156-523: The One Ring , also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane , is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story The Hobbit (1937) as a magic ring that grants the wearer invisibility . Tolkien changed it into a malevolent Ring of Power and re-wrote parts of The Hobbit to fit in with the expanded narrative. The Lord of
312-511: A barrow-wight . Frodo, awakening from the barrow-wight's spell, calls Tom Bombadil, who frees them and gives them ancient swords from the wight's hoard. The Hobbits reach the village of Bree , where they meet Strider , a Ranger . The innkeeper gives Frodo an old letter from Gandalf, which identifies Strider as a friend. Knowing the Black Riders will attempt to seize the Ring, Strider guides
468-467: A boxed set in 1957, and even finally as a single volume in 1968, following the author's original intent. Tolkien's work, after an initially mixed reception by the literary establishment, has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes , literary devices , and origins. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings , include philology , mythology, Christianity , earlier fantasy works , and his own experiences in
624-441: A 4th-century pagan mystery cult temple was excavated at Lydney Park , Gloucestershire. The archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler asked Tolkien asked to investigate a Latin inscription there, which mentioned the theft of a ring, with a curse upon its thief: For the god Nodens . Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to
780-470: 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 is answered in different ways: Gollum is weak, quickly corrupted, and finally destroyed; Boromir 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
936-534: A broken sword reforged. In the Völsunga saga , these items are respectively Andvaranaut and Gram , and they correspond broadly to the One Ring and the sword Narsil (reforged as Andúril). Tolkien dismissed critics' direct comparisons to Wagner, telling his publisher, "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." Some critics hold that Tolkien's work borrows so liberally from Wagner that it exists in
1092-442: A computer-based unified text. In 2004, for the 50th Anniversary Edition, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull , under supervision from Christopher Tolkien, studied and revised the text to eliminate as many errors and inconsistencies as possible, some of which had been introduced by well-meaning compositors of the first printing in 1954, and never been corrected. The 2005 edition of the book contained further corrections noticed by
1248-401: A cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Tolkien was initially opposed to titles being given to each two-book volume, preferring instead the use of book titles: e.g. The Lord of the Rings : Vol. 1, The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South ; Vol. 2, The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East ; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring and The End of
1404-861: A decision he later regretted. He became the High King of the Noldor -in-Exile in Beleriand after the fall of Gondolin and the death of the previous High King, Turgon. After the War of Wrath and the end of the First Age, Gil-galad founded a realm in the coastal region of Lindon along the shores of Belegaer , the Great Sea. At its height, his realm extended eastward as far as the Misty Mountains . King Tar-Aldarion of Númenor presented Gil-galad with
1560-538: A device containing a star or Silmaril for Eärendil . The Tolkien scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull note that matching the description in the poem, "The countless stars of heaven's field / Were mirrored in his silver shield", the lozenge-shaped devices both contain stars, with an elongated star in each corner. Margaret Purdy, in Mythlore , writes that Gil-galad's shield, like all elvish heraldry personal not inherited, seems to incorporate his stars, though
1716-399: A film version is inevitably different , and if so the reasons for any changes, and the effectiveness of the result. The Hunt for Gollum , a 2009 film by Chris Bouchard , and the 2009 Born of Hope , written by Paula DiSante and directed by Kate Madison , are fan films based on details in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings . From September 2022, Amazon has been presenting
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#17327649971561872-644: A fire, when it displayed a fiery inscription in the Black Speech that Sauron had devised. This was written in the Elvish Tengwar script, with two lines in the Black Speech from the full Ring Verse : When Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, it was burning hot, its inscription legible; he transcribed it before it faded. Gandalf learned of the secret inscription from Isildur's account, and heated Frodo 's ring to reveal it, proving it to be
2028-439: A god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes the "Hobbit-like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien was extremely interested in the hill's folklore on his stay there; it cites Helen Armstrong's comment that the place may have inspired Tolkien's "Celebrimbor and the fallen realms of Moria and Eregion". The scholar of English literature John M. Bowers writes that
2184-564: A great army against Gondor . Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor of the attack, while Théoden musters the Riders of Rohan to go to Gondor's aid. Minas Tirith is besieged; the Lord of the Nazgûl uses a spell-wound battering ram to destroy the city's gates. Denethor, deceived by Sauron, falls into despair. He burns himself alive on a pyre; Pippin and Gandalf rescue his son Faramir from
2340-692: A guide, to ensure the elements of the story fitted together in time and space. He prepared a variety of types of illustration – maps, calligraphy, drawings, cover designs, even a facsimile painting of the Book of Mazarbul – but only the maps, the inscription on the Ring, and a drawing of the Doors of Durin were included in the first edition. The hardback editions sometimes had cover illustrations by Tolkien, sometimes by other artists. According to The New York Times , Barbara Remington 's cover designs for Ballantine 's paperback editions "achieved mass-cult status in
2496-413: A hard round object to try to kill Gandalf. Pippin picks it up; Gandalf swiftly takes it, but Pippin steals it in the night. It is a palantír , a seeing-stone that Saruman used to speak with Sauron, becoming ensnared. Sauron sees Pippin, but misunderstands the circumstances. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith , chief city of Gondor , taking Pippin with him. Frodo and Sam struggle through the barren hills of
2652-469: A high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself". The critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic , criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself were, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre". The science fiction author David Brin interprets
2808-484: A letter to the poet W. H. Auden , who famously reviewed the final volume in 1956, Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single book. It is often called a novel; however, Tolkien objected to this term as he viewed it as a heroic romance . The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until
2964-629: A local machine shop made and polished the shape that Hansen’s team then plated". A tabletop Middle-earth roleplaying game, The One Ring , was manufactured by Cubicle 7; a new edition is planned by a partnership of Sophisticated Games and Free League Publishing from 2020. The Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien . Set in Middle-earth ,
3120-409: A major work in itself, The Lord of the Rings was only the last movement of a much older set of narratives Tolkien had worked on since 1917 encompassing The Silmarillion , in a process he described as mythopoeia . The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to Tolkien's work The Hobbit , published in 1937. The popularity of The Hobbit led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request
