Lord Of The Rings Three Rings For The Elven Kings

[Trinh Livingston]

TheRings of Power were twenty magical rings forged in the Second Age, seventeen of which were intended by Sauron to seduce the rulers of Middle-earth to evil. Disguised as the benevolent entity Annatar, Sauron taught the Elf-smiths of Eregion, led by Celebrimbor, how to craft these rings. Nineteen were made: three rings for the Elves, seven rings for the Dwarves, and nine rings for Men. An additional ring, the One Ring, was forged by Sauron himself at Mount Doom. The nineteen lesser Rings were linked to the power of the One, and were dependent on it. Their wearers could be controlled by the wearer of the One, and if the One was destroyed, their own powers would fade with the power of the Rings under the One.

The Rings of Power were the masterwork of the Gwaith-i-Mrdain of Eregion headed by Celebrimbor, grandson of Fanor. The impetus for their creation came from Sauron, who could at that time still assume an appearance fair enough to deceive at least some of the Elves. The concept of these Rings of Power were intended to slow the "decay", preserving the world, so that it resemble the beauty of Valinor. [1] A total of nineteen Rings of Power were forged by the Elves, sixteen of which Sauron had a direct hand in creating. The greatest three Rings Celebrimbor crafted alone. Many other lesser rings were made, described in The Silmarillion and by Gandalf, though they were generally considered as having been mere essays in the craft: practice, as it were, for the smiths. Sauron, however, planned to use the Rings to dominate the remaining Elves of Middle-earth. In accordance with this, he secretly forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, seeking to bring all the rings and their wearers under his sway. However, when Sauron put the Ruling Ring on his finger, the Elves were immediately aware of him and took off their Rings. Furious at this turn of events, Sauron came against the Elves with open war and demanded that the Rings be given to him. Fortunately for the Elves, they were able to hide the greatest Three and pass one to the Dwarves of Khazad-dm, but Sauron recovered the other fifteen. These he then gave to mortals: the Dwarves and Men. Six he gave to Dwarves (for Seven in total), but Nine he gave to Men, knowing that they would most easily bend to his will. In time, the nine Men to whom the Rings were given became Ringwraiths, or Nazgl, wraiths of great power under the command of Sauron. The Dwarf lords to whom the Seven were given became wealthy beyond measure, but they did not fall to Sauron's power. They were essentially too "tough" in spirit to be dominated by the will of another, even Sauron. However, the Rings kindled in them an overwhelming greed for treasure, and so ruin was brought to each regardless.

According to Gandalf, one feature of the Rings of Power that appeared to be universal was that a mortal who wore any one of the Rings was granted a lifespan far beyond their natural one. It is likely that this is an unintended side-effect of the Rings' power, as Sauron originally intended for all the Rings to be worn by Elves, who were immortal to begin with. The individual who kept the Ring would not grow or obtain more life, however; they would merely continue until living became unendurable. Bilbo Baggins stated near the end of his time possessing the One that he was beginning to feel "thin and stretched", a sign that this process was beginning to affect him.

The Three which remained to the Elves were carefully hidden from Sauron. They were not created as weapons of war or as a means to dominate others; their purpose was to preserve the beautiful Elven domains where their bearers resided, and to aid in healing and resisting evil. However, they were still linked to the One Ring, and whoever wore the One could, with effort, see the thoughts of those who wore the Three. As such, these Rings were not used by the Elves so long as Sauron retained the One.

In The Silmarillion, it is indicated that the Seven Rings of the Dwarves were not fundamentally different from the Nine that were given to Men, for originally Sauron had intended both the Seven and the Nine to reside in Elven hands. It is implied in that work that Sauron simply gave Men nine of sixteen lesser Rings because they were more easily controlled. However, the Nine and the Seven are referred to in other works as each being its own distinctive set. If they were different in their effects on their wielders or in the powers they conferred, it is not stated. It is also mentioned in Unfinished Tales that the Seven were created before the Nine. Sauron helped to create the Seven and the Nine, so it is likely that their powers and effects on their wielders were similar, even if each set was distinct. It is important to note that the fact that the Seven did not subdue the Dwarves is related to the resilient nature of the Dwarves themselves, not the Rings. It is likely that the effects of one of the Nine on a Dwarf would be the same as those of one of the Seven, and were a Man to wield one of the Seven, he would likely still become a wraith. The Three were fundamentally different because Celebrimbor, working alone, created them for specific purposes not in tune with Sauron's line of thought, and Sauron presumably did not know of their creation until after the fact.

