eregion against the Dark Lord. Sauron destroyed Eregion and surrounded Elrond's army, but
2782-698: The Noldor . Gil-galad later entrusted Vilya to his lieutenant Elrond , and Narya to Círdan the Shipwright, Lord of the Havens of Mithlond and leader of the Falathrim or "People of the Shore". Tolkien suggested that Sauron did not discover where the Three were hidden, though he guessed that they were given to Gil-galad and Galadriel. In the published The Lord of the Rings , Gil-galad received only Vilya, while Círdan
2889-676: The Second Age , he arrived disguised as a handsome emissary of the Valar named Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, offering the knowledge to transform Middle-earth with the light of Valinor , the home of the Valar. He was shunned by the Elven leaders Gil-galad and Elrond in Lindon , but managed to persuade the Noldorin Elves of Eregion. With Sauron's help, they learnt to forge Rings of Power, creating
2996-510: The morality of the wearer. Scholars including Frederick A. de Armas note parallels between Plato's and Tolkien's rings. De Armas suggests that both Bilbo and Gyges, going into deep dark places to find hidden treasure, may have "undergone a Catabasis ", a psychological journey to the Underworld. The Tolkien scholar Eric Katz writes that "Plato argues that such [moral] corruption will occur, but Tolkien shows us this corruption through
3103-510: The "natural power" of its possessor, thus approaching its "magical aspect", which can be "easily corruptible to evil and lust of domination". Gandalf explains that a Ring of Power is self-serving and can "look after itself": the One Ring, in particular, can "slip off treacherously" to return to its master Sauron, betraying its bearer when an opportunity arrives. As the Ruling Ring, the One enables
3210-538: The 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor , the wraith-like spirit of Celebrimbor (fused with the body of the Ranger Talion) recalls how Sauron had deceived him into forging the Rings of Power. In the sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War , Celebrimbor forges a new Ring of Power unsullied by Sauron's influence. The 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power depicts
3317-528: The Eldar lost their virtue. Then Elrond prepared at last to depart from Middle-earth and follow Celebrían." Elrond and Celebrían were thus finally reunited, but separated forever from their daughter Arwen. The Tolkien scholar Richard C. West writes that there is a familiar trope in stories for a harsh, disapproving father to set difficult and possibly fatal obstacles in the path of his daughter's unwelcome suitors. He gives as example King Thingol 's demand that
Rings of Power - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-569: The Elven rings a "special status" – somehow linked to the One, and thus endangered by it, but also "unsullied", having no direct connection with Sauron. By the time he was writing the chapter "The Mirror of Galadriel", Tolkien had decided that the Seven and the Nine were made by the Elven-smiths of Eregion under Sauron's guidance and that the Three were made by Celebrimbor alone. He considered setting
3531-578: The Elves can only be immortal as long as the world endures, leading them to be concerned with burdens of deathlessness in time and change. Since they wanted the bliss and perfect memory of Valinor , yet to remain in Middle-earth with their prestige as the fairest, as opposed to being at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Undying Lands , they became obsessed with " fading ". According to the scholars of philosophy Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson,
3638-477: The Elves might then seem entirely perfect; but she argues that this is not so. In her 2001 book A Question of Time , she writes that in Middle-earth, as in human life, any attempt to hold on to enchantment is doomed; the Elves are put to the test of letting Lórien's timeless beauty go, just as the members of the Fellowship of the Ring are put to the test of letting the Ring go. In Curry's view, this explains why
3745-601: The Elvish realms of Rivendell and Lothlórien , both preserved by the power of the Three Elvish Rings . That too can be a trap, as the Elves are obliged to let their Rings and their realms fade, just as the Fellowship of the Ring have to let the One Ring go, its addictive power corrupting the wearer's mind to evil. Middle-earth is described both as being quite natural, with the ordinary features of Earth's rivers, mountains and plains , trees and plants under