3276-678: A multi-season television series of stories, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . It is set at the beginning of the Second Age , long before the time of The Lord of the Rings , based on materials in the novel's appendices. In early 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that multiple new movies set in Middle-earth are in development, and will be produced along with New Line Cinema and Freemode. In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of
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#17327649971563432-492: A nominal payment to Tolkien. Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings , published in 1965. The first Ballantine paperback edition
3588-566: A prisoner. Tolkien wrote in a 1958 letter that the surrender was both "voluntary and cunning" so he could gain access to Númenor. Sauron used the Númenóreans' fear of death to turn them against the Valar , and manipulate them into worshipping his master, Morgoth , with human sacrifice . Sauron's body was destroyed in the Fall of Númenor , but his spirit travelled back to Middle-earth and wielded
3744-505: A purely rural world with no bearing on modern life in cities; of containing no sign of religion; or of racism. Other commentators responded by noting that there are three powerful women in the book , Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen; that life, even in rural Hobbiton, is not idealized; that Christianity is a pervasive theme ; and that Tolkien was sharply anti-racist both in peacetime and during the Second World War, while Middle-earth
3900-524: A rebellion and scours the Shire . Saruman reveals crimes that Wormtongue has done, causing Wormtongue to turn on Saruman and kill him in front of Bag End , Frodo's home. Wormtongue then is killed by hobbit archers. Merry and Pippin are celebrated as heroes. Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts to heal the Shire. Frodo, broken by the quest, leaves a few years later, sailing from the Grey Havens over
4056-417: A secret pass that Gollum knows. They are captured by rangers led by Faramir , Boromir's brother, and brought to the secret fastness of Henneth Annûn . Faramir resists the temptation to seize the Ring and, disobeying orders to arrest strangers, releases them. Gollum guides the hobbits to the pass, but leads them into the lair of the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol . Frodo holds up his gift,
4212-485: A sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion , putting Roverandom on hold, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham , Allen & Unwin continued to ask for more stories about hobbits . Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937. After several false starts,
4368-572: A serial for his son Christopher Tolkien , who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force . Tolkien made another major effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949. The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in
4524-530: Is a book which will break your heart." Lewis observed that the writing is rich, in that some of the 'good' characters have darker sides, and likewise some of the villains have "good impulses". Despite the mixed reviews and the lack of a paperback until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback. Judith Shulevitz, writing in The New York Times , criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style , saying that he "formulated
4680-810: Is a traitor. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor , where it was forged. Frodo takes this task upon himself. Elrond chooses companions for him: Sam, Merry, and Pippin; Gandalf; the Men Aragorn and Boromir , son of the Steward of Gondor ; the Elf Legolas ; and the Dwarf Gimli , representing the Free Peoples of the West. After a failed attempt to cross
4836-434: Is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." The New York Herald Tribune appeared to predict the books' popularity, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time". W. H. Auden , a former pupil of Tolkien's and an admirer of his writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid
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4992-414: Is evidently polycultural. A dispute with his publisher, George Allen & Unwin , led Tolkien to offer the work to William Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but Allen & Unwin were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of
5148-487: 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?" is "to be yourself". Tolkien stated that The Lord of the Rings was not a point-by-point allegory , particularly not of political events of his time such as the Second World War . At the same time he contrasted 'applicability' which "resides in
5304-658: Is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings , where the hobbit Sam Gamgee recites a fragment of a poem about him, and The Silmarillion . In the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Gil-galad and Elendil laid siege to the Dark Lord Sauron 's fortress of Barad-dûr , and fought him hand-to-hand for the One Ring . Gil-galad and Elendil were both killed, but Sauron was wounded. This allowed Elendil's son Isildur to cut
5460-781: Is not the original author, but merely the translator of part of an ancient document, the Red Book of Westmarch . That book is modelled on the real Red Book of Hergest , which similarly presents an older mythology. Various details of the frame story appear in the Prologue, its "Note on Shire Records", and in the Appendices, notably Appendix F. In this frame story, the Red Book is the purported source of Tolkien's other works relating to Middle-earth : The Hobbit , The Silmarillion , and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil . Although
5616-684: The Amazon Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series, which focuses on events in the Second Age , Gil-Galad is played by Benjamin Walker . Gil-galad has been included in multiple video games since Jackson's films were first shown. The 2004 video game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age featured Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad. Others are the 2007 The Lord of the Rings Online ;
5772-605: The Blessed Realm ; and the Númenórean kingdoms had either declined or been destroyed, and had few allies. Of the Ring-bearers, three were alive after the Ring's destruction: the hobbits Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam. Bilbo, having borne the Ring the longest, had his life much prolonged. Frodo was scarred physically and mentally by his quest. Sam, having only briefly kept the Ring, was affected the least. In consideration of
5928-557: The Emyn Muil . They realize they are being tracked; on a moonlit night they capture Gollum, who has followed them from Moria. Frodo makes Gollum swear to serve him, as Ringbearer, and asks him to guide them to Mordor. Gollum leads them across the Dead Marshes . Sam overhears Gollum debating with his alter ego, Sméagol, whether to steal the Ring. The Black Gate of Mordor is too well guarded, so they travel south through Ithilien to
6084-786: The Misty Mountains , the Fellowship risk the path through the Mines of Moria . They learn that Balin and his Dwarves, who had attempted to regain possession of Moria, were killed by Orcs . They are attacked by Orcs and a Balrog , a fire demon. Gandalf confronts the Balrog: both fall into an abyss. The others escape to the Elvish forest of Lothlórien , where the Lady Galadriel tests their loyalty, and gives them magical gifts. She allows Frodo and Sam to look into her vision-giving fountain,
6240-704: The Númenóreans for help, and their king Tar-Minastir brought a great force, enabling Gil-galad to defeat Sauron's army. After the Downfall of Númenor there was peace in Middle-earth. At the end of the Second Age, Sauron reappeared with a newly formed army and made war against the kingdom of Gondor , near his old home of Mordor . Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with the High King of Men , Elendil . The armies of Elves and Men entered Mordor and laid siege to Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr . At
