The Rings

[Dfsg]

We all know about the One Ring, and a little about Nina (*Spelling) possessed by Galadriel. But what were the other Rings of power? Did they have names? What were there powers? Please let me know.

[Arathorn II]

The tree Elven rings are:

Narya: The ring of fire, is the ring that Mithrandir had.

Nenya: The ring of water, is the ring that Galadriel had.292

Vilya: The ring of the air, is the ting that Gil-Galad and later Elrong had.

[Eruve]

And Narya was given to Mithrandir by Cirdan.

The power of the three Elven Rings was that of preservation of time. I think Michael Martinez could give you a very detailed answer.

[Tar Elenion]

The primary purpose of all the Rings of Power, not just the Three, is to prevent or slow down decay and to preserve thins unsullied. The Rings also enhanced the natural powers of their posser.

[Shanamir Duntak]

Michael Martinez recently wrote an essay about the rings of power... just go read it on suite 101...

[Dfsg]

Suite 101?

[Fat middle]

yep, suite101

you have a link on that thread below "rigs of power revisited"

[Tar Anarion]

Vilya,(Vil - air) the greatest of the Three. The ring of air.

Nenya,(nen - water) the second of the Three. The ring of water.

Narya,(nar - fire) the third of the three. The ring of fire. Had a red ruby.

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[Legolas]

Interesting... is there one for Earth?


Legolas

[Bullroarer]

The Rings enhanced the natural power of those who posessed to help them shape and protect the earth?

[Shanamir Duntak]

Legolas
THREE rings for the elves... And as Bullroarer says, the three rings could be used to protect the earth and living beings

[Strider]

the rings could never be used for war however, because that was not where their power lied. their power was to protect middle-earth and to retain its purity, and the form of rivendell is this personified :)

[Michael Martinez]

I wouldn't say the Rings could preserve Middle-earth's purity, since they relied upon the power which Morgoth had disseminated throughout Middle-earth (in part) in order to function.

Their chief purpose was to prevent change. Tolkien doesn't say what kind of change, and it's hard to extrapolate what kind of change he had in mind. If you consider the fact that Lothlorien still experienced seasons, in that it endured cold weather in the winter and the mallorn trees dropped their leaves every year, then you can't say it was like everything was frozen in time.

He also described the process as the prevention of decay, but again the mallorn trees sort of stick out like a sore thumb.

So the Rings had to have some effect over portions of Middle-earth, but it had to be a very subtle effect, and it had to be tied to the fact that the Elves were trying to prevent or delay for as long as possible the inevitable fading to which they were subject.

It would be as if the clock slowed for the Elves in their special enclaves but the world continued to live past them at their own pace. I mean, the sun would still rise and set for them with the speed as for other peoples, but each day would only have the effect of, say, a few seconds or minutes with respect to their "aging" (and the Elves did age, but not in the same sense that Men aged).

The decay, therefore, had to be a very special kind of decay, and I think it may have been mostly the decay of Elven bodies. How does an Elf actually fade, until he or she becomes insubstantial and wraithlike?

Maybe there is a clue in Legolas' ability to run on the snow. Was that because Elves could normally do this, or was it perhaps because he was already fading despite the power of the Rings (he did, after all, come from northern Mirkwood, which appears not to be protected by the Three Rings)?

[Gilthalion]

Great post!

I think it gets to the nature of the wraith world, or the spirit world, in which the Elves existed simultaneously as they existed in the material world. (As evidenced by Frodo's vision at the Ford of Bruinen...)

One can have a lot of fun playing with the idea. I wonder if it could not be said to work out in this sort of way:

Tolkien's universe is strongly based on the Judeo-Christian Creation story. The Valar were equated with the pagan gods and goddesses as well as with the mighty archangels of the Bible. The Maiar were like the lesser angels. The Elves were like a mixture of Man and Angel.

The Valar and Maiar could take on and cast off material forms at expense to their eternal being. The Elves seem to more or less gradually lose their immortal shell, leaving only their eternal spirit, though their form may last as long as Arda itself.

Back to Earth, we have defined and measured a process we call Entropy. Anything and everything eventually falls into a state of less energy and less cohesion. Naturally, events surrounding the subject can cause it to lose its form more or less rapidly.

So too, with Elvish bodies, I think. Those remaining in Valinor, might keep their bodies virtually intact right to the End. Others, choosing ill and enduring the consequences, may be faded considerably. Others may find their forms altogether destroyed and their eternal spirits awaiting resurrection in the Halls of Mandos (Purgatory).

I think that the power Morgoth sent forth into Arda is the destructive force, which like entropy does here, wears away at the Elvish form and hastens and quickens sickness and death in all other life (Fallen Creation). The closer to Morgoth, the greater the effect. Witness the thralls of Angband. Turning to Darkness might make an Elf fade quickly indeed. The Ringwraiths must have been especially tormented since the flesh of Men (and Hobbits) was not designed to fade. Dwarves were made altogether differently, somehow, by Aule (But they were not immortal. I believe Gimli probably died shortly after seeing Galadriel in Valinor). Even the slow fading of the Elves was eventually wearying.

In Valinor, the power there countervails the spells of degredation cast by Morgoth. Perhaps Sauron, understanding something of this spell, gave the Noldorin smiths of Eregion a spell that for a space would defend the magical entropy. But the counterspell was bound to his own "angelic/demonic" being, giving him potential for Command and working only as long as he himself had not utterly lost being.

Finally, the Ringbearers, each having carried the ring and having themselves faded somewhat, and perhaps in an equal and opposite fashion, had their spirits emerge into the wraith world. This might explain their need to remain with the Elves even into Valinor and Frodo's unutterable weariness.

I think this conjecture holds together well enough. But it is of course only a conjecture. I haven't read enough of the lore written outside of the novels to know if I am close to the mark or if a subject this ethereal can even be decided.

[Shanamir Duntak]

Great post Gil!

I you'd like a thread were is compared LOTR and the Bible in more details, there was a thread not so long ago called "Frodo vs Jesus" I think... I'll try to get it on top for you to discuss.

But your theory add something new I think. What do you think about Michael?

[Fuor]

It's something like Eregion but where is that ?