3852-570: The Fantastic in the Arts , describes Elrond as a guide or wisdom figure, a wise person able to provide useful counsel to the protagonists. He is seen in The Hobbit as one with knowledge of the ancient runes and the ability to read moon letters, as well as giving advice on the best route. In The Lord of the Rings , he is seen to have extensive knowledge of the history of Middle-earth, including of
3959-638: The Greek words μαγεία ( mageia "ordinary magic") and γοητεία ( goeteia , "witchcraft"). Tolkien stated that these could not be acquired by studying ancient lore or books of spells, but that they were "inherent power not possessed or attainable by Men as such". He however qualified this by writing "But the Númenóreans used 'spells' in making swords?" alongside the end of the letter explaining these points. He further explained that both Mageia and Goeteia could be used for good and bad purposes, but neither
4066-822: The Grey Havens and over the Sea to Valinor in the following year. Elrond was an ally of the North-Kingdom of Arnor. Following its fall, Elrond harboured the Chieftains of the Dúnedain (the descendants of the Kings of Arnor) and the Sceptre of Annúminas, Arnor's symbol of royal authority. When Aragorn 's father Arathorn was killed a few years after Aragorn's birth, Elrond raised Aragorn in his own household and became
4173-590: The Grey Havens wearing the Three, with Galadriel proclaiming the end of its power and the beginning of the Dominion of Men. Four Rings of Power appeared in Jackson's The Hobbit film series. In An Unexpected Journey (2012), the One Ring was found by Bilbo Baggins (portrayed by Martin Freeman ). In the extended version of the succeeding film The Desolation of Smaug (2013), Gandalf discovers that Sauron took
4280-521: 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. — J.R.R. Tolkien , The Lord of the Rings , Epigraph As observed by Saruman , each Ring of Power was adorned with its "proper gem", except for the One Ring, which was unadorned. Unlike
4387-496: The Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would set himself on Sauron's throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear. And that is another reason why the Ring should be destroyed: as long as it is in the world it will be a danger even to the Wise. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so. I fear to take the Ring to hide it. I will not take the Ring to wield it.' – Elrond J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of
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4494-482: The Men of Númenor, leading to their civilisation's eventual downfall . The exiled Númenóreans who survived, led by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion, established the realms of Arnor and Gondor . Together with the Elves of Lindon, they formed the last alliance against Sauron and emerged victorious. Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand and kept it, refusing to destroy it; he was later killed in an ambush, and
4601-738: The Men of the West and the courtship of his daughter. As shown in the flashback scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , he forces Aragorn to end his engagement to Arwen so that she can leave to the Undying Lands, although she eventually makes the decision to stay with Aragorn in Middle-Earth. Later, he sends a "surprisingly well-drilled army" to the Battle of Helm's Deep , an act the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey writes
4708-410: The Nine and three of the Seven. During the Third Age, the One Ring is discovered by Bilbo Baggins (in The Hobbit ). At the start of The Lord of the Rings , the Wizard Gandalf explains the One Ring's history to Bilbo's heir Frodo , and recites the Rhyme of the Rings . A Fellowship is formed to destroy it, led by Frodo. Following the successful destruction of the One Ring and the fall of Sauron,
4815-483: The One Ring, and provides wise assistance on planning the necessary action to destroy the Ring. That said, he also shows that he knows the limits of his knowledge, as the capabilities of Hobbits, in his words "the Shire-folk", are outside his experience. Such, Nelson concludes, is the function of a guide, and Elrond fulfils it "admirably" and to the best of his ability, just as in their different ways do Aragorn, Galadriel, Faramir , and Tom Bombadil . Christine Larsen, in
4922-435: The One Ring. He initially made Sauron instrumental in forging the Rings. He then briefly considered having Fëanor, creator of the Silmarils , forge the Rings of Power, under the influence of Morgoth , the first Dark Lord. He settled on Celebrimbor, a descendant of Fëanor, as the Ring's principal maker, under the tutelage of Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant. While writing the lore behind the One Ring, Tolkien struggled with giving
