Originally posted by Inziladun:
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The "trifles", it would seem, were not, like the Three, made using Sauron's knowledgeable advice, so they should have been free from the influence of the One.
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I'm not so sure I agree (or necessarily disagree) with you on this. I guess it assumes that the lesser rings pre-date Sauron's influence, that he co-opted a line of research that already existed, rather than introducing the idea of including "magic" in the production of jewelry that would otherwise be "just pretty" (but not useful). I suppose your idea would be consistent with the 'arts and crafts' idea of Middle Earth mentioned in another thread (I forget which one, sorry), that the elves would take something that was already useful and make it look pretty, rather than starting with a pretty thing and then finding a use for it. Form following function. I think it's possible that Sauron introduced the idea of "magic" into the elves jewelry-smithing partly (at least) to see which of the elven jewelers had the skills to make the "Great Rings" to which Sauron aspired. I guess I think even the lesser rings were subject to the influence of the One.
Originally posted by Legate of Amon Lanc:
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Originally Posted by Mithalwen
I can't think of any references to them either (which doesn't mean there aren't any!) but I assumed the trial rings were part of Tolkien's idea to create a plausible mythology for England. Magic rings are part of folklore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_ring
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Indeed! And we see exactly this in Bilbo's story and his reaction to the magic ring - he is not like "huh, what is that?" but "okay, so I just found one of these magic rings known from fairytales, cool!" So the Elven "trifles" would be an explanation for the existing folk stories in Middle-Earth.
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I guess this is a bit of a chicken or egg question (which came first?) Did Tolkien's choice of having Bilbo find a ring (rather than some other kind of bauble) derive from existing English folk-tales of magic rings, or did the Ring simply provide an opportunity for a tie-in to existing folklore and mythology by generating the possibility of these 'lesser rings' still existing, scattered around our own mythic world.
Originally posted by Legate of Amon Lanc:
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(As in: "I want to make a Ring which will allow me speak with animals, but I have never done that before - lo, I just managed to create a ring that will transform me into a bear!" This might be a bit exaggerated example, but I hope you got the point...)
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Finally! a valid explanation for Beorn's shapeshifting ability! (maybe . . .)