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Fictional history

Description

The One
The Three
The Seven
The Nine

The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, most

prominently in his high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The One Ring first
appeared as a plot device, a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy novel, The
Hobbit; Tolkien later gave it a backstory and much greater power. He added nineteen
other Great Rings, also conferring powers such as invisibility, that it could
control, including the Three Rings of the Elves, Seven Rings for the Dwarves, and
Nine for Men. He stated that there were in addition many lesser rings with minor
powers. A key story element in The Lord of the Rings is the addictive power of the
One Ring, made secretly by the Dark Lord Sauron; the Nine Rings enslave their
bearers as the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths), Sauron's most deadly servants.

Proposed sources of inspiration for the Rings of Power range from Germanic legend
with the ring Andvaranaut and eventually Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, to fairy
tales such as Snow White, which features both a magic ring and seven dwarfs. One
experience which may have been pivotal was Tolkien's professional work on a Latin
inscription at the temple of Nodens; he was a god-hero linked to the Irish hero
Nuada Airgetlám, whose epithet is "Silver-Hand", or in Elvish "Celebrimbor", the
name of the Elven-smith who made the Rings of Power. The inscription contained a
curse upon a ring, and the site was called Dwarf's Hill.

The Rings of Power have been described as symbolising the way that power conflicts
with moral behaviour; Tolkien explores the way that different characters, from the
humble gardener Sam Gamgee to the powerful Elf ruler Galadriel, the proud warrior
Boromir to the Ring-addicted monster Gollum, interact with the One Ring. Tolkien
stated that The Lord of the Rings was an examination of "placing power in external
objects".[1]
Fictional history
See also: Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

"Annatar" convinces Celebrimbor to forge the Rings of Power

"But wherefore should Middle-earth remain for ever desolate and dark, whereas
the Elves could make it as fair as Eressëa, nay even as Valinor? And since you have
not returned thither, as you might, I perceive that you love this Middle-earth, as
do I. Is it not then our task to labour together for its enrichment, and for the
raising of all the Elven-kindreds that wander here untaught to the height of that
power and knowledge which those have who are beyond the Sea?"

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, "The Rings of Power and the Third Age"

The Rings of Power were forged by the Elven-smiths of the Noldorin settlement of
Eregion.[T 1] Best-known were the twenty Great Rings which conferred powers
including invisibility, but many lesser rings with minor powers were also created
at that time. The smiths were led by Celebrimbor, the grandson of Fëanor, the
greatest craftsman of the Noldor, working with Dwarves from Khazad-dûm (Moria) led
by his friend Narvi. Sauron, powerful and ambitious, but humiliated by the fall of
his evil master Morgoth at the end of the First Age, had evaded the summons of the
godlike Valar to surrender and face judgment; he chose to remain in Middle-earth
and seek dominion over its people.[T 2] In the Second Age, he arrived disguised as
a handsome emissary of the Valar named Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, offering the
knowledge to transform Middle-earth with the light of Valinor, the home of the
Valar.[T 1] He was shunned by the Elven leaders Gil-galad and Elrond in Lindon, but
managed to persuade the Noldorin Elves of Eregion.[T 2] With Sauron's help, they
learnt to forge Rings of Power, creating the Seven and the Nine. While Celebrimbor
created a set of Three on his own, Sauron left for Mordor and forged the One Ring,
a master ring to control all the others, in the fires of Mount Doom.[T 1]

When the One Ring was made using the Black Speech, the Elves immediately became
aware of Sauron's true motive to control the other Rings.[T 2] When Sauron set the
completed One Ring upon his finger, the Elves quickly hid their rings.[T 2]
Celebrimbor entrusted one of the Three to Galadriel and sent the other two to Gil-
galad and Círdan.[T 3][T 4] In an attempt to seize all the Rings of Power for
himself, Sauron waged an assault upon the Elves.[T 2] He destroyed Eregion and
captured the Nine. Under torture, Celebrimbor revealed where the Seven were, but
refused to reveal the Three.[T 5]

Toward the end of the Second Age, the Númenóreans took Sauron prisoner.[T 2] Sauron
however managed to corrupt the Men of Númenor, leading to their civilisation's
eventual downfall.[T 2] The exiled Númenóreans who survived, led by Elendil and his
sons Isildur and Anárion, established the realms of Arnor and Gondor.[T 2] Together
with the Elves of Lindon, they formed the last alliance against Sauron and emerged
victorious.[T 2] Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand and kept it, refusing
to destroy it; he was later killed in an ambush, and the Ring was lost for
centuries.[T 6] During this time, the Elves were able to use the Three Rings, while
the Nine given to the leaders of Men corrupted their wearers and turned them into
the Nazgûl.[T 7] The Seven given to the Dwarves failed to subject them directly to
Sauron's will but ignited a sense of avarice within them.[T 2] Over the years,
Sauron sought to recapture the Rings, primarily the One, but was only successful in
recovering the Nine and three of the Seven.[T 6]

During the Third Age, the One Ring is discovered by Bilbo Baggins (in The Hobbit).
At the start of The Lord of the Rings, the Wizard Gandalf explains the One Ring's
history to Bilbo's heir Frodo, and recites the Rhyme of the Rings. A Fellowship is
formed to destroy it, led by Frodo.[T 8][T 6][T 7] Following the successful
destruction of the One Ring and the fall of Sauron, the power of the rings fades.
While the Nine are destroyed, the Three are rendered powerless; their bearers leave
Middle-earth for Valinor at the end of the Third Age, inaugurating the Dominion of
Men.[2][T 9][T 2]
Description

The Ring Verse

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
 One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne;
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them;
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Epigraph

As observed by Saruman, each Ring of Power was adorned with its "proper gem",
except for the One Ring, which was unadorned.[T 7]
The One
Main article: One Ring

Unlike the other great rings, the One was created as an unadorned gold band similar
in appearance to the lesser rings, though it bore Sauron's incantation, the Ring
Verse, in the Black Speech; it became visible only when heated, whether by fire or
by Sauron's hand.[T 6] As the other Rings were made under the influence of Sauron,
the power of all the Rings depended on the One Ring's survival.[2][T 9] To make the
One Ring, Sauron had to put almost all his power into it—when worn, it enhanced his
power; unworn, it remained aligned to him unless another seized it and took control
of it.[T 10] A prospective possessor could, if sufficiently strong, overthrow
Sauron and usurp his place; but they would become as evil as him.[T 10] As the One
was made in the fires of Mount Doom, it could only be unmade there.[T 7] Sauron,
being evil, never imagined that anyone might try to destroy the One Ring, as he
imagined that anyone bearing it would be corrupted by it.[T 10]
The Three
The Rings of Power, their stones, and their bearers[T 2]

Named for the three elements of fire, water, and air, the Three were the last to be
made before Sauron's solo creation of the One. While Celebrimbor forged the Three
Rings alone in Eregion, they were moulded by Sauron's craft and were bound to the
One.[T 1] Only after Sauron's defeat, when the One Ring was cut from his finger at
the end of the Second Age, did the Elves begin to actively use the Three to ward
off the decay brought by time.[T 2] After the One Ring, they are the most powerful
of the twenty Rings of Power.[T 11] They are:

Narya (the Ring of Fire, the Red Ring), from Quenya nár, "fire",[T 12] was set
with a ruby. Its metal is not stated. It gave its wielder resistance to the
weariness of time, and evoked hope in others. Its final bearer was the Wizard
Gandalf, who received it from Círdan at the Grey Havens during the Third Age. [T 4]
Nenya (the Ring of Water, the White Ring, the Ring of Adamant), from Quenya
nén, "water",[T 13] was made of mithril and set with a "shimmering white stone".
Galadriel used it to protect and preserve the realm of Lothlórien.[T 2] "Adamant"
means both a type of stone, usually a diamond, and "stubbornly resolute", a
description that equally well suits the quality of Galadriel's resistance to
Sauron.[3]
Vilya (the Ring of Air, the Blue Ring), from Quenya vilya, "air",[T 14] was the
mightiest of the Three. It was made of gold and set with a sapphire. Elrond
inherited Vilya from Gil-galad and used it to safeguard Rivendell.[T 2]

The Seven
"Seven Rings" redirects here. For the Ariana Grande song, see 7 Rings.