5029-474: The One was made in the fires of Mount Doom, it could only be unmade there. Sauron, being evil, never imagined that anyone might try to destroy the One Ring, as he imagined that anyone bearing it would be corrupted by it. Named after the three elements of fire, water, and air, the Three were the last to be made before Sauron's solo creation of the One. Although Celebrimbor forged the Three Rings alone in Eregion, they were moulded by Sauron's craft and were bound to
5136-431: The One. Only after Sauron's defeat, when the One Ring was cut from his finger at the end of the Second Age, did the Elves begin to actively use the Three to ward off the decay brought by time. Even then, the Rings could be worn without being seen. After the One Ring, they are the most powerful of the twenty Rings of Power. They are: Sauron recovered the Seven Rings from information provided by Celebrimbor, and gave them to
5243-536: The Ring Thomas Kullmann, in the Nordic Journal of English Studies , describes Elrond's language as "archaic and stilted", marked out by formal speeches with the tripartite structure of rhetoric : "proposition, argumentation, and conclusion". Elrond, he writes, uses archaic conjunctions like "save" (meaning "except"), and literary phrases like "to wield at will", along with old-fashioned inversions of word order, like "That we now know too well". He notes however that Elrond uses simple short sentences, like "We cannot use
5350-417: The Ring and Sauron in the War of the Ring . He then travelled to Minas Tirith for the marriage of Arwen and Aragorn, now King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor. Three years later, at the approximate age of 6,520, Elrond left Middle-earth to go over the Sea with Gandalf, Galadriel, Frodo, and Bilbo, never to return . Tolkien said that "after the destruction of the Ruling Ring the Three Rings of
5457-403: The Ring during the journey, aided by eight others, reasoning that a company of nine in the service of Middle-earth would counteract the nine Nazgûl , Sauron's most fearsome servants, who sought to help their master conquer it. When Arwen chose mortality in order to be with Aragorn, Elrond reluctantly accepted her decision as the greater good, as she would help to renew the declining lineage of
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#17327729681885564-420: The Ring of Thrór (a Dwarf-Lord) from Thráin ( Antony Sher ), who revealed in a flashback scene his possession of the Ring during a siege of Moria. In the concluding film The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), Galadriel (Blanchett) reveals Nenya in rescuing Gandalf (McKellen) from Sauron ( Benedict Cumberbatch ), aided by Saruman ( Christopher Lee ) and Elrond (Weaving), who is wearing Vilya, the Ring of Air. In
5671-410: The Ring to mythical elements from the unfinished manuscripts for The Silmarillion to create an impression of depth in The Lord of the Rings . Gollum's characterisation in The Hobbit was revised for the second edition to bring it into line with his portrayal in The Lord of the Rings as a being addicted to the One Ring . Tolkien's conception of Ring-lore was closely linked to his development of
5778-431: The Ring was lost for centuries. During this time, the Elves were able to use the Three Rings, while the Nine given to the leaders of Men corrupted their wearers and turned them into the Nazgûl . The Seven given to the Dwarves failed to subject them directly to Sauron's will but ignited a sense of avarice within them. Over the years, Sauron sought to recapture the Rings, primarily the One, but was only successful in recovering
5885-415: The Rings begins with the forging of the Rings of Power and the events of the War of the Last Alliance against Sauron, all of which are animated in a silhouette against a red background using rotoscoping . The forging of the Rings of Power opens the prologue of Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film series in the 2001 The Fellowship of the Ring . The Three Elven Rings are shown being cast using
5992-662: The Rings of Power can be seen as a modern representation of the relationship between power and morality , since it portrays an idea that "absolute power is in conflict with behaviour that respects the wishes and needs of others". They also observed that several of Tolkien's characters have responded in different ways when faced with the possibility of possessing the One Ring—characters such as Samwise Gamgee and Galadriel have rejected it; Boromir and Gollum , were seduced by its power; and Frodo Baggins , though in limited use, ultimately succumbs to it; while Tom Bombadil can transcend its power entirely. They also noted that for Tolkien,
6099-420: The Rings of Power range from Germanic legend with the ring Andvaranaut and eventually Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen , to fairy tales such as Snow White , which features both a magic ring and seven dwarfs. One experience that may have been pivotal was Tolkien's professional work on a Latin inscription at the temple of Nodens ; he was a god-hero linked to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám , whose epithet
6206-448: The Rings of Power, in association with the Dwarven-smith Narvi. The temple was at a place called Dwarf's Hill. Magical rings occur in classical legend , in the form of the Ring of Gyges in Plato 's Republic . It grants the power of invisibility to its wearer, creating a moral dilemma , enabling people to commit injustices without fearing they would be caught. In contrast, Tolkien's One Ring actively exerts an evil force that destroys
6313-402: The Ruling Ring. That we now know too well. It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own. But for them it holds an even deadlier peril. The very desire of it corrupts the heart. Consider Saruman. If any of the Wise should wield this Ring to overthrow
6420-418: The Ruling Ring." The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey writes that Tolkien, professionally interested in words and language, reveals character through styles of speech. Elrond is seen to use an archaic but clear style in the Council of Elrond. Shippey states that his use of grammatical inversions is now rare, but still colloquial, as in common phrases like "Down came the rain. Up went the umbrellas." He writes that
6527-461: The Seven and the Nine. While Celebrimbor created a set of Three on his own, Sauron left for Mordor and forged the One Ring , a master ring to control all the others, in the fires of Mount Doom . When the One Ring was made using the Black Speech , the Elves immediately became aware of Sauron's true motive to control the other Rings. When Sauron set the completed One Ring upon his finger, the Elves quickly hid their rings. Celebrimbor entrusted one of
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#17327729681886634-426: The Three Rings of the Elves , Seven Rings for the Dwarves , and Nine for Men . He stated that there were in addition many lesser rings with minor powers. A key story element in The Lord of the Rings is the addictive power of the One Ring , made secretly by the Dark Lord Sauron ; the Nine Rings enslave their bearers as the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths), Sauron's most deadly servants. Proposed sources of inspiration for
6741-502: The Three free from the One when it was destroyed but dropped the idea. Tolkien's posthumous works, including The Silmarillion , Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth offer further glimpses of the creation of the Rings. Jason Fisher , writing in Tolkien Studies , notes that Tolkien developed the names, descriptions and powers of the Three Rings late and slowly through many drafts of his narratives. In Fisher's view, Tolkien found it difficult to work these Rings both into
6848-412: The Three to Galadriel and sent the other Two to Gil-galad and Círdan. In an attempt to seize all the Rings of Power for himself, Sauron waged an assault upon the Elves. He destroyed Eregion and captured the Nine. Under torture, Celebrimbor revealed where the Seven were, but refused to reveal the Three. Toward the end of the Second Age, the Númenóreans took Sauron prisoner. Sauron however managed to corrupt
6955-474: The ability to see things in worlds invisible to mortal Men. One by one, the Men fell to the power of the One Ring; by the end of the Second Age, all nine had become invisible ring-wraiths – the Nazgûl , Sauron's most terrible servants. In particular, they helped him search for the One Ring, to which they were powerfully attracted. The Rings of Power were made using the craft taught by Sauron to give their wearers "wealth and dominion over others". Each Ring enhances
7062-439: The angelic race of Maiar ) and the immortal Elves to Dragons and to some extent also Dwarves . Men and Hobbits could not directly work magic, but could make use of more or less magical artefacts made by others, such as Númenorean swords (made by Men with Elvish blood) and the Phial of Galadriel given to Frodo . Some of the magical artefacts were of great power, including the Palantíri or Stones of Seeing, but by far
7169-452: The army departed from Imladris to Mordor , led by Elendil and Gil-galad. Sauron killed both of them at the end of the siege of Barad-dûr . Elrond saw Elendil's son Isildur destroy Sauron's physical body and take the One Ring for himself; Elrond and Cirdan urged Isildur to destroy it, but he refused. Elrond served as Gil-galad's herald, and he and Círdan were entrusted with the two Elven Rings that Gil-galad held. Elrond and Círdan were
