The Power of the Rings

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Originally Posted by Radagast The Brown

Actually, I don't think Galadriel had a Ring back then. Only the Elves of Eregion had - and Galadriel has already gone to Lorien back then, through Khazad Dum. Niether did Elrond have one, or Cirdan. Celebrimbor did, and I think it's said in UT that he was the one who felt Sauron.

I don't think so because it said the the elves read Sauron's plans as soon as he put on the One not that Celebrimbor sensed Sauron.

[Haradrim]

well T.D. if celembrimbor felt him he would have warned the rest. SO you can figure that both statements correspond to the same thing.

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally Posted by Telcontar_Dunedain

I don't think so because it said the the elves read Sauron's plans as soon as he put on the One not that Celebrimbor sensed Sauron.

But Celemrimbor sent the Rings only after he discovered Sauron's plans - he hid them. Could be that the other tow bearers - which we know nothing about - just that they lived in Eregion.

[Attalus]

We know that Galadriel was the first that got one of the Three:

Now, Celebrimbror was not corrupted in heart or faith, but had accepted Sauron as what he posed to be; and when at length he discovered the existence of the One Ring he revolted against Sauron, and went to Lorinand to take counsel with Galadriel. They should have destroyed all the Rings of Power at that time, 'but they failed to find the strength.' Galadriel counseled him that the Three Rings should be hidden, never used, and dispersed, far from Eregion where Sauron believed them to be. It was at that time that she received Nenya, the White Ring, from Celebrimbror, and by its power the realm of Lorinand was strengthened and made beautiful; but its power upon her was great and unforseen, for it increased her latent desire for the Sea and for return into the West, so that her joy in Middle-earth was diminished. Celebrimbror followed her counsel that the Ring of Air and the Ring of Fireshould be sent out of Eregion; and he entrusted them to Gil-Galad in Lindon.

- "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn," Unfinished Tales When the other two were disposed is more problematical.

[Michael Martinez]

Originally Posted by Artanis

Wasn't it also because they sensed that Sauron with assistance of the One Ring could read their minds and lay all their thoughts and secrets bare if they wore their Rings? This is also indicated by Galadriel when she reveals Nenya to Frodo I think.

That was the point of my comment. Sauron could have enslaved the Elves while they wore the Rings of Power.

The Gwaith-i-Mirdain made many lesser rings as they studied the art under Sauron's tutelage. Then they made the Nine and the Seven with his help. After Sauron left Eregion, Celebrimbor made the Three. Sauron then made the One. When Sauron placed the One Ring on his finger, he spoke the words of doom which the Elves heard from afar: "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them" (of course, he was speaking in the Black Speech, but the Elves apparently understood what he was saying).

So, the Gwaith-i-Mirdain removed the Rings from their hands and hid them. Celebrimbor probably gave one of the Seven to Durin of Khazad-dum at this time (if that ever happened at all -- I doubt the Dwarven tradition is meant to be taken as fact). Celebrimbor, according to the only published account of what happened next, then conferred with Galadriel, who advised him to hide the Three. He gave her one of the Rings and took the other two to Gil-galad.

Gil-galad eventually gave one of the Rings to Elrond and the other Rings to Cirdan.

The Elves did not wear the Rings until after Sauron's downfall. They may not have put the Rings on right away, since Elrond first advised Isildur to destroy the One Ring.

I suspect the Elves started thinking things over after word of Isildur's death and the loss of the One Ring reached Imladris.

[Haradrim]

Man that would have stunk for Galadriel. She is able to preserve her home in the way it was in the first age but she no longer really desires to remaion in Middle Earth. Ouch. Also I agree they never put on their rings until Sauron lost his and they were probably very weary of them for awhile.

[Attalus]

Yes, for Galadriel, the War of the Ring was a series of bitter ironies. She really wanted to go, but at that time was still under the Ban of the Valar, so she couldn't. If the Ruling Ring was destroyed, then Nenya would fail and Lothlorien would fade, as actually happened. If Sauron regained the Ring, a second Darkness would descend and Lorien could not last. Now you see why she told Frodo that his coming was like the coming of Doom to them.

[Haradrim]

Oh the irony!!!!!!!!!! but what ban of the valar are you talking about?

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

She went withh Feanor n the pursuit of the Silmarils so the Valar banned the Noldor from returing to Valinor.

[Haradrim]

oh thats to bad. Thats kind of severe aint it?

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

It was upon all the Noldor for defying the Valar and Galadriel ban got lifted after she rejected the Ring which is why she says,
'I pass the test. I will go to the West and remain Galadriel'

[Haradrim]

I still feel sorry for her. poor galadriel.....

[Attalus]

Originally Posted by Telcontar_Dunedain

It was upon all the Noldor for defying the Valar and Galadriel ban got lifted after she rejected the Ring which is why she says,
'I pass the test. I will go to the West and remain Galadriel'

Not all the Noldor. Some resisted Fëanor's demagoguery. Galadriel didn't follow Fëanor in the sennse of taking him as her leader: she followed him to get even with him for the Kinslaying. Her mother was a Teleri, and she fought against Fëanor's following at Aqualonde. Nonetheless, she refused to turn back and thus came under the Ban.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

No I meant followed as in left Valinor with his company.

[Haradrim]

well now that we have got a ll that sorted out. What did the rings of men actually do besides turn its wearers into wraiths.

[Attalus]

Originally Posted by Haradrim

well now that we have got all that sorted out. What did the rings of men actually do besides turn its wearers into wraiths.

"Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" says that they conferred invisibility, and made them into "great warriors and wizards." Their Bearers also saw things in the spirit world.

[Valandil]

Also - I suspect they gave some kind of power in commanding others... particularly the weak-willed (like that old 'Jedi trick' ). I imagine this is what they used at times when Frodo felt strong impulses to put on the Ring, for example - or to wait rather than dashing straight to the Ford of Bruinen.

This would make them great leaders in battle - first as men, later as wraiths.

[Michael Martinez]

Some citations I collected a few years ago regarding the powers of the various Rings:

From THE LETTERS OF JRR TOLKIEN (Letter 131, p. 152):

The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of *decay* (i.e., 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance -- this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor -- thus approaching 'magic', a motive more easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of THE HOBBIT): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.

The Elves of Eregion made Three supremely beautiful and powerful rings, almost solely of their own imagination, and directed to the preservation of beauty: they did not confer invisibility. But secretly in the subterranean Fire, in his own Black Land, Sauron made One Rign, the Ruling Ring that contained the powers of all the others, and controlled them, so that its wearer could see the thoughts of all those that used the lesser rings, could govern all that they did, and in the end could utterly enslave them. He reckoned, however, without the wisdom and subtle perceptions of the Elves. The moment he assumed the One, they were aware of it, and of his secret purpose, and were afraid. They hid the Three Rings, so that not even Sauron ever discovered where they were and they remained unsullied. The others they tried to destroy.

In the resulting war between Sauron and the Elves Middle-earth, especially in the west, was further ruined. Eregion was captured and destroyed, and Sauron seized many Rings of Power. These he gave, for their ultimate corruption and enslavement, to those who would accept them (out of ambition or greed). Hence the 'ancient rhyme' that appears as the leit-motif of THE LORD OF THE RINGS,

Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

From Letter 144, p. 177:

...Hence the making of the Rings; for the Three Rings were precisely endowed with the power of preservation, not of birth. Though unsullid, because they were not made by Sauron nor touched by him, they were nonetheless partly products of his instruction, and ultimately under the control of the One. Thus, as you will see, when the One goes, the last defenders of High-elven lore and beauty are shorn of power to hold back time, and depart.

From Letter 181, p. 236:

[quote][b]...But the Elvish weakness is in these terms naturally to regret the past, and to become unwilling to face change: as if a man were to hate a very long book still going on, and wished to settle down in a favourite chapter. Hence they fell in a measure to Sauron's deceits: they desired some 'power' over things as they are (which is quite distinct from art), to make their particular will to preservation effective: to arrest change, and keep things always fresh and fair. The 'Three Rings' were 'unsullied', because this object was in a limited way good, it included the healing of the real damages of malice, as well as the mere arrest of change; and the Elves did not desire to dominate other wills, nor to usurp all the world to their particular pleasure. But with the downfall of 'Power' their little efforts at preserving the past fell to bits. There was nothing more in Middle-earth for them, but weariness. So Elrond and Galadriel depart. Gandalf is a special case. He was not the maker or original holder of the Ring -- but it was surrendered to him by Cirdan, to assist him in his task. Gandalf was returning, his labour and errand finished, to his home, the land of the Valar.

From "Of The Rings Of Power And The Third Age":

Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world....

...But Sauron gathered into his hands all the remaining Rings of Power; and he dealt them out to the other peoples of Middle-earth, hoping thus to bring under his sway all those that desired secret power beyond the measure of their kind. Seven rings he gave to the Dwarves; but to Men he gave nine, for Men proved in this matter as in others the readiest to his will. And all those rings that he governed he perverted, the more easily since he had a part in their making, and they were accursed, and they betrayed in the end all those that used them. The Dwarves indeed provded tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the dominatin of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows. They used their rings only for the getting of wealth; but wrath and an overmastering greed of gold were kindled in their hearts, of which evil enough after came to the profit of Sauron....

Men proved easier to ensnare. Those who used the Nine Rings became might in their day, kings, sorcerors, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men; but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron. And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thralldom of the ring that they bore and under the domination of the One, which was Sauron's. And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. The Nazgul they were, the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terrible servants; darkness went with them, and they cried with the voices of death.

Continued in next message.

[Michael Martinez]

Further:

Now all these things were achieved for the most part by the counsel and vigilance of Mithrandir, and in the last few days he was revealed as a lord of great reverence, and clad in white he rode into battle; but not until the time came for him to depart was it known that he had long guarded the Red Ring of Fire. At first that Ring had been entrusted to Cirdan, Lord of the Havens; but he had surrendered it to Mithrandir, for he knew whence he came and whither at last he would return.

'Take now this Ring,' he said; 'for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill....'

From "The Council Of Elrond" in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING:

Then Gandalf told how they had explored the whole length of Wilderland, down even to the Mountains of Shadow and the fences of Mordor....And then in my despair I thought again of a test that might make the finding of Gollum unneeded. The ring itself might tell if it were the One. The memory of words at the Council came back to me: the words of Saruman, half-heeded at the time. I heard them now clearly in my heart.

'"The Nine, the Seven, and the Three," he said, "had each their proper gem. Not so the One. It was round and unadorned, as it were one of the lesser rings; but its maker set marks upon it that the skilled, maybe could still see and read."'

further:

"The Elves returned no answer. 'Did you not hear me, Gloin?' said Elrond. 'The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow....'

Finally, from "Appendix B: The Tale Of Years, The Third Age" in THE RETURN OF
THE KING:

[quote]Throughout the Third Age the guardianship of the Three Rings was known only to those who possesed them. But at the end it became known that they had been held at first by the three greatest of the Eldar: Gil-galad, Galadriel, and Cirdan. Gil-galad before he died gave his ring to Elron; Cirdan later surrendered his to Mithrandir. For Cirdan saw further and deeper than any other in Middle-earth, and he welcomed Mithrandir at the Grey Havens, knowing whence he came and whither he would return.

'Take this ring, Master,' he said, 'for your labours will be heavy; but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself. For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill....'[quote]

Then, of course, Gandalf's remark to Frodo about "magic rings...of various
kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in
the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but
trifles...."