Sauron recovered the Seven Rings from information provided by Celebrimbor, and gave
them to the leaders of the seven kindreds of the Dwarves: Durin's Folk
(Longbeards), Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, and
Stonefoots,[4] though a tradition of Durin's Folk claimed that Durin received his
ring from the Elven-smiths.[T 15][T 1] Over the years, Sauron was able to recover
only three of the Seven rings from the Dwarves. The last of the three was seized
from Thráin II during his captivity in Dol Guldur. Gandalf recounts to Frodo that
the remaining four were consumed by dragons.[T 6] Before the outbreak of the War of
the Ring, an envoy from Sauron attempted to bribe Dain II Ironfoot of the Lonely
Mountain with the three surviving rings and the lost realm of Moria in exchange for
information leading to the recovery of the One Ring, but Dain refused.[T 7]
The Nine
Further information: Nazgûl

Sauron gave Nine of the Rings of Power to leaders of Men, who became "mighty in
their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old". They gained unending lifespans,
and the ability to see things in worlds invisible to mortal Men.[T 2] One by one,
the Men fell to the power of the One Ring; by the end of the Second Age, all nine
had become invisible ring-wraiths – the Nazgûl, Sauron's most terrible servants. In
particular, they helped him search for the One Ring, to which they were powerfully
attracted.[T 16]
Powers
Powers and effects of the Rings Type of Ring Powers granted Effects on bearer
Ruling Ring Invisibility, extended lifespan, control, knowledge of all other
Rings Corruption to evil
Elven-Rings To heal and preserve Nostalgia, procrastination
Dwarf-Rings To gain wealth, extended lifespan Greed, anger
Rings for Men Invisibility, extended lifespan, terror Enslavement, fading to
permanent invisibility

The Rings of Power were made using the craft taught by Sauron to give their wearers
"wealth and dominion over others". Each Ring enhances the "natural power" of its
possessor, thus approaching its "magical aspect", which can be "easily corruptible
to evil and lust of domination".[T 17] Gandalf explains that a Ring of Power is
self-serving and can "look after itself": the One Ring, in particular, can "slip
off treacherously" to return to its master Sauron, betraying its bearer when an
opportunity arrives.[T 6] As the Ruling Ring, the One enables a sufficiently
powerful bearer to perceive what is done using the other rings and to govern the
thoughts of their bearers.[T 2] To use the One Ring to its full extent, the bearer
needs to be strong and train their will to the domination of others.[T 18]

A mortal Man or Hobbit who takes possession of a Ring of Power can manifest its
power, becoming invisible and able to see things that are normally invisible, as
the bearer is partly transported into the spirit world.[T 6][5][T 17] However, they
also "fade"; the Rings unnaturally extend their life-spans, but gradually transform
them into permanently invisible wraiths.[T 19][T 6][T 20] The Rings affect other
beings differently. The Seven are used by their Dwarven bearers to increase their
treasure hoards, but they do not gain invisibility, and Sauron was unable to bend
the Dwarves to his will, instead only amplifying their greed and anger.[T 2] Tom
Bombadil, the only person unaffected by the power of the One Ring, could both see
its wearer and remained visible when he wore it.[T 21]

Unlike the other Rings, the main purpose of the Three is to "heal and preserve", as
when Galadriel used Nenya to preserve her realm of Lothlórien over long periods.[1]
The Elves made the Three Rings to try to halt the passage of time, or as Tolkien
had Elrond say, "to preserve all things unstained". This was seen most clearly in
Lothlórien, which was free of both evil and the passage of time.[6][7] The Three do
not make their wearers invisible.[T 18] The Three had other powers: Narya could
rekindle hearts with its fire and inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and
despair; Nenya had a secret power in its water that protected from evil; while
Vilya healed and preserved wisdom in its element of air.[T 2]

