The Lesser Rings - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Inziladun · 05-28-2012, 08:28 PM

This is something that's crossed my mind from time to time as I've read and re-read LOTR over the years.

I don't at the moment recall any other mention of the "lesser rings" apart from Gandalf's words to Frodo in the passage you cite. If I'm wrong, I'll no doubt be swiftly set straight.

My thought would be that they were efforts of the Noldor to make rings with the same powers as the later Three: preservation and healing power. It seems logical that their dabbling in such matters made them all the more susceptible to Sauron's offer of aid, if it didn't in fact give Sauron the impetus to make his own rings.

I guess it's possible some of them escaped the ruin of Eregion and were in use by Elves in the Third Age. Maybe in Mirkwood, by Thranduil? There would be no danger from the One. 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.

It seems a recurring theme in the ME mythos that desire, and utilization of, power beyond one's innate abilities is a dangerous thing, and we see mortals, and Men especially, easily corrupted by "power". That alone would explain Gandalf's worries to me.

If the lesser rings had the powers I posited, I don't see Sauron having any desire to possess them for any reason. All he was about was domination through the use of power.

05-28-2012, 08:28 PM	#2
Inziladun Gruesome Spectre Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Heaven's doorstep Posts: 8,039	This is something that's crossed my mind from time to time as I've read and re-read LOTR over the years. I don't at the moment recall any other mention of the "lesser rings" apart from Gandalf's words to Frodo in the passage you cite. If I'm wrong, I'll no doubt be swiftly set straight. My thought would be that they were efforts of the Noldor to make rings with the same powers as the later Three: preservation and healing power. It seems logical that their dabbling in such matters made them all the more susceptible to Sauron's offer of aid, if it didn't in fact give Sauron the impetus to make his own rings. I guess it's possible some of them escaped the ruin of Eregion and were in use by Elves in the Third Age. Maybe in Mirkwood, by Thranduil? There would be no danger from the One. 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. It seems a recurring theme in the ME mythos that desire, and utilization of, power beyond one's innate abilities is a dangerous thing, and we see mortals, and Men especially, easily corrupted by "power". That alone would explain Gandalf's worries to me. If the lesser rings had the powers I posited, I don't see Sauron having any desire to possess them for any reason. All he was about was domination through the use of power. __________________ Music alone proves the existence of God.