6396-538: The One Ring . Celebrimbor , the creator of the Three Rings , gave two of them, Narya and Vilya, to Gil-galad for safe-keeping once he knew Sauron's intention to take them. Gil-galad passed Narya to Cirdan the shipwright, who stated that this was only to keep it secret; Cirdan never used it. Gil-galad chose to give Vilya, and control of Eriador , to Elrond. War broke out between the Elves and Sauron; Gil-galad asked
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6552-473: The Phial of Galadriel , which holds the light of Eärendil 's star: it drives Shelob back. Frodo cuts through a giant web using his sword Sting . Shelob attacks again, and Frodo falls to her venom. Sam picks up Sting and the Phial . He wounds the monster. Believing Frodo to be dead, Sam takes the Ring to continue the quest alone. Orcs take Frodo; Sam overhears them saying that Frodo is still alive. Sauron sends
6708-615: The Second Age , thousands of years earlier, helps to make the narrative function as history rather than allegory . This, he writes, lends an impression of depth . In the 1981 BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings , the Lay of Gil-galad was set to music by Stephen Oliver . In the Lord of the Rings film trilogy by Peter Jackson , Gil-galad is portrayed by Mark Ferguson . He appears very briefly in The Fellowship of
6864-539: The literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote a review entitled "Oo, Those Awful Orcs!", calling Tolkien's work "juvenile trash", and saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form." Within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings , the work had a mixed reception. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, whereas C. S. Lewis had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here
7020-580: The morality of the wearer. The scholar of humanities Frederick A. de Armas notes parallels between Plato's and Tolkien's rings, and 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, without suggesting that Tolkien was aware of the Ring of Gyges, writes that "Plato argues that such [moral] corruption will occur, but Tolkien shows us this corruption through
7176-555: The 1870 rendering by William Morris of the Victorian Arts and Crafts movement and Icelandic scholar Eiríkur Magnússon . That saga and the Middle High German Nibelungenlied were coeval texts that used the same ancient sources. Both of them provided some of the basis for Richard Wagner 's opera series, Der Ring des Nibelungen , featuring in particular a magical but cursed golden ring and
7332-533: The 1960s, particularly on college campuses" across America. Tolkien drew on a wide array of influences including language, Christianity, mythology and Germanic heroic legend including the Norse Völsunga saga , archaeology , especially at the Temple of Nodens , ancient and modern literature, like Finnish 19th-century epic poetry The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot , and personal experience. He
7488-568: The 2003 " Big Read " survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book". In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia chose The Lord of the Rings as their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". In 2019, the BBC News listed The Lord of
7644-569: The Balrog; he too was killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth. He is now Gandalf the White, replacing Saruman as chief of the wizards. They ride to Edoras , capital of Rohan. Gandalf frees King Théoden from the influence of Saruman's spy Gríma Wormtongue . Théoden musters his army and rides to the fortress of Helm's Deep ; Gandalf departs to seek help from Treebeard. The Ents destroy Isengard , Saruman's stronghold, and flood it, trapping
7800-472: The Black Riders are the Nazgûl , Men enslaved by Rings of Power to serve Sauron. The Council of Elrond discusses what to do with the Ring. Strider is revealed to be Aragorn, the heir of Isildur who had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand in the Second Age, but claimed it for himself. The Ring was lost when Isildur was killed; it passed to Gollum and then to Bilbo. Gandalf reports that the chief wizard, Saruman ,
7956-516: The Dutch Tolkien Society, suggests that the only good reason for making him son of Fingon is the correspondence of the colours, blue and silver, of Gil-galad's heraldic device and Fingolfin 's banner. She notes that the publication of The Silmarillion , based on a limited "grasp of the material", created a "virtually unshakeable" tradition for this parentage. She argues that Orodreth has a better claim to paternity, for several reasons:
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#17327649971568112-421: The Elves. He destroyed Eregion and killed Celebrimbor , the maker of the three Elf-rings. King Tar-Minastir of Númenor sent a great fleet to Middle-earth, and with this aid Gil-galad destroyed Sauron's army and forced Sauron to return to Mordor. Later, Ar-Pharazôn, the last and most powerful king of Númenor, landed at Umbar with an immense army, forcing Sauron's armies to flee. Sauron was taken to Númenor as
8268-547: The Fellowship. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture the two Hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs. The Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan , led by Éomer . The Hobbits escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by the Ent Treebeard . Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, where they meet Gandalf: he explains that he killed
8424-531: The Fire of Doom", a prophecy soon fulfilled. As the Ring contained much of Sauron's power, it was endowed with a malevolent agency. While separated from Sauron, the Ring strove to return to him by manipulating its bearer to claim ownership of it, or by abandoning its bearer. To master the Ring's capabilities, a Ring bearer would need a well-trained mind, a strong will, and great native power. Those with weaker minds, such as hobbits and lesser Men, would gain little from
8580-473: The First World War . The Lord of the Rings is considered one of the greatest fantasy books ever written, and it has helped to create and shape the modern fantasy genre. Since release, it has been reprinted many times and translated into at least 38 languages . Its enduring popularity has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works , and
8736-470: The Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades : he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of the Ring A mortal wearing
8892-590: The J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University . Unusually for 20th century novels, the prose narrative is supplemented throughout by over 60 pieces of poetry . These include verse and songs of many genres: for wandering, marching to war , drinking , and having a bath; narrating ancient myths, riddles , prophecies , and magical incantations; and of praise and lament ( elegy ). Some, such as riddles, charms, elegies, and narrating heroic actions are found in Old English poetry . Scholars have stated that
9048-611: The King (2003). All three parts won multiple Academy Awards , including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic , have accomplished), including Best Picture , Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay . Commentators including Tolkien scholars, literary critics and film critics are divided on how faithfully Jackson adapted Tolkien's work, or whether
9204-470: The King , believing it gave away too much of the storyline, but deferred to his publisher's preference. Tolkien wrote that the title The Two Towers "can be left ambiguous", but considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr , Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol . However, a month later he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and later drew