7276-471: The bearer is partly transported into the spirit world . However, they also "fade"; the Rings unnaturally extend their life-spans, but gradually transform them into permanently invisible wraiths . The Rings affect other beings differently. The Seven are used by their Dwarven bearers to increase their treasure hoards, but they do not gain invisibility, and Sauron was unable to bend the Dwarves to his will, instead only amplifying their greed and anger. Tom Bombadil,
7383-413: The character in the previous film. Carl Hague portrayed Elrond in National Public Radio 's 1979 radio production of The Lord of the Rings . Hugh Dickson portrayed Elrond in BBC Radio 's 1981 serialisation of The Lord of the Rings . In the 1993 Finnish television miniseries Hobitit , Elrond is played by Leif Wager . In the 2006 Toronto musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , Elrond
7490-526: The crucial moment of each character in the story is the moment in which they are tempted to use a Ring, a choice that will determine their fate. The science fiction author Isaac Asimov described the Rings of Power as symbols of industrial technology . While Tolkien denied that The Lord of the Rings was an allegory , he stated that it could be applied to situations and described it as an examination of "placing power in external objects". Gwyneth Hood, writing in Mythlore , explores two Catholic elements in
7597-654: The distant, painful relationship of Denethor , the despairing and ultimately suicidal Steward of Gondor , and his son Faramir . He notes that this was a major theme in Tolkien's legendarium , with father-son pairs like Húrin and Túrin , or the Dark Elf Eöl betrayed by his power-hungry son, Maeglin. Rosebury comments that Elrond's forbidding Arwen to marry has an analogue with Tolkien's own youth, when his guardian Father Francis Morgan took responsibility for Tolkien's moral wellbeing after his mother Mabel 's death, blocking his relationship with Edith Bratt , whom he eventually married. Charles W. Nelson, writing in Journal of
7704-587: The dwarf-king Durin and the elf-king of Lórien, Amroth, attacked Sauron's rearguard. Sauron turned to fight them, and drove them back to Moria . Elrond was able to retreat north to a secluded valley, where he established the refuge of Imladris , later called Rivendell; he lived there through the Second and Third Ages. Near the end of the Second Age, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men was formed, and
7811-612: The elven-ring Vilya , the Ring of Air, and master of Rivendell , where he has lived for thousands of years through the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. He was the Elf-king Gil-galad 's herald at the end of the Second Age, saw Gil-galad and king Elendil fight the dark lord Sauron for the One Ring , and saw Elendil's son Isildur take it rather than destroy it. He is introduced in The Hobbit , where he plays
7918-420: The existing story of the One Ring , and into the enormous but Ring-free legendarium . Some of the descriptions, such as that Vilya was the mightiest of the Three, and that Narya was called "The Great", were added at the galley proof stage, just before printing. The Rings had earlier been named Kemen, Ëar, and Menel, meaning the Rings of Earth, Sea, and Heaven. According to Johann Köberl, Tolkien struggled with
8025-552: The facts. This applies even to Sauron, when he sees Pippin in Saruman's stone and assumes that Pippin has the One Ring , and that Saruman has therefore captured it. Similarly, Denethor is deceived by Sauron, who drives Denethor to suicide by truthfully showing him the Black Fleet approaching Gondor, without telling him that the ships are crewed by Aragorn 's men. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey suggests that Tolkien's message
8132-544: The forging of the Rings of Power. Magic in Middle-earth Magic in Middle-earth is the use of supernatural power in J. R. R. Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth . Tolkien distinguishes ordinary magic from witchcraft, the latter always deceptive, stating that either type could be used for good or evil . Several of the races of Middle-earth are inherently able to work magic, from the godlike Ainur (including Wizards and Balrogs , both being members of
8239-522: The grandson of Fëanor , the greatest craftsman of the Noldor, working with Dwarves from Khazad-dûm (Moria) led by his friend Narvi. Sauron , powerful and ambitious, but humiliated by the fall of his evil master Morgoth at the end of the First Age , had evaded the summons of the godlike Valar to surrender and face judgment; he chose to remain in Middle-earth and seek dominion over its people. In