The One Ring first appeared in Tolkien's children's fantasy The Hobbit in 1937 as a
plot device, a mysterious magic ring which the titular character had stumbled upon,
but its origin was left unexplained.[8] Following the novel's success, Tolkien was
persuaded by his publishers Allen & Unwin to write a sequel.[T 22][9] Intending to
give Bilbo another adventure, he instead devised a background story around the Ring
with its power of invisibility, forming a framework for the new work.[T 23] He tied
the Ring to mythical elements from the unfinished manuscripts for The Silmarillion
to create an impression of depth in The Lord of the Rings.[10] Gollum's
characterisation in The Hobbit was revised for the second edition to bring it into
line with his portrayal in The Lord of the Rings as a being addicted to the One
Ring.[T 24]

Tolkien's conception of Ring-lore was closely linked to his development of the One
Ring.[11] He initially made Sauron instrumental in forging the Rings.[T 25] He then
briefly considered having Fëanor, creator of the Silmarils, forge the Rings of
Power, under the influence of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. He settled on
Celebrimbor, a descendant of Fëanor, as the Ring's principal maker, under the
tutelage of Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant.[T 26] While writing the lore behind
the One Ring, Tolkien struggled with giving the Elven rings a "special status" –
somehow linked to the One, and thus endangered by it, but also "unsullied", having
no direct connection with Sauron.[12] By the time he was writing the chapter "The
Mirror of Galadriel", Tolkien had decided that the Seven and the Nine were made by
the Elven-smiths of Eregion under Sauron's guidance and that the Three were made by
Celebrimbor alone.[12] He considered setting the Three free from the One when it
was destroyed but dropped the idea.[12] Tolkien's posthumous works, including The
Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth offer further
glimpses of the creation of the Rings.[T 1][T 27][T 28]

Magical rings occur in classical legend, in the form of Plato's Ring of Gyges which
grants the power of invisibility to its wearer, though there is no suggestion that
this influenced Tolkien.[21] He was certainly influenced, however, by the Germanic
legend: Andvaranaut is a magical ring that can give its wielder wealth, while
Draupnir is a self-multiplying ring that holds dominion over all the rings it
creates. Richard Wagner's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen adapted Norse
mythology to provide a magical but cursed golden ring.[22] Tolkien denied any
connection, but scholars agreed that Wagner's Ring powerfully influenced Tolkien.
[23] The scholar of religion Stefan Arvidsson writes that Tolkien's ring differs
from Wagner's in being concerned with power for its own sake and that he turned one
ring into many, an echo of the self-multiplying ring.[23]

According to the scholars of philosophy Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson, the Rings
of Power can be seen as a modern representation of the relationship between power
and morality, remarking that it portrays an idea that "absolute power is in
conflict with behaviour that respects the wishes and needs of others".[5] They also
observed that several of Tolkien's characters have responded in different ways when
faced with the possibility of possessing the One Ring—characters such as Samwise
Gamgee and Galadriel have rejected it; Boromir and Gollum were seduced by its
power; and Frodo Baggins, though in limited use, ultimately succumbs to it; while
Tom Bombadil can transcend from its power entirely.[5] They also noted that for
Tolkien, the crucial moment of each character in the story is the moment in which
they are tempted to use a Ring, a choice which will determine their fate.[27] The
science fiction author Isaac Asimov described the Rings of Power as symbols of
industrial technology.[28][29] While Tolkien denied that The Lord of the Rings was
an allegory, he stated that it could be applied to situations and described it as
an examination of "placing power in external objects".[1]

In a 2019 article published by Kaspersky Lab, Nikolay Pankov analysed Sauron's

efforts to dominate or ensnare the bearers of the Rings of Power from a modern
perspective, with reference to the context of Tolkien's enthusiasm in the field of
cryptanalysis as well as his participation in a language course run by the
Government Code and Cypher School during the late 1930s.[30][31][32][33] Pankov
used analogies to real-world information security terms such as supply chain
attacks, phishing techniques, and botnet software to describe the struggles between
Sauron and the various Ring-bearers who are representatives of the Free Peoples of
Middle-earth.[31]
Catholicism

Gwyneth Hood, writing in Mythlore, explores two Catholic elements in the story of
the Three Rings: the angelic and sacrificial aspects of the elves in the War of the
Ring. To the hobbits of the Fellowship of the Ring, the elven Ring-bearers appear
as angelic messengers, offering wise counsel. To save Middle-earth, they have to
accept the plan to destroy the One Ring, and with it, the power of the Three Rings,
which embody much of their own power. Hood notes that while Gandalf as one of the
supernatural Maiar sent from Valinor is "remarkably unlike an elf",[34] out of the
wielders of the Three Rings he is the character who most closely combines the
angelic and the sacrificial.[34] The poet W. H. Auden, an early supporter of Lord
of the Rings, wrote in the Tolkien Journal that good triumphs over evil in the War
of the Ring, but the Three Rings lose their power, as Galadriel had prophesied: "If
you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tide
of time will sweep it away".[35] Hood further writes that Tolkien was suggesting
technology such as the making of Rings of Power is in itself neither good nor evil;
both the Elves and Sauron (with his armies of orcs) use that technology, as they
also both make and wear swords and mail armour, and shoot with bows.[34]
In adaptations
Rings of Power and their wearers as depicted in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of
the Ring (above, from left)—The Three Rings being worn by the Elves Gil-galad,
Círdan, and Galadriel; (middle) The Dwarves raising their Seven Rings; (below) The
Nine Kings of Men wielding their Rings

Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings begins with the forging of
the Rings of Power and the events of the War of the Last Alliance against Sauron,
all of which are animated in a silhouette against a red background using
rotoscoping.[36]

The forging of the Rings of Power opens the prologue of Peter Jackson's The Lord of
the Rings film series in the 2001 The Fellowship of the Ring. The Three Elven Rings
are shown being cast using a cuttlebone mould, an ancient casting technique. These
were given to Gil-galad (portrayed by Mark Ferguson), Círdan (Michael Elsworth),
and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett).[37] The Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee, employed as a
conceptual designer for the films, had a cameo as one of the nine human Ring-
bearers who later became the Nazgûl. Sauron (Sala Baker) is seen forging the One
Ring at the chamber of Mount Doom.[38] The One Ring was shown to have the ability
to adjust in size to the finger of its wearer, such as when it became smaller to
fit Isildur (Harry Sinclair). In the extended version, Galadriel properly
introduces Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, to Frodo. In the concluding film, The Return
of the King (2003), the final wearers of the Three Rings—Gandalf (Ian McKellen),
Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Galadriel, appear openly at the Grey Havens wearing the
Three, with Galadriel proclaiming the end of its power and the beginning of the
Dominion of Men.[39]

Four Rings of Power appeared in Jackson's The Hobbit film series. In An Unexpected
Journey (2012), the One Ring was found by Bilbo Baggins (portrayed by Martin
Freeman).[40] In the extended version of the succeeding film The Desolation of
Smaug (2013), Gandalf discovers that Sauron took the Ring of Thrór (a Dwarf-Lord)
from Thráin (Antony Sher), who revealed in a flashback scene his possession of the
Ring during a siege of Moria.[41] In the concluding film The Battle of the Five
Armies (2014), Galadriel (Blanchett) reveals Nenya in rescuing Gandalf (McKellen)
from Sauron (Benedict Cumberbatch), aided by Saruman (Christopher Lee) and Elrond
(Weaving), who is wearing Vilya, the Ring of Air.[42]

In the 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the wraith-like spirit of
Celebrimbor (fused with the body of the Ranger Talion) recalls how Sauron had
deceived him into forging the Rings of Power.[43] In the sequel, Middle-earth:
Shadow of War, Celebrimbor forges a new Ring of Power unsullied by Sauron's
influence.[44]

The 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power depicts the
forging of the Rings of Power.[45]
See also

The Palantírs – indestructible crystal stones that enable their users to

communicate with users of the other stones
The Silmarils – three jewels containing the light of the Two Trees of Valinor
and the chief objects of The Silmarillion

The Lord of the Rings