9360-425: The Latin inscriptions, one containing a curse on the thief of a ring . Tolkien rejected the idea that the story was an allegory , saying that applicability to situations such as the Second World War and the atomic bomb was a matter for readers. Other parallels have been drawn with the Ring of Gyges in Plato 's Republic , which conferred invisibility, though there is no suggestion that Tolkien borrowed from
9516-466: The Mirror of Galadriel. Frodo offers her the Ring: she refuses, knowing that it would master her. Galadriel's husband Celeborn gives the Fellowship boats, cloaks, and waybread. They travel down the River Anduin . At Amon Hen, Boromir tries to take the Ring, but Frodo puts on the Ring and disappears. Frodo chooses to cross the river and go alone to Mordor, but Sam, guessing what he intends, intercepts him. A party of Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron attack
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#17327649971569672-422: The Misty Mountains to track down the Ring. He was drawn to Mordor, where he was captured. Sauron tortured and interrogated him, learning that the Ring had been found and was held by one "Baggins" in the land of " Shire ". The Ring began to strain Bilbo, leaving him feeling "stretched-out and thin", so he decided to leave the Shire, intending to pass the Ring to his adopted heir Frodo Baggins . He briefly gave in to
9828-411: The Morannon , his army is vastly outnumbered. Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. They set out across Mordor. When they reach the edge of the Cracks of Doom , Frodo cannot resist the Ring any longer: he claims it for himself and puts it on. Gollum reappears. He bites off Frodo's Ring finger. Celebrating wildly, Gollum loses his footing and falls into the Fire, taking the Ring with him. When
9984-468: The Nazgul and the Black Speech of Mordor have been described as "nightmarish". In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , the wearer of the Ring is portrayed as moving through a shadowy realm where everything is distorted. The effects of the Ring on Bilbo and Frodo are obsessions that have been compared with drug addiction ; actor Andy Serkis , who played Gollum , cited drug addiction as an inspiration for his performance. The actual ring for
10140-411: The One Ring in renewed war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Tolkien wrote, "I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largely depended." Gil-galad and Elendil destroyed Sauron's physical form at the end of the Last Alliance, at the cost of their own lives. Elendil's son, Isildur , cut the Ring from Sauron's hand on
10296-432: The One Ring, acknowledging that Tolkien may have made use of multiple influences, and had intentionally set about to update the myths. Tolkien's use of the Ring was influenced by Norse mythology . While at King Edward's School in Birmingham, he read and translated from the Old Norse in his free time. One of his first Norse purchases was the Völsunga saga . While a student, he read the only available English translation,
10452-420: The One Ring. The Ring extended the life of a mortal possessor indefinitely, preventing natural aging. Gandalf explained that it did not grant new life, but that the possessor merely continued until life became unbearably wearisome. The Ring did not protect its bearer from destruction; Gollum perished in the Crack of Doom, and Sauron's 'fair' body was destroyed in the downfall of Númenor. He may not have worn it at
10608-400: The One Ring. Gandalf recited the inscription in Black Speech at the Council of Elrond , causing everyone to tremble: The change in the wizard's voice was astounding. Suddenly it became menacing, powerful, harsh as stone. A shadow seemed to pass over the high sun, and the porch for a moment grew dark. All trembled, and the Elves stopped their ears. After forging the ring, Sauron waged war on
10764-423: The Riders. The Hobbits take an evasive shortcut to Bucklebury Ferry, where they meet their friend Merry Brandybuck . Merry and Pippin reveal they know about the Ring and insist on joining Frodo on his journey. They try to shake off the Black Riders by cutting through the Old Forest . Merry and Pippin are trapped by the malign Old Man Willow , but are rescued by Tom Bombadil . Leaving Tom's house, they are caught by
10920-417: The Ring during the opening prologue sequence. Gil-galad is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes documentaries included with the Special Extended Edition DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring and is listed in the credits. In an interview with Ferguson and Craig Parker (Haldir), Ferguson stated that it had been planned for his death to be depicted onscreen as in the book, but it was considered too violent. In
11076-599: The Ring , on the way to Weathertop , Aragorn mentions Gil-galad, prompting the hobbit Sam Gamgee to recite a fragment, three stanzas, of "Gil-galad was an Elven-king": Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing: The last whose realm was fair and free Between the mountains and the sea. His sword was long, his lance was keen. His shining helm afar was seen. The countless stars of heaven's field Were mirrored in his silver shield. But long ago he rode away, And where he dwelleth none can say. For into darkness fell his star; In Mordor , where
11232-468: The Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work. As the story progressed, he brought in elements from The Silmarillion mythology. Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, marked exams to bring in a little extra income, and wrote many drafts. Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only restarted it in April 1944, as
11388-502: The Ring became effectively invisible except to those able to perceive the non-physical world, with only a thin, shaky shadow discernible in the brightest sunlight. All the same, when Sam wore the ring on the edge of Mordor, "he did not feel invisible at all, but horribly and uniquely visible; and he knew that somewhere an Eye was searching for him". Sam was able to understand the Black Speech of Orcs in Mordor during his brief possession of
11544-487: The Ring from Sauron's hand, defeating Sauron, and to take the Ring for himself. Gil-galad briefly appears at the opening of Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , in several video games based on Middle-earth , and as a secondary character in the TV series The Rings of Power . Gil-galad was an Elf of a royal house of Beleriand ; beyond that, accounts of his birth vary. According to The Silmarillion , he
11700-564: The Ring is destroyed, Sauron loses his power. All he created collapses, the Nazgûl perish, and Aragorn wins the battle of the Morannon. Aragorn is crowned King, and weds Arwen , Elrond's daughter. Théoden is buried; Éomer is crowned King of Rohan. His sister Éowyn is engaged to Faramir, now Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Gandalf say farewell to Treebeard, and to Aragorn. The four hobbits travel home, only to find it has been taken over by Saruman's men. Merry raises
11856-504: The Ring to Frodo , his heir. Gandalf (a wizard ) suspects it is a Ring of Power ; seventeen years later, he confirms it was lost by the Dark Lord Sauron and counsels Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Gandalf leaves, promising to return, but fails to do so. Frodo sets out on foot with his cousin Pippin Took and gardener Sam Gamgee . They are pursued by Black Riders , but meet some Elves , whose singing to Elbereth wards off
12012-553: The Ring – provides the " eucatastrophe " for a happy ending. The work is thus, Rosebury asserted, very tightly constructed, the expansive descriptions and the Ring-based plot fitting together exactly. The Ring offers power to its wearer, and progressively corrupts the wearer's mind to evil. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey applies Lord Acton 's 1887 statement that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men" to it. He notes that
