The following is a breakdown of The Rings of Power, from the rings given to the races of Men and Dwarves, to the rings kept hidden by the Elves, and finally the One Ring, made by and for Sauron himself. The history of the Rings of Power is long and complicated and the part they play in the fate of Middle Earth is, quite literally, central to the story of The Lord of the Rings. RELATED: 'Lord of the Rings': The Biggest Differences Between the Books and Movies These three rings were kept by the Elves, hidden from Sauron, and were created not for war, but for healing and protection.

While 16 of the 19 rings forged were given to the Dwarves and Men (seven to the Dwarves and nine to the Men), three of the rings were forged by the Elves, without Sauron’s touch. Disguising himself so that the Elves would not recognize him for who he truly was, Sauron persuaded the Elven-smiths, led by Celebrimbor, to forge the rings under his guidance.

With Amazon's announcement of their new show, The Rings of Power, it feels apt to go back and look at the history and meanings behind each of these incredible rings.ĭestructive, corruptive, and irresistible to the minds of most mortals, the rings were given to the races of Middle Earth by Sauron in the hopes that their leaders would fall to the temptation of the rings and become easier to control. The One Ring, which Sauron intended to keep for himself, was linked to all the others and, if it were to be destroyed, the powers of the other rings would fade as well. for a few seconds, at least.It’s difficult to talk about The Lord of the Rings without talking about, well, the rings crafted by the unsuspecting Elves of Middle Earth under the careful eye of Sauron, who went on to create the One Ring by himself, the Rings of Power were meant to seduce the rulers of the world to evil so that Sauron may control them. There was no sign of Tom disappearing!' While the Ring doesn't have any power over this merry fellow, it doesn't change the fact that he both bears and wears the Ring. When Frodo gives it to him, 'Tom put the Ring round the end of his little finger and held it up to the candlelight.Then they gasped. In The Fellowship of the Ring, it's explained that during this time Tom asks to see the Ring. When Frodo and company stumble upon his house as they begin their trip to Rivendell, he gives them shelter for a couple of days. Bombadil is a mysteriously powerful being that lives near the Shire. The jolly old enigma is only known to fans of the books, as he was cut out of Peter Jackson's films. While he doesn't actually bear the Ring, he's second in line after Sauron when it comes to the desire to do so.Īnd then there's Tom Bombadil. And don't forget, it's his Uruk-hai that carry off Merry and Pippin as part of his attempt to recover the Ring for himself. Nevertheless, he studies Ring lore for centuries, tries to make his own rings, and at one point, even uses the Dark Lord as bait to figure out where the One Ring might be hiding. Unlike Gandalf, Saruman never actually gets his traitorous hands on Sauron's trinket. Here it is, with the bearers presented in chronological order.Īnother honorific goes to the villain Saruman. But who has it before then and in what order? To answer these questions, we dove headlong into the vault of original Middle-earth content and have managed to cobble together a complete list of every Ring-bearer. The question is, who exactly gets a chance to carry the One Ring throughout the bauble's millennia-long existence in Middle-earth? The Lord of the Rings gives us a good perspective of who carries the One Ring right before it meets its end in the fires of Mount Doom. Needless to say, the One Ring is a pretty big deal, as are those who bear it. It even drops into some of the stories contained within many of Tolkien's posthumously published works, like The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. The One Ring is the focal point throughout all three books, as well as The Hobbit that precedes them. After all, this particular piece of jewelry is the One Ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them. Tolkien's monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy.

There are few stories out there in which bearing a shiny trinket is more important than in J.R.R.

Lord of rings ring