This is a history-lesson-with-Gandalf page! I do know a lot about the ins and outs of The Lord of the Rings, but I’ll admit that Middle-earth history is not my strong point. I did a bit of research on the side today just to make sure I knew what I was talking about!
Take us away, Gandalf!
So, elves made magical rings a long time ago. They were all dangerous to mortals in some way or another, (elves being immortal unless killed in battle) and the Rings of Power were both the most powerful and the most dangerous. If a mortal keeps one of these rings, they won’t die, or age, really. They just keep…on…living. If they use a ring too much, they become invisible permanently. Bilbo didn’t know anything about this, but Gandalf has had his suspicions for some time. He started noticing Bilbo’s oddities, which Bilbo always ascribed to his own longevity, but which were really as a result of his possession of the ring. Gandalf had even first suspected that something was evil about the ring long ago when Bilbo first discovered it around the same time that the White Council, with Gandalf’s aid, drove this “dark power” out of Mirkwood.
First Mentions:
-Eregion: Ancient elven kingdom once located west of the Misty Mountains. Where the rings were created (save the One Ring). Destroyed by Sauron long ago.
-the Rings of Power: Extremely powerful elven rings. Can consume mortal beings with their power.
-the Battle of Five Armies: Enormous battle following the reclamation of the Lonely Mountain by the dwarves accompanied by Bilbo. Fought between dwarves, elves, men, and two goblin armies over the riches of the mountain.
Timeline-wise, if you’re familiar with The Hobbit, Gandalf went to drive this evil power out of Mirkwood for a time during Bilbo’s journey. Gandalf leaves as the travelers reach Mirkwood, and returns at the beginning of the Battle of Five Armies. Yes, Gandalf tends to come and go as he needs to. We’ll see him do that plenty later, and he’s already been doing that to Frodo for 16 1/2 years!
And here’s a question: does every magical ring make you invisible if you’re mortal? Gandalf says that any mortal who uses a ring for too long will eventually fade away. Does this mean that they all have that same power over mortals? It kind of seems like there’s a blanket for-mortals-only power that these rings have. For immortals, they have their typical mind-controlling powers, or whatever.
Okay, but wait, we know the rings: one for Sauron, three for elves, seven for dwarves, and nine for men. The men fade away, because they’re mortal. Sauron and the elves are good because they’re not mortal. What about the dwarves? They don’t become Ringwraiths…so what happens to them?
Words My Computer Didn’t Like:
-Eregion
For those of you who might be curious, Eregion is not pronounced like “region”. The “g” is hard, like in “egg”.
Hi ho, hi ho, I’ll see you tomorrow!
“‘A shadow fell on my heart then,…'”
Leave a comment, share the load