12168-484: The Ring's power, even calling it "my precious"; alarmed, Gandalf spoke harshly to his old friend to persuade him to give it up, which Bilbo did, becoming the first Ring-bearer to surrender it willingly. By this time Sauron had regained much of his power, and the Dark Tower in Mordor had been rebuilt. Gollum, released from Mordor, was captured by Aragorn . Gandalf learned from Gollum that Sauron now knew where to find
12324-474: The Ring's temptation, and betrayed Frodo to the spider Shelob . Believing Frodo to be dead, Sam bore the Ring himself for a short time and experienced the temptation it induced. Sam rescued Frodo from Orcs at the Tower of Cirith Ungol . The hobbits, followed by Gollum, reached Mount Doom, where Frodo was overcome by the Ring's power and claimed it for himself. At that moment, Gollum bit off his finger, taking back
12480-492: The Ring, but, gloating, he and the Ring fell into the fires of Mount Doom. The Ring and Sauron's power were destroyed. The Ring's primary power was control of the other Rings of Power and domination of the wills of their users. The Ring also conferred power to dominate the wills of other beings whether they were wearing Rings or not—but only in proportion to the user's native capacity. In the same way, it amplified any inherent power its owner possessed. A mortal .. who keeps one of
12636-496: The Ring, let alone realize its full potential. Even for one with the necessary strength, it would have taken time to master the Ring's power sufficiently to overthrow Sauron. The Ring did not render its bearer omnipotent. Three times Sauron suffered military defeat while bearing the Ring, first by Gil-galad in the War of Sauron and the Elves, then by Ar-Pharazôn when Númenórean power so overawed his armies that they deserted him, and at
12792-411: The Ring. It corrupted his body and mind, turning him into the monstrous Gollum . The Ring manipulated Gollum into hiding in a cave under the Misty Mountains near Mirkwood , where Sauron was beginning to resurface. There Gollum remained for nearly 500 years, using the Ring to hunt Orcs. The Ring eventually abandoned Gollum, knowing it would never leave the cave whilst he bore it. Gollum eventually left
12948-531: The Ring. To prevent Sauron from reclaiming his Ring, Frodo and eight companions set out from Rivendell for Mordor to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . During the quest , Frodo gradually fell under the Ring's power. When he and his faithful servant Sam Gamgee discovered Gollum on their trail and "tamed" him into guiding them to Mordor, Frodo began to feel a bond with the wretched, treacherous creature, while Gollum warmed to Frodo's kindness and made an effort to keep his promise. Gollum however gave in to
13104-519: The Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings , a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. A variety of filmmakers considered adapting Tolkien's book, among them Stanley Kubrick , who thought it unfilmable , Michelangelo Antonioni , Jim Henson , Heinz Edelmann , and John Boorman . A Swedish live action television film, Sagan om ringen ,
13260-403: The Rings combines a slow, descriptive series of scenes or tableaux illustrating Middle-earth with a unifying plotline in the shape of the quest to destroy the Ring. The Ring needs to be destroyed to save Middle-earth itself from destruction or domination by Sauron. The work builds up Middle-earth as a place that readers come to love, shows that it is under dire threat, and – with the destruction of
13416-433: The Rings describes the hobbit Frodo Baggins 's quest to destroy the Ring and save Middle-earth . Scholars have compared the story with the ring-based plot of Richard Wagner 's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen ; Tolkien denied any connection, but at the least, both men drew on the same mythology. Another source is Tolkien's analysis of Nodens , an obscure pagan god with a temple at Lydney Park , where he studied
13572-404: The Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff", fearing his work would never see the light of day. For publication, the work was divided into three volumes to minimize any potential financial loss due to
13728-494: The Rings on its list of the 100 most influential novels . The Lord of the Rings has been adapted into various media, including radio, stage, motion pictures, and videogames. The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings , a 13-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation . A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of
13884-583: The Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award . Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by all of three different measures: sales, library borrowings, and reader surveys. In
14040-644: The Rings , read by the British actor Rob Inglis . A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings , was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in June 2007; it was a commercial failure. Gil-galad Gil-galad is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium , the last high king of the Noldor , one of the main divisions of Elves . He
14196-683: The Rings , with a flashback to Bilbo's encounter with Gollum in The Hobbit . A far more successful adaptation was Peter Jackson 's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
14352-463: The Sea to find peace. Extensive appendices outline more details of the history, cultures, genealogies , and languages that Tolkien imagined for the peoples of Middle-earth. In antiquarian style , they provide background details for the narrative, with much detail for Tolkien fans who want to know more about the stories. Tolkien presents The Lord of the Rings within a fictional frame story where he
14508-510: The Third Age . However, these individual book titles were dropped, and after pressure from his publishers, Tolkien suggested the volume titles: Vol. 1, The Shadow Grows ; Vol. 2, The Ring in the Shadow ; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring or The Return of the King . Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is often referred to as the Lord of the Rings "trilogy". In
14664-525: The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes is rarely picked up by readers, is that Tolkien chose dates of symbolic importance in Christianity for the quest to destroy the Ring. It began in Rivendell on 25 December, the date of Christmas , and ended on Mount Doom on 25 March, a traditional Anglo-Saxon date for the crucifixion . The scholar of the humanities Brian Rosebury noted that The Lord of
14820-448: The Tower of Cirith Ungol while holding the Ring, he appeared to the terrified Orc as a powerful warrior cloaked in shadow "[holding] some nameless menace of power and doom". Similarly at Mount Doom, when Frodo and Sam were attacked by Gollum, Frodo grabbed the Ring and appeared as "a figure robed in white... [that] held a wheel of fire". Frodo told Gollum "in a commanding voice" that "If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into
14976-483: The United Kingdom. In the United States, Houghton Mifflin published The Fellowship of the Ring on 21 October 1954, The Two Towers on 21 April 1955, and The Return of the King on 5 January 1956. The Return of the King was especially delayed as Tolkien revised the ending and prepared appendices (some of which had to be left out because of space constraints). Tolkien did not like the title The Return of
15132-716: The achievement of John Milton 's Paradise Lost . Kenneth F. Slater wrote in Nebula Science Fiction , April 1955, "... if you don't read it, you have missed one of the finest books of its type ever to appear". On the other hand, in 1955, the Scottish poet Edwin Muir attacked The Return of the King , writing that "All the characters are boys masquerading as adult heroes ... and will never come to puberty ... Hardly one of them knows anything about women", causing Tolkien to complain angrily to his publisher. In 1956,
15288-435: The addictive danger of power , and various aspects of Christianity such as the presence of three Christ figures, for prophet, priest, and king , as well as elements like hope and redemptive suffering . There is a common theme throughout the work of language , its sound , and its relationship to peoples and places, along with hints of providence in descriptions of weather and landscape. Out of these, Tolkien stated that
