Q: Who Made The Rings of Power?
ANSWER: The Rings of Power were made by a small group of Noldorin elves who called themselves the Gwaith-i-Mirdain. Led by Celebrimbor, the last living descendant of Fëanor in Middle-earth, the Gwaith-i-Mirdain were the most prominent group of Noldorin lords in the realm of Eregion. J.R.R. Tolkien tells us very little about the Gwaith-i-Mirdain and the history of the rings but the represents represent a cultural achievement unlike any other.
The Noldor were descended from the second oldest and second largest group of the three primeval Elven peoples. The ancient Elves divided themselves into the Minyar (those who came First), the Tatyar (those who came Second), and the Nelyar (those who came third). When the Valar invited the Elves to migrate to the Uttermost West to live under the tutelage and protection of the Valar and Maiar, all of the Minyar accepted the invitation. About half of the Tatyar and most of the Nelyar also agreed to leave Middle-earth. Those Tatyar and Nelyar who remained behind became known as the Avari to their western kin, who were afterwards named the Eldar.
The Tatyar who went to Valinor took the name Noldor, meaning “the Wise folk”. The Tatyar were the most curious and experimental of Elves in both Middle-earth and Valinor. Under the guidance of the Valar and Maiar the Noldor mastered many skills, learning to use their native talents or powers more capably than other Elves. Among the Noldor the most esteemed craftsman and loremaster was Fëanor, eldest of son of King Finwë. Tolkien suggests that Fëanor and his followers developed their crafts and powers beyond those of other Noldor, but they were also the most conservative and elitist group among the Noldor.
In time Fëanor and his seven sons led the majority of Noldor to rebel against and renounce the protection of the Valar but many Noldor gave their loyalty to Fëanor’s younger brothers, Fingolfin and Finarfin, or their sons. Fëanor’s followers were thus the fewest in number among the Noldorin exiles. In Middle-earth they lived apart from the other Noldor in eastern Beleriand until their lands were overthrown by Morgoth’s armies. Maedhros, eldest son of Fëanor, ruled the Fëanorian Noldor for many centuries after his father’s death but in the end because of the grievances that lay between Maedhros and other Elves the last of his followers deserted him.
After the overthrow of Morgoth Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor, settled in Gil-galad’s new kingdom of Lindon, which was established in the last remnants of Beleriand. Celebrimbor and his people remained in Lindon for about 700 years — longer than the Fëanorians had ruled their own lands in Middle-earth in the First Age. When the Dwarves of Khazad-dum (Moria) discovered a vein of mithril deep in their mines, Celebrimbor and many Noldorin smiths migrated east to settle in the land of Eregion (“land of holly”) on the western side of the Misty Mountains.
Historically holly trees were revered by some western European peoples. The name, holly, is derived from Old English holegn — which some people incorrectly associate with halig (“holy”). The name “holly” does not mean “holy” but is more likely descended from a Proto-IndoEuropean word *kel- meaning “to prick”, referring to the sharp points on holly leaves. The berries of the holly are mildly poisonous but have been used medicinally in folk tradition. Holly trees flourish in highlands with rocky, mildly acidic and clayish soils.
Holly trees can cultivated as bushes or hedges, providing defensive bulwarks and ornamental gardens for large homesteads. The wood of the holly, when properly dried, is considered among the finest white woods and has been used by wood craftsmen and furniture makers for centuries. Holly has even rival ivory as a preferred medium for fine artwork. Though poisonous to humans holly leaves and berries are eaten by many animals. Holly leaves have been used to brew teas and to produce dyes.
European folklore closely associates holly with elves, spirits, and magical abilities. Smiths burned holly wood to forge swords, knives, and tools. The holly is thus closely associated with the blending of nature and craftsmanship as well as healing and fertility. J.R.R. Tolkien was undoubtedly familiar with many of the historical traditions surrounding the holly, which he adapted for the name and symbol of the Noldorin realm of Hollin (Eregion).
Hence, the reader is free to infer that the Noldor and Sindar who settled in Hollin were most likely highly skilled craftsfolk interested in holly’s many productive uses as well as in the mithril ores provided by the Dwarves of Khazad-dum. More importantly, Eregion should be seen as a place where the Noldor sought to enhance and increase their power, which Tolkien often described as “Art” — not in the sense of artwork but rather in the expression of one’s innate talents and abilities to mold their environment and possessions to their will. Eregion would thus have been seen as the place of greatest wisdom and power in Middle-earth. A mortal man might have felt the land reeked with magic compared to all other Elvish lands.
