Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings show is called The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But how many rings are we talking here?
For that, we look to the poem from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original books:
"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 Second Age of Middle-earth, which is when this show is set, Sauron — appeared in a fair form and acting friendly — approached a group of Elven smiths and taught them how to make rings of power. They made 19 in all. But in secret, Sauron forged the infamous One Ring, which had dominion over the others.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky
Other than the One Ring itself, the Elven rings were the most powerful of the rings, and had the ability to preserve the world as it was in the elder days. The three were:
- Narya, the Ring of Fire: This was given to the Elven shipwright Círdan. When Gandalf later arrived in the Third Age, Círdan gave it to the wizard.
- Nenya, the Ring of Water: This was given to Galadriel of Lothlórien.
- Vilya, the Ring of Air: This was given to Gil-galad, high king of the Noldor, and later passed to Elrond of Rivendell upon Gil-galad’s death.
When Sauron put on the One Ring, the elves were immediately aware of his presence and took off their own rings of power. Nice try, Sauron.
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone
Sauron had slightly better luck with the dwarves, but only jus. We don’t know the names of these rings, but they were distributed to dwarven lords. But because dwarves are so hardy, Sauron couldn’t bend them to his will.
Still, the rings may have made the dwarves a bit more insular (and they were already pretty insular already), at least keeping them from actively fighting Sauron too much. The dwarves used the rings to establish their treasure hordes, which attracted dragons.
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die
Now Sauron gets somewhere. Nine rings were given to human kings, who used them to greatly extend their lifespans, acquire riches, and become powerful. But as time wore on, they all fell under Sauron’s thrall, and one by one became slaves to his will.
The nine kings eventually became the Ringwraiths, or Nazgûl. The only one we know specifically is the leader, the Witch-king of Angmar.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video on September 2.
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