15444-497: The approach of war in 1938 "had had some effect on it": The Lord of the Rings was applicable to the horror of war in general, as long as it was not taken as a point-by-point allegory of any particular war, with false equations like "Sauron= Satan or Hitler or Stalin , Gandalf=God or Churchill , Aragorn=Christ or MacArthur , the Ring=the atomic bomb , Mordor= Hell or Russia or Germany". One aspect of such applicability, which
15600-521: The battle of Dagorlad, "we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil , none could withstand." The connection of Elf and spear could relate to the English surname Elgar , which may represent Old English aelf-gar , "elf-spear". Tolkien created two sketches of heraldic devices for Gil-galad. They were drawn on an envelope posted to him in 1960, along with
15756-498: The books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits. It has ultimately become one of the best-selling novels ever written, with at least 50 million copies sold by 2003 and over 150 million copies sold by 2007. The work was published in the UK by Allen & Unwin until 1990, when the publisher and its assets were acquired by HarperCollins . In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim , science fiction editor of
15912-439: The central theme is death and immortality. To those who supposed that the book was an allegory of events in the 20th century, Tolkien replied in the foreword to the Second Edition that it was not, saying he preferred "history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers." Some commentators have criticized the book for being a story about men for boys, with no significant women; or about
16068-440: The chapter. He notes that it has the form of a ballad , each stanza being a quatrain in eulogy mode with end-rhymes in the rhyming pattern AABB/CCDD. Gil-galad's spear was named Aeglos or Aiglos, meaning "snow-point" or "snow-thorn" or more commonly "icicle" ( aeg : sharp, pointed; los : snow) because when orcs saw his spear, they would recognize it by its reputation to bring a cold death to them. Elrond said that at
16224-406: The corrupting effects of the One Ring, even powerful beings like Gandalf and Galadriel, who refused to wield it out of the knowledge that they would become like Sauron himself. Within the land of Mordor where it was forged, the Ring's power increased so significantly that even without wearing it the bearer could draw upon it, and could acquire an aura of terrible power. When Sam encountered an Orc in
16380-693: The crown of the Noldor in exile (in Middle-earth) then comes to a descendant of Finarfin, king of the Noldor in Aman; a descendant of Finarfin would fight Sauron to avenge Finarfin's son Finrod ; and as brother to Finduilas, he (alone of the Noldor's Kings) would fight with a spear, the weapon that killed his sister. The scholar of literature Lawrence Krikorian, in Mallorn , writes that Elrond 's account of his personal observation of being Gil-galad's herald in
16536-422: The editors and submitted by readers. Yet more corrections were made in the 60th Anniversary Edition in 2014. Several editions, including the 50th Anniversary Edition, print the whole work in one volume, with the result that pagination varies widely over the various editions. From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of the Rings , chronicling and illuminating with commentary
16692-469: The end of the Second Age with his personal defeat by Gil-galad and Elendil. Tolkien indicates in a speech by Elrond that such a defeat would not have been possible in the waning years of the Third Age , when the strength of the free peoples was greatly diminished. There were no remaining heroes of the stature of Gil-galad, Elendil, or Isildur; the strength of the Elves was fading and they were departing to
16848-622: The end of the siege, Sauron finally came forth and fought hand-to-hand against Gil-galad and Elendil on the slopes of Mount Doom , losing the One Ring but killing them both. A record left by Isildur in Minas Tirith implies that Sauron himself killed Gil-galad with the heat of his bare hands. Recalling the encounter at the Council of Elrond at Rivendell before the Fellowship took the One Ring south, Elrond said that only he and Círdan stood by Gil-galad in that fight. In The Fellowship of
17004-677: The field is blue not silver. [REDACTED] Kings of the Noldor in Valinor [REDACTED] High Kings of the Noldor in exile in Middle-earth Gil-galad means "star of bright light" in Sindarin . His names in Tolkien's invented languages of Quenya and Sindarin were Artanáro and Rodnor, respectively. His Sindarin birth name, Ereinion, means "scion of kings". Tolkien considered several different parentages for Gil-galad in different draft texts, including making him
17160-499: The films was designed and created by Jens Hansen Gold & Silversmith in Nelson, New Zealand , and was based on a simple wedding ring . Polygon highlighted that "the workshop produced approximately 40 different rings for the films. Most expensive were the 18 carat solid gold 'hero' rings, sized ten for Frodo’s hand and 11 for the chain. [...] To save money — though not time — the workshop used gold-plated sterling silver for most of
17316-538: The freedom of the reader", with 'allegory' which resides in "the purposed domination of the author". He stated that had the Second World War "inspired or directed the development of the legend" as an allegory, then the fate of the Ring, and of Middle-earth, would have been very different: Anne C. Petty, writing in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , notes that Tolkien was all the same quite capable of using "allegorical elements when it suited his purpose", and that he agreed that
17472-538: The gift of some seeds of the Mallorn tree; he in turn gave some to Galadriel , who grew them in the guarded land of Lothlórien . Gil-galad did not take a wife and had no children. He was the first of the Eldar to mistrust a stranger who called himself Annatar, and forbade him from entering Lindon. His mistrust was well founded, for Annatar was in fact Sauron . About the year 1600 of the Second Age, Sauron secretly forged
17628-440: The goblins by remaining invisible, but he chose not to tell Gandalf and the dwarves that the Ring had made him invisible. Instead he told them a story that followed the first edition: that Gollum had given him the Ring and shown him the way out. Gandalf was immediately suspicious of the Ring, and later forced the real story from Bilbo. Scholars have identified numerous more or less plausible sources for, or at least parallels with,
17784-695: The group toward the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell . At Weathertop , they are attacked by five Black Riders. Their leader wounds Frodo with a cursed blade. Strider fights them off and treats Frodo with the herb athelas . They are joined by the Elf Glorfindel , who rides with Frodo, now deathly ill, towards Rivendell. The Black Riders pursue Frodo into the Ford of Bruinen, where they are swept away by flood waters summoned by Elrond . Frodo recovers in Rivendell under Elrond's care. Gandalf informs Frodo that
17940-421: The high cost of type-setting and modest anticipated sales: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I and II), The Two Towers (Books III and IV), and The Return of the King (Books V and VI plus six appendices). Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially an index led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped – on 29 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in
18096-502: The hobbits to his own death; the "strong and virtuous" Galadriel, who sees clearly what she would become if she accepted 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
18252-536: The interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance. Early reviews of the work were mixed . The initial review in the Sunday Telegraph described it as "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century". The Sunday Times echoed this sentiment, stating that "the English-speaking world