The Gwaith-i-Mirdain were the very top echelon of Hollin’s artisans and craftsfolk — the elite of the elite. They represented the most skilled, gifted, and knowledgeable of the Eldar of Middle-earth. Another group of elite loremasters who settled in Hollin were the Lambengolmor, the Masters of Languages, among whom Pengolodh was the greatest. Ost-en-Edhil (“Citadel of the Elves”) must then have been the most advanced center of Eldarin intellectual achievement in Middle-earth.
In this environment the Eldarin loremasters set themselves the task of “healing Middle-earth’s hurts”. They gradually developed the joint goal of recreating the beauty and ambience of Valinor in Middle-earth. One aspect of Valinor that could not be reproduced, however, was its timelessness. Middle-earth was prone to changefulness in a way that not only disappointed and dismayed the Eldar, it hastened their own inevitable form of bodily death: fading. Whether by the will of Iluvatar or the curse of the Valar for the Noldor’s rebelliousness, Elves who lived in Middle-earth were doomed to ultimately lose their physical connection with the living world. They would become no more than bodiless wraiths. It was not a matter of if but when the Elves would fade. Some of the most ancient Elves may already have begun to fade by the time Eregion was founded.
Hence, the loremasters of the Eldar eventually sought for the means to delay or deflect the ravages of Time both upon themselves and Middle-earth. It was this yearning for the timelessness of valinor that led the loremasters of Eregion to accept the instruction and assistance of the Maia who called himself Aulendil. According to late writings from Tolkien, Galadriel was suspicious of Aulendil, warning her fellow Noldorin leaders that she had not known any such Maia in Valinor. But Galadriel’s concerns were ignored by Celebrimbor and his supporters.
In “The Council of Elrond” the Half-elven lord Elrond told his guests that the Elves of Eregion made the Rings of Power for the purposes of “making, healing, and understanding”. These were the principle causes of the Eldar of Eregion from the very beginning. The Rings were thus intended to enhance the pursuits and achievements of the Eldar. But the Gwaith-i-Mirdain did not understand or fully appreciate that their quest to delay the changefulness of Time in Middle-earth contravened the natural order of things. Their pride and arrogance led them to create a nightmare on Middle-earth.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that the Elves made many “lesser” rings of power. These were “essays in the craft”, practice steps required to develop the skill and knowledge required to produce the Great Rings of Power. The Great Rings were made by Celebrimbor and an undisclosed number of Mirdain. Celebrimbor himself made the three greatest of the Great Rings: Vilya, Nenya, and Narya. These he esteemed above the other sixteen Great Rings. Celebrimbor’s rings were closely associated with the slow progress of time in places like Rivendell and Lothlorien and with healing and the kindling of spirits. Although the powers of the other sixteen great rings are not enumerated they appear to have been used to see and communicate with wraiths, enhance the native talents of the wearers, and probably also to slow the effects of Time on the wearers.
By all accounts the Gwaith-i-Mirdain ceased to exist after the War of the Elves and Sauron. Most likely they were all slain, though it is conceivable that some may have escaped the ruin of Eregion. Pengolodh fled to Lindon and from there sailed over Sea to Valinor, never to return to Middle-earth. The destruction of Eregion deprived the Eldarin civilization of its greatest craftsfolk and artisans. The intellectual elite of the Eldar were either killed or left Middle-earth. Those who remained, while wise and powerful, could not compare with the Gwaith-i-Mirdain and the Lambengolmor or other special guilds.
Did Elrond and Galadriel Help Make the Three Rings?
In the Amazon Studios production, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Elrond and Galadriel are present when the Three Rings are made. This story line is completely non-canonical with respect to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The contract between Amazon and the Tolkien Estate limits what materials the production can use.
Basically, the entire Amazon production is fan fiction. It is largely inconsistent with J.R.R. Tolkien’s timeline and writings and there is no point in trying to reconcile Amazon’s story to Tolkien’s stories.
See Also:
Why did Sauron Not Give Any Rings of Power to the Orcs?
Why did Sauron Take Back the Dwarven Rings of Power?
Where did the Power in the Minor Rings Come from?
Who Were the Rings of Power Made for?
# # #
Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