8346-624: The hero Beren must bring a Silmaril from the iron crown of the Dark Lord Morgoth . But, he writes, Elrond is a caring father with no trace of cruelty. The demand that Arwen "shall not be the bride of any Man less than the King of both Gondor and Arnor" is in his view just "giving his foster son incentive to achieve what it is his hereditary duty to attempt anyway", as well as doing the best for his daughter: "Elrond loves them both". The humanities scholar Brian Rosebury writes that Tolkien contrasts Elrond's paternal love for Arwen with
8453-620: The leaders of the seven kindreds of the Dwarves : Durin's Folk (Longbeards), Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, and Stonefoots, though a tradition of Durin's Folk claimed that Durin received his ring from the Elven-smiths. Over the years, Sauron was able to recover only three of the Seven rings from the Dwarves. The last of the three was seized from Thráin II during his captivity in Dol Guldur . Gandalf recounts to Frodo that
8560-463: The magical power of the three Elvish Rings too must fade when the One Ring is destroyed. A palantír could not be made to create false images, even by Sauron, but he could use one to selectively display truthful images to create a false impression in the viewer's mind. In each of the four uses of a stone in The Lord of the Rings , a true image is shown, but the viewer draws a false conclusion from
8667-509: The most powerful was the One Ring , made by the Dark Lord Sauron and embodying much of his former power. Scholars have written that Tolkien felt the need for a magical cosmology to counter modernity's war against mystery and magic. In the sense that magic is the use of power to dominate other people, it is evil, and associated in Tolkien's mind with technology. The opposite of that is enchantment, something that Frodo experiences in
8774-546: The notion of a "special status" for the Elven-Rings, and considered having The Three set free when the One Ring was destroyed. In an unused draft by Tolkien, Galadriel counselled Celebrimbor to destroy all the Rings when Sauron's deception was revealed, but when he could not bear to ruin them, she suggested that the Three be hidden. According to Unfinished Tales , at the start of the War of the Elves and Sauron, Celebrimbor gave both Narya and Vilya to Gil-galad , High King of
8881-544: The old rule was that the verb had to come second in the sentence, so if something other than a noun phrase began a sentence, then the noun had to go after the verb. In this way, Shippey writes, Tolkien gives Elrond a consistently archaic style, using not just old words "(the first resort of the amateur medievalist)" but more importantly through grammar. The effect is to make his speech distinctive, suiting his immense age, while remaining clear, and never merely quaint. Importantly, his way of speaking links him with Isildur, who becomes
8988-617: The only ones to stand with Gil-galad when he fell. Elrond married Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel , early in the Third Age . The place and date of Celebrían's birth are not specified. In the version of their history that describes Galadriel and Celeborn as rulers of Eregion in the Second Age , Galadriel and Celebrían left Eregion for Lórinand as Sauron 's influence over Eregion grew. According to one account, Celebrían and her parents later lived for many years in Rivendell ( Imladris ). Celebrían and Elrond had three children:
9095-489: The only person unaffected by the power of the One Ring, could both see its wearer and remained visible when he wore it. Unlike the other Rings, the main purpose of the Three is to "heal and preserve", as when Galadriel used Nenya to preserve her realm of Lothlórien over long periods. The Elves made the Three Rings to try to halt the passage of time , or as Tolkien had Elrond say, "to preserve all things unstained". This
9202-822: The other great rings, the One was created as an unadorned gold band similar in appearance to the lesser rings, though it bore Sauron's incantation, the Ring Verse, in the Black Speech; it became visible only when heated, whether by fire or by Sauron's hand. As the other Rings were made under the influence of Sauron, the power of all the Rings depended on the One Ring's survival. To make the One Ring, Sauron had to put almost all his power into it—when worn, it enhanced his power; unworn, it remained aligned to him unless another seized it and took control of it. A prospective possessor could, if sufficiently strong, overthrow Sauron and usurp his place; but they would become as evil as he. As
9309-685: The power of the rings fades. While the Nine are destroyed, the Three are rendered powerless; their bearers leave Middle-earth for Valinor at the end of the Third Age, inaugurating the Dominion of Men . 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
9416-593: The proud warrior Boromir to the Ring-addicted monster Gollum , interact with the One Ring. Tolkien stated that The Lord of the Rings was an examination of "placing power in external objects". "But wherefore should Middle-earth remain for ever desolate and dark, whereas the Elves could make it as fair as Eressëa , nay even as Valinor ? And since you have not returned thither, as you might, I perceive that you love this Middle-earth, as do I. Is it not then our task to labour together for its enrichment, and for
9523-648: The raising of all the Elven-kindreds that wander here untaught to the height of that power and knowledge which those have who are beyond the Sea?" — J.R.R. Tolkien , The Silmarillion , "The Rings of Power and the Third Age" The Rings of Power were forged by the Elven -smiths of the Noldorin settlement of Eregion. Best-known were the twenty Great Rings, which conferred powers including invisibility, but many lesser rings with minor powers were also created at that time. The smiths were led by Celebrimbor,
9630-665: The remaining four were consumed by dragons. Before the outbreak of the War of the Ring , an envoy from Sauron attempted to bribe Dain II Ironfoot of the Lonely Mountain with the three surviving rings and the lost realm of Moria in exchange for information leading to the recovery of the One Ring, but Dain refused. Sauron gave Nine of the Rings of Power to leaders of Men , who became "mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old". They gained unending lifespans, and
9737-558: The ring, and rejects it; the immortal Tom Bombadil , exempt from the Ring's corrupting power and from its gift of invisibility; Sam who in a moment of need faithfully uses the ring, but is not seduced by its vision of "Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age"; and finally Frodo who is gradually corrupted, but is saved by his earlier mercy to Gollum, and Gollum's desperation for the Ring. Katz concludes that Tolkien's answer to Plato's "Why be moral?"
9844-452: The self-multiplying ring. "Magic rings are a frequent motif in fairy tales ; they confer powers such as invisibility or flight; they can summon wish-granting djinns and dwarves", writes the Tolkien and feminist scholar Melanie Rawls. She adds that they "identify the enchanted princess, hold the tiny golden key to the secret room, give one the power to transform oneself into any form — animal, vegetable, or mineral: duck, lake, rock or tree on
9951-695: The sky, and supernatural, with magical powers shared by many of its races of beings from Wizards to Dwarves, and a variety of magical artefacts from rings to impenetrable walls. The various races of Middle-earth had differing powers: Magical power is wielded through different artefacts: The scholar and critic Patrick Curry argued that Tolkien felt the need for a magical cosmology combining polytheism and animism with Christian values like compassion and humility, to counter modernity's "war against mystery and magic". He believed that Tolkien considered magic as something negative, associated with modern science and machinery, as in his essay On Fairy-Stories :
10058-420: The son of the half-elven mariner Eärendil and Elwing his wife, and a great-grandson of Beren and Lúthien . Not long afterwards, the havens were destroyed by the sons of Fëanor , who captured Elrond and his brother Elros. Their parents feared that they would be killed; instead, they were befriended by Fëanor's sons Maedhros and Maglor. Like his parents but unlike his brother, Elrond chose to be counted among
10165-497: The story of the Three Rings: the angelic and sacrificial aspects of the Elves in the War of the Ring. To the Hobbits of the Fellowship of the Ring , the bearers of the Elven-Rings appear as angelic messengers, offering wise counsel. To save Middle-earth, they have to accept the plan to destroy the One Ring, and with it, the power of the Three Rings, which embody much of their own power. Hood notes that while Gandalf, as one of
10272-516: The supernatural Maiar sent from Valinor , is "remarkably unlike an elf", he is the character who most closely combines the angelic and the sacrificial among the wielders of the Three Rings. The poet W. H. Auden , an early supporter of Lord of the Rings , wrote in the Tolkien Journal that good triumphs over evil in the War of the Ring, but the Three Rings lose their power, as Galadriel had prophesied : "Yet if you succeed, then our power
10379-415: The thoughts and actions of his characters". Plato argues that immoral life is no good as it corrupts one's soul. So, Katz states, according to Plato a moral person has peace and happiness, and would not use a Ring of Power. In Katz's view, Tolkien's story "demonstrate[s] various responses to the question posed by Plato: would a just person be corrupted by the possibility of almost unlimited power?" The question
10486-527: The twins Elladan and Elrohir, and Arwen Undómiel (Evenstar). On a trip from Rivendell to Lórien, Celebrían was waylaid by Orcs in the Redhorn Pass on Caradhras in the Misty Mountains . She was captured and tormented and received a poisoned wound. She was rescued by her sons and healed by Elrond, but "after fear and torment" she could no longer find joy in Middle-earth , so she passed to
10593-450: The usage was clearly intentional, and that Tolkien was "excruciating[ly]" careful on such matters. She notes that he called Tom Bombadil "Master of wood, water, and hill", but denied that the term implied ownership. Further, "master" is used as a term of respect, as by Barliman Butterbur to the hobbits in Bree. Finally, she writes, mastery implies the skill of an authority or revered artist:
10700-473: The world, in which everything was concrete magic [his italics], has tended to split into rational cognition and mastery of nature, on the one hand, and into 'mystic' experiences, on the other". In his view, enchantment heals the split, seen in Platonic , Christian , and Cartesian philosophy , between subjectivity and objectivity. In the Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger 's view, the attractive enchantment of
10807-475: Was a distinctively modern thought: contemporary authors such as George Orwell with Animal Farm (1945), William Golding with Lord of the Flies (1954), and T. H. White with The Once and Future King (1958) similarly wrote about the corrupting effects of power. Shippey writes that there is a "streak of ' wish-fulfilment '" in the account of " The Scouring of the Shire ". Merry returns from Rohan with
10914-607: Was inherently good or bad in itself. In his view, using them to control free will was the most extreme kind of evil . Curry states that enchantment is "the paradigmatic experience, property and concern of the Elves", as seen both in Rivendell when Frodo listens to the Elves' singing in the Hall of Fire, and even more strongly in Lothlórien : Frodo stood awhile still lost in wonder. It seemed to him that he had stepped through
11021-532: Was made to fit a 21st century view of political and military expectations. In the 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , a younger Elrond is played by Robert Aramayo . Weaving reprised his role as both Elrond and the narrator in video games The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006) and The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009). In
11128-544: Was portrayed by Victor A. Young. In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy directed by Peter Jackson , Elrond is portrayed by Hugo Weaving . In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Elrond holds Men in lesser regard after witnessing Isildur 's failure to destroy the One Ring. Unlike in the book, he is skeptical of Aragorn both in terms of his ability to lead
11235-465: Was seen most clearly in Lothlórien , which was free of both evil and the passage of time. The Three do not make their wearers invisible. The Three had other powers: Narya could rekindle hearts with its fire and inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair; Nenya had a secret power in its water that protected from evil; while Vilya healed and preserved wisdom in its element of air. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey thought that Tolkien's work on
11342-476: Was shown to have the ability to adjust in size to the finger of its wearer, such as when it became smaller to fit Isildur ( Harry Sinclair ). In the extended version, Galadriel properly introduces Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, to Frodo. In the concluding film, The Return of the King (2003), the final wearers of the Three Rings—Gandalf ( Ian McKellen ), Elrond ( Hugo Weaving ), and Galadriel, appear openly at
11449-438: Was the direct recipient of Narya from Celebrimbor. Tolkien noted in his letters that the primary power of the Three was to "the prevention and slowing of decay ", which appealed to the Elves in their pursuit of preserving what they loved in Middle-earth. As changeless beings in a changing world, the Elves who remained in Middle-earth relied on the Three to delay the inevitable rise of the Dominion of Men . Tolkien explained that
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