18408-421: The literary establishment disliked The Lord of the Rings , and the work's subtlety, themes, and merits, including the impression of depth that it conveys. The scholar of humanities Brian Rosebury analysed Tolkien's prose style in detail, showing that it was generally quite plain, varying to suit the voices of the different characters, and rising to a heroic register for special moments. In 1957, The Lord of
18564-420: The militarization and industrialization inspired the character of Sauron and his forces. The Orcs represented the worst of it as workers that have been tortured and brutalized by the war and industry. Scholars and critics have identified many themes in the book with its complex interlaced narrative , including a reversed quest , the struggle of good and evil , death and immortality , fate and free will,
18720-749: The name of the Elven-smith Celebrimbor, who forged the Elf-rings, is the Sindarin for "Silver Hand". A source that Tolkien "might have borrowed" from, though there is no evidence for this, is Plato 's Republic . Its second book tells the story of the Ring of Gyges that gave its owner the power of invisibility. In so doing, it created a moral dilemma , enabling people to commit injustices without fearing they would be caught. In contrast, Tolkien's Ring actively exerts an evil force that destroys
18876-528: The opinion is distinctively modern, and that other modern 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. When the critic Colin Manlove described Tolkien's attitude to power as inconsistent, arguing that the supposedly overwhelming Ring
19032-400: The other Rings of Power given to men , dwarves , and elves , in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire , a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring, seen mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo , Sam , Merry , and Pippin . Aiding the hobbits are
19188-536: The others. Since the other Rings were powerful on their own, Sauron was obliged to place much of his own power into the One to achieve his purpose. Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron. With the Ring, he could control the power of all the other Rings, and thus he was significantly more powerful after its creation than before; but by binding his power within the Ring, Sauron became dependent on it. The Ring seemed to be made simply of gold, but it
19344-607: The paperback publisher Ace Books , claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the US hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States. Then, in 1965, Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection. Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made
19500-399: The poetry is essential for the fiction to work aesthetically and thematically, as it adds information not given in the prose, and it brings out characters and their backgrounds. The poetry has been judged to be of high technical skill, reflected in Tolkien's prose; for instance, he wrote much of Tom Bombadil 's speech in metre. Tolkien worked on the text using his maps of Middle-earth as
19656-448: The publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. It has inspired many derivative works , including paintings, music, films , television, video games , and board games. Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio , theatre , and film . It was named Britain's best-loved novel of all time in a 2003 poll by the BBC called The Big Read . Bilbo Baggins celebrates his birthday and leaves
19812-519: The rings. [...] For many fans, the ring used in close-ups — like the scene where the Ring slips away from Frodo to lure Boromir in the snow at Caradhras, or when arguing participants in the Council of Elrond are shown reflected in the Ring’s surface — is the real hero ring. In order to capture the ring’s sheen in high definition, that prop was a full eight inches wide — too big even for Hansen’s tools. Instead,
19968-918: The same fate. Aragorn, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli, and the Rangers of the North , takes the Paths of the Dead to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, oathbreakers who will have no rest until they fight for the King of Gondor. Aragorn unleashes the Army of the Dead on the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. He and men of southern Gondor sail in the Corsairs' ships up the Anduin , reaching Minas Tirith just in time to turn
20124-489: The second edition, after losing the Riddle Game to Bilbo, Gollum went to get his "Precious" to help him kill and eat Bilbo, but found the Ring missing. Deducing from Bilbo's last question—"What have I got in my pocket?"—that Bilbo had found the Ring, Gollum chased him through the caves, not realizing that Bilbo had discovered the Ring's power of invisibility and was following him to the cave's mouth. Bilbo escaped Gollum and
20280-613: The shadow of Wagner's. Others, such as Gloriana St. Clair , attribute the resemblances to the fact that Tolkien and Wagner had created works based on the same sources in Norse mythology . Tom Shippey and other researchers hold an intermediary position, stating that the authors indeed used the same source materials, but that Tolkien was indebted to some of the original developments, insights and artistic uses of those sources that first appeared in Wagner, and sought to improve upon them. In 1928,
20436-410: The shadows are. Sam's companions are impressed, and ask for more; Sam admits that is all that he learnt from Bilbo. Aragorn says the fragment is a translation from "an ancient tongue" and suggests that the hobbits may hear the rest in Rivendell . The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey comments that the longer poem does not exist, and that Sam's fragment seems to have been composed while Tolkien was writing
20592-551: The slopes of Mount Doom. Though counselled to destroy the Ring, he was swayed by its power and kept it "as weregild for my father, and my brother". A few years later, Isildur was ambushed by Orcs by the River Anduin near the Gladden Fields ; he put on the Ring to escape, but it chose to slip from his finger as he swam, and, suddenly visible, he was killed by the Orcs. Since the Ring indirectly caused Isildur's death, it
20748-460: The son of Orodreth. In the second version of The Fall of Númenor , he is called a descendant of Fëanor , who made the Silmarils . Then Tolkien treated him as a son of Finrod Felagund . Christopher Tolkien , editing the published version of The Silmarillion , made Gil-galad the son of Fingon, a decision he later regretted, saying he should have left the parentage obscure. Renee Vink, of
20904-479: The stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow , The Treason of Isengard , The War of the Ring , and Sauron Defeated . The work has been translated, with varying degrees of success, into at least 38, and reportedly at least 70, languages. Tolkien, an expert in philology , examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both
21060-492: The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written , with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist , the Dark Lord Sauron , who in an earlier age created the One Ring , allowing him to rule
21216-431: The story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not come until the spring of 1938. Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered
21372-569: The story. The One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron during the Second Age to gain dominion over the free peoples of Middle-earth . In disguise as Annatar , or "Lord of Gifts", he aided the Elven smiths of Eregion and their leader Celebrimbor in the making of the Rings of Power . He then secretly forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . Sauron intended it to be the most powerful of all Rings, able to rule and control those who wore
