Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - Do the bearers of the Elven rings know the identity of the other bearers?


I was just wondering if the identity of the owners of the Elven rings was known to the other bearers? In the Lord of the Rings, there is much mention of the identity of the wearers of the Elven rings needing to be kept secret (such as when Aragorn tells Frodo that he should not have spoken of Galadriel owning Nenya outside of Lothlorien), but I wonder if the owner of one of the rings could have hidden their identity from the other bearers?


Although it is a vague notion, the novel seems to imply that the 3 Elven rings are in some way linked. At the end of the novel I recall a passage describing Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel all communicating with each other without actually speaking aloud - like some kind of telepathy. I think this is when they are travelling to the Grey Havens to leave Middle Earth so it lead me to wonder if this is down to the Elven rings, or some other reason.


Are there any references to these aspects in any other of Tolkien's works?



Answer



The mental communication between Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf was most definitely not due to the Rings - their power was explicitly lost when the One was destroyed.


For the answer to that one we must look to the "Quendi and Eldar" essay published in the "War of the Jewels", section headed "Note on the language of the Valar":



For the Valar and Maiar could transmit and recieve thought directly




From there a CJRT footnote directs us to Annals of Aman paragraph 164, and from there his commentary references the RotK scene.


Gandalf/Olorin, as a Maia, is quite capable of recieving thought from the Elves and transmitting thought to them (this is touched on in Q&E in the paragraph following the quote I give), so even if the Elves can't do so between each other, Gandalf/Olorin certainly can facilitate it (much as a translator can facilitate communication between two people who don't speak a common language).


So much for the effect of the Rings here; back to the main question. This is answered in "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" (pulished in the Silmarillion) and I quote in full:



Therefore ere the Third Age was ended the Elves perceived that the Ring of Sapphire was with Elrond, in the fair valley of Rivendell, upon whose house the stars of heaven most brightly shone; whereas the Ring of Adamant was in the Land of Lorien where dwelt the Lady Galadriel. A queen she was of the woodland Elves, the wife of Celeborn of Doriath, yet she herself was of the Noldor and remembered the Day before days in Valinor, and she was the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth. But the Red Ring remained hidden until the end, and none save Elrond and Galadriel and Cirdan knew to whom it had been committed.



So, your answer is: "yes".


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion