Substance of Elven rings - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Eorl of Rohan · 02-20-2004, 02:20 AM

I was just wondering, why would Vilya be made out of Gold?

Simple coincidence? I think not, since Tolkien did not add a detial for nothing. For instance, there was reason that Vilya was the mightiest of the three, and had a sapphire on it, and was a ring of air - to show its similiarity with Manwe.

But why would Vilya be made out of Gold? I can't associate gold with anything in Tolkien's works, except for one phrase "Gold, toys of the dwarves, and iron, their servant." That does not point to anything powerful or majestic.

Of course, gold is a precious substance, but Mithril is much more precious still. It is not fitting that Nenya should be made out of Mithril while Vilya of gold.

It occured to me that Mithril is rather a feminine-like substance, while gold is masculine. Maybe it was becuase Galadriel was a woman while Elrond was a man?

02-20-2004, 02:20 AM	#1
Eorl of Rohan Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 602	Substance of Elven rings I was just wondering, why would Vilya be made out of Gold? Simple coincidence? I think not, since Tolkien did not add a detial for nothing. For instance, there was reason that Vilya was the mightiest of the three, and had a sapphire on it, and was a ring of air - to show its similiarity with Manwe. But why would Vilya be made out of Gold? I can't associate gold with anything in Tolkien's works, except for one phrase "Gold, toys of the dwarves, and iron, their servant." That does not point to anything powerful or majestic. Of course, gold is a precious substance, but Mithril is much more precious still. It is not fitting that Nenya should be made out of Mithril while Vilya of gold. It occured to me that Mithril is rather a feminine-like substance, while gold is masculine. Maybe it was becuase Galadriel was a woman while Elrond was a man? __________________ There is no signature here.