21528-602: The temple of Nodens. The curse is matched by the inscription on the Ring of Silvianus , a Roman gold ring of around the 4th century, found near a former Roman town, Silchester ; both it and the curse stone name Senicianus as the ring-thief. The Anglo-Saxon name for the place was Dwarf's Hill, and in 1932 Tolkien traced Nodens to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám , "Nuada of the Silver-Hand". Shippey thought this "a pivotal influence" on Tolkien's Middle-earth, combining as it did
21684-411: The thoughts and actions of his characters". In Katz's view, Plato tries to counter the "cynical conclusion" that moral life is chosen by the weak; Glaucon thinks that people are only "good" because they suppose they will be caught if they are not. 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
21840-582: The tide of battle. Théoden's niece Éowyn , who joined the army in disguise, kills the Lord of the Nazgûl with help from Merry; both are wounded. Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields , but Théoden is killed. Aragorn enters Minas Tirith and heals the sick. He leads an army through Ithilien to the Black Gate to distract Sauron from his true danger. At the Battle of
21996-465: The time, but he "took [it] up again" when his spirit returned to Mordor. Like the Nine Rings, the One Ring physically corrupted mortals who wore it, eventually transforming them into wraiths . Hobbits were more resistant to this than Men : Gollum, who possessed the ring for 500 years, did not become wraith-like because he rarely wore the Ring. Except for Tom Bombadil , nobody seemed to be immune to
22152-675: The translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks , Tolkien wrote a " Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings " (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch , using the English language to represent the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture
22308-564: The trials Bilbo and Frodo faced, the Valar allowed them to travel to the Undying Lands , accompanying Galadriel , Elrond , and Gandalf . Sam is also said to have been taken to the Undying Lands, after living in the Shire for many years and raising a large family. Tolkien emphasized that the restorative sojourn of the Ring-bearers in the Undying Lands would not have been permanent. As mortals, they would eventually die and leave
22464-513: The wizard Gandalf , the men Aragorn and Boromir , the elf Legolas , and the dwarf Gimli , who unite as the Company of the Ring in order to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron's armies and give Frodo a chance to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . Although often called a trilogy, the work was intended by Tolkien to be a single volume in a two-volume set, along with The Silmarillion . For economic reasons, it
22620-520: The wizard in the tower of Orthanc . Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. He brings an army of Riders of Rohan to Helm's Deep. They defeat the Orcs, who flee into the forest of Huorns and are destroyed. Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride to Isengard, where they find Merry and Pippin relaxing amidst the ruins. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to turn away from evil. When Saruman refuses, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Wormtongue throws down
22776-522: The work as holding unquestioning devotion to a traditional hierarchical social structure. In his essay " Epic Pooh ", fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the " paternalism " of the narrative voice and the power structures in the narrative. Tom Shippey , like Tolkien an English philologist, notes the wide gulf between Tolkien's supporters, both popular and academic, and his literary detractors, and attempts to explain in detail both why
22932-585: The world of Eä . The Ring began as a plot device, not a central narrative theme. As told in The Hobbit , Bilbo found the Ring while lost in the tunnels near Gollum's lair. In the first edition , Gollum offers to surrender the Ring to Bilbo as a reward for winning the Riddle Game . When Tolkien was writing The Lord of the Rings , he realized that the Ring's grip on Gollum would never permit him to give it up willingly. He therefore revised The Hobbit : in
23088-488: Was a major influence, and Tolkien undoubtedly made use of some real place-names, such as Bag End, the name of his aunt's home. Tolkien stated, too, that he had been influenced by his childhood experiences of the English countryside of Worcestershire near Sarehole Mill , and its urbanization by the growth of Birmingham , and his personal experience of fighting in the trenches of the First World War . Moreover,
23244-570: Was born into the house of Finwë as a son of Fingon sometime in the First Age , and as a child, he was sent away during the Siege of Angband for safekeeping with Cirdan the shipwright in the Falas . Alternatively, according to Tolkien's last word on the subject, he was a son of Orodreth, who became a son of Angrod, son of Finarfin . Christopher Tolkien rejected these changes for The Silmarillion ,
23400-413: Was broadcast in 1971. In 1978, Ralph Bakshi made an animated film version covering The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers , to mixed reviews. In 1980, Rankin/Bass released an animated TV special based on the closing chapters of The Return of the King , gaining mixed reviews. In Finland, a live action television miniseries, Hobitit , was broadcast in 1993 based on The Lord of
23556-414: Was completely impervious to damage, even to dragon fire (unlike other rings). It could be destroyed only by throwing it into the pit of the volcanic Mount Doom where it had been forged. Like some lesser rings, but unlike the other Rings of Power, it bore no gem. It could change size, and perhaps its weight, and could suddenly expand to escape from its wearer. Its identity could be determined by placing it in
23712-470: Was first published over the course of a year, from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, in three volumes rather than one, under the titles The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers , and The Return of the King ; The Silmarillion appeared only after the author's death. The work is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of chronologies, genealogies, and linguistic information. These three volumes were later published as
23868-427: Was handed over easily enough by Sam and Bilbo, and had little effect on Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, Shippey replies in "one word" that the explanation is simple: the Ring is addictive, increasing in effect with exposure. Other scholars concur about its addictive nature. In the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings , the Nazgûl chant the Ring-inscription; the BBC Radiophonic Workshop 's sound effects for
24024-589: Was inspired primarily by his profession, philology ; his work centred on the study of Old English literature, especially Beowulf , and he acknowledged its importance to his writings . He was a gifted linguist, influenced by Celtic, Finnish, Slavic, and Greek language and mythology. Commentators have attempted to identify literary and topological antecedents for characters, places and events in Tolkien's writings; he acknowledged that he had enjoyed adventure stories by authors such as John Buchan and Rider Haggard . The Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris
24180-437: Was known in Gondorian lore as "Isildur's Bane". The Ring remained hidden on the river bed for almost two and a half millennia, until it was discovered on a fishing trip by a Stoor hobbit named Déagol . His friend and relative Sméagol, who had gone fishing with him, was immediately ensnared by the Ring's power and demanded that Déagol give it to him as a "birthday present"; when Déagol refused, Sméagol strangled him and took
24336-458: Was printed in October that year, selling a quarter of a million copies within ten months. On 4 September 1966, the novel debuted on The New York Times ' s Paperback Bestsellers list as number three, and was number one by 4 December, a position it held for eight weeks. Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien , which resulted, after some initial glitches, in
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