As told in the works of The Silmarillion, the Elves made many other Magic Rings, but these were mere practice for the craftsmen who created them. Their ultimate fates are untold, as are their connection to the One Ring, if any.

Celebrimbor forged the Three Rings by himself, and they were never touched by Sauron. They were called Narya (the Ring of Fire), Nenya (the Ring of Adamant), and Vilya (the Ring of Air). Narya was first worn first by Gil-galad, who gave it Crdan, and was lastly worn by Gandalf. Gil-galad also initially owned Vilya, before Elrond inherited it after the former's death. Nenya was worn only by Galadriel.

They remained hidden, and the whereabouts of the three were not openly revealed until the end of the Third Age, after the One Ring was destroyed, and the Dark Lord Sauron was overthrown. Instead of making the wearer invisible, these rings were themselves invisible. Galadriel revealed her possession of one of the rings to Frodo Baggins while he was in Lothlrien, after his possession of the One Ring enabled him to see her ring. Later, while traveling down the River Anduin, Frodo spoke of it to Aragorn, who admonished him not to speak of it outside of Lrien.

Each of the Three Rings had special properties, but their powers were limited. During the Council of Elrond, Elrond stated that neither Rivendell, nor Lrien, nor the Grey Havens (the locations of the Three Elven Rings) had the power to withstand the might of Mordor.

According to Unfinished Tales, at the start of the War of the Elves and Sauron, Celebrimbor gave Narya to Crdan, Lord of the Havens of Mithlond, who kept it after Gil-galad's death. In the Third Age Crdan, recognizing Gandalf's true nature as one of the Maiar from Valinor, gave him the ring to aid him in his labors. It was described as having the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair (in other words, evoking hope from others around the wielder), as well as giving resistance to the weariness of time:

"Take now this Ring," he said; "for thy labors and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valor of old in a world that grows chill" (Crdan the Shipwright to Gandalf).

Nenya's power was preservation, protection, and possibly concealment from evil because it is stated about Lrien that "there is a secret power here that holds evil from the land." However, the fact that Orcs from Moria entered Lrien after the Fellowship of the Ring entered the forest and Lrien itself had suffered previous attacks from Sauron's Orcs sent from Dol Guldur, suggests the power of the ring did not constitute military prowess. It was said that, protected as it was by Nenya, Lothlrien would not have fallen unless Sauron had personally come to attack it. Galadriel used these powers to create and sustain Lothlrien, but it also increased her longing for the Sea and her desire to return to the Undying Lands. After the destruction of the One Ring and the defeat of Sauron, its power faded along with the other Rings of Power. Galadriel bore Nenya on a ship from the Grey Havens into the West, accompanied by the other two Elven Rings and their bearers. With the Ring gone, the magic and beauty of Lrien also faded, along with the extraordinary Mallorn trees that had lived for centuries, and it was gradually depopulated. By the time Arwen came there to die in FO 121, Lothlrien was deserted and in ruin.

When Sauron laid waste to Eregion, Vilya, along with Narya, was sent to the Elven-King Gil-galad far away in Lindon. As Gil-galad was the High King of the oldor at the time of the rings' distribution it was thought that he was best fit to care for the most powerful of the three Elven rings. After his death in the War of the Last Alliance the ring passed to Elrond, who bore it throughout the Third Age.

Like the other two Rings of the Elves, Vilya was jeweled: it contained a great blue stone set in a gold band, which contributed to its titles as the Ring of Sapphire and the Blue Ring. Vilya was also called the Ring of Air, signifying its pre-eminence even over the other Rings of the Elves, since Vilya was the mightiest of these three bands (as mentioned in the ending chapter of The Return of the King). The exact power of Vilya is not mentioned. It is reasonable to speculate that it also possesses the power to heal and to preserve, as it is mentioned in The Silmarillion that Celebrimbor had forged the Three for these purposes, rather than to enhance the strengths of each individual bearers as the Seven, Nine, and the lesser rings did. There is some speculation that the ring controlled minor elements, considering the event where Elrond had summoned a torrent of water as the Nazgl attempted to invade Rivendell. The ring could have possessed the power to see into the future, as Elrond had the gift of foresight. However, these powers may simply have been natural gifts of his.

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