The Three Elven Rings - What are their powers? Why are they good?

what are the three elven rings what magical powers do they have and why are they good not evil and under Sirhan's control hi everyone this is Robert welcome to in deep geek this video is brought to you by my wonderful patreon community from now on I'll bring you regular junior our token and Lord of the Rings content on this channel as well as the best of other great fantasy and science fiction like a Song of Ice and Fire if you're interested in seeing more of that please click on the subscribe button in the bottom right of your screen and the bell icon the three elven rings are one of the most important subplots in the Lord of the Rings even though we only see their owners fully revealed at the very end of the story it's often lost omits the emotion of Frodo Bilbo Gandalf and the rest sailing west but Tolkien brings our attention to them one after the other in that chapter and it's supposed to be a moment of Revelation for the reader an explanation of why things turned out as they did because those three people Gandalf Galadriel and Elrond possessed those three elven rings Naya Nina and vilya but why what made them so powerful and if these were sarin's rings why were their owners not under his control let's dig into the history to find out the forging of the Rings of Power was a cunning plan by Sauron in the Second Age to try to gain control over the elves he disguised himself as an ATAR the Lord of gifts he offered the elves knowledge and skills in crafting something Sauron was actually very good at Elrond and gil-galad refused his offer but Callum Limbaugh and Elvin master Smith took an ATAR in and learned from him over three centuries this was quite a long-term plan by Sauer during that time they forged the nine rings that ended up in the hands of humans and the Seven which ended up with the Dwarven Lords but Saren needing a bit of space and secrecy to forge the one ring to control all of the others nipped back to Mordor to make that leaving column brim bore to make the final three rings that end up with the elves at which point with the forging of the One Ring using the black speech and Sauron putting it on Cal emblem ball realized what had been happening he went to Galadriel for advice she recommended destroying all of the Rings but Klem Limbaugh couldn't bring himself to do that destroying his masterpieces so he gave one of the three rings that he had forged to Galadriel to keep safe and the other two went to gil-galad who passed one of them on to kerr dan when Sauron invaded her leg young and captured kalimba Limbaugh demanding he hand over the Rings Colombian ball refused to say where the final three elven rings were to bring the story up-to-date gil-galad gave his one to Elrond and Kurd and gave his to gandalf when he appeared in middle-earth so by the ton of the Lord of the Rings that's where they are with Gandalf Elrond and Galadriel it's often asserted that the reason these rings are safe from Sauron and can be used for good is because they weren't forged by him personally unlike the other rings but by Colombian bore and his own well that is true it's not the whole truth the Rings are still linked to Sauron and the One Ring it's just that for that control to take effect Saren has to be wearing the One Ring that's why the elves did not wear the Rings while Sauron had the One Ring but once the ring had been lost they all felt able to put them on and use their powers what Cal emblem board did was to use the skills and techniques that he had been taught by Sauron hence the link to the ring and Saren still being there but imbued them with positive magical effects rather than the more power hungry ones placed in the other rings another interesting twist is that whereas the One Ring makes its wearer invisible the three Rings when worn can make themselves invisible that's why we never hear a description of Gandalf's ring through the story or Elrond's people can't see them interestingly when the fellowship made their way to lothlórien and met clad real Frodo did see the ring menu on Galadriel finger she says this is only possible because he is both the ring bearer and has seen the Eye of Sauron underlining once more the link between the three rings and the One Ring Sam who also looked said that he could just see a star twinkling between her fingers so what are the three rings and what powers do they have Colombian boy gave each of them different powers and in each case these were important vital even to the story although their effects are often hidden from most people's eyes one was associated with fire one water and one air let's start with Gandalf spring Naya the Ring of Fire as we saw earlier it was entrusted by gil-galad to kur Dan the elf Lord who watched over the Grey Havens and he gave it to Gandalf we get this account of him handing it over in the appendices to the Lord of the Rings ker Dan later surrendered his ring to Mithrandir for kur Dan saw further and deeper than any other in middle-earth and he welcomed Mithrandir at the Grey Havens knowing whence he came and whither he would return take this ring master he said for your Labor's will be heavy but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself for this is the Ring of Fire and with it you may weaken departs in a world that grows chill rekindling hearts in a world that grows chill is a wonderful phrase it suggests that the main magic around this ring is one of encouragement putting hope in people's hearts helping them resist tyranny and despair this is one of those things that is hard to see most of the time but it's easy to acknowledge that Gandalf is a strengthening and reassuring presence throughout the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and just look at how despairing everyone was when he was lost fighting that Balrog yes they'd just lost a valuable member of the team but it was more than that It was as if something even more powerful had been taken from them Aragorn even says we must do without hope now as if Gandalf was the one who brought hope that hope and encouragement also seems to have aided Gandalf himself personally giving him resistance to the weariness of time as we see Gandalf does not tire or waver in his task in middle-earth as say cerimon does despite many setbacks this is despite the fact that Gandalf never wanted to come to middle-earth and do the task he was given primarily because he was afraid of Saren it's a curious detail in the background to Gandalf's character check out my video on him if you were interested but we never see even a hint of this in the main story perhaps due to Noah's magic this resistance to the rigors of time seems to be something all three elven rings share as we'll see the second ring menya the ring of water was given by Callum Limbaugh to Galadriel and she kept it throughout the ages we're told that it was made of mithril with a white stone made of adamant set into it Frodo sees it on collaterals hand after looking in her mirror and we read this so bright was the star above that the figure of the elven lady cast a dim shadow on the ground it's Ray's glanced upon a ring about her finger it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light and a white stone in it twinkled as if the even star had come down to rest upon her hand we're told that it has powers of preservation protection and concealment from evil and Galadriel used it to protect and preserve Lothlorien the bit about protection isn't so much about military protection Elrond was clear that that was not the purpose of any of the three rings and Lothlorien did get raided by orcs in the light from time to time but it did seem to hide it from the gaze of would-be invaders and shroud it from Sauron himself it's hinted that the forest kingdom would only fall if Sauron had personally attacked it and Galadriel seems to have used this power to make law florien beautiful and peaceful and everything a community of elves should be this of course explains how law Florian appears so ethereal so serene so beautiful more so than Rivendell and much more so than the woodland realm the other two elf enclaves we see menya is playing its part to preserve the elves and their life in middle-earth far beyond what it would otherwise be one by one the elves are feeling the cold the head west of Eleanor their time in middle-earth is coming to an end the time of humanity's is about to begin but Lothlorien is a shining beacon defying this tide through the power of the Ring menya this of course adds a tragic twist to Galadriel helping Frodo in the fellowship on their way for if the One Ring is destroyed as per the plan ninjas power as with all of the other rings of power would come to an end and Lothlorien would fade she tells Frodo as much do you not see now where for your coming to us is as the footsteps of doom for if you fail then we are laid bare to the enemy yet if you succeed then our power is diminished and Lothlorien will fade and the tides of time will sweep it away we must depart into the West or dwindle to a rustic folk of Dell and Cave slowly to forget and be forgotten it is a melancholy thought and it is indeed what happens after the ring was destroyed many lost its power and Lothlorien faded its people left one after another it fell deserted and ruined left to the forest we last hear of it in the year one to one of the fourth age when after aragorn's death Arwen goes there to die the third ring is vilya the ring of air this was the ring that kal emblem bore gave to gil-galad and gil-galad then gave to Elrond so Elrond had it and was using its power all the way through the Third Age including of course the main stories of The Lord of the Rings and hobbit we're told that Vilia was made of gold and had a large blue stone set into it it was the mightiest of the three rings which is probably fitting given that it was originally held by gil-galad the Lord of the High Elves and king of the elder but unlike the other two rings we are never specifically told what powers it actually had we're left to see what Elrond does and impute backwards what the Rings powers might be well to an extent it seems to have had some of the powers of the other tubing's in The Silmarillion Rivendell is described as a refuge for the weary and the oppressed and a treasury of good counsel and wise law the sounds are not like how Gandalf uses Najjar to give hope and encouragement to those who need it and as with Nanna and Lothlorien once vilya had ceased to work with the destruction of the One Ring Rivendell also fell slowly to ruin as if the magic preserving it had died by the year 120 of the forth age Aragorn said to Arwen that none now walk in the gardens of Elrond but it is perhaps in the power of healing that we see its greatest strength we are told that Callum brim bore forged the three rings to help heal and preserve we've seen the preserving aspect of this and not but not so much the healing Elrond however the bearer of vilya is acknowledged as in Gandalf's words the master of healing this is probably best seen in what happens with Frodo's wound after he got stabbed by that mora called knife Aragorn instantly realizes that he cannot heal Frodo Glorfindel admits that it is beyond his abilities and even Gandalf that beacon of hope and encouragement admits that when he saw the wound he had little hope that Frodo would survive but Elrond did heal him there's also probably an element here of Ilya granting magical control over air as it is the ring of air no yo the ring of fire seems to allow Gandalf to do easy bits of fire magic those fireworks in the Shire making campfires during blizzards and so on Galadriel the owner of the ring of water has her mirror which is of course water and so it makes sense that Wilier does provide some air magic even if we don't see it perhaps when the river comes crashing down on the black riders outside Rivendell that was caused by the wind rather than just water magic we don't know so we have the three rings that are powerful tied to the One Ring but opposite it in many ways the One Ring and the other ring Sauron had a hand in forging for that matter were all about power Sal Ron's power and the individual power of whoever wore those rings the three elven rings were made to help others not those who wore them healing encouraging and preserving others and it is not a coincidence I'm sure that the three who wore those rings were the three who take on the mantle of guiding and protecting and pushing Frodo in the right way Gandalf trusting Frodo as the ring bearer at the start of the journey Elrond commissioning him to take it to Mordor and Galadriel gifting him and Sam the tools they needed to finish the job the three of them also seemed to be the ones who while everyone else is arguing about what should be done seemed to sense something of the future for Frodo in the Fellowship and what was to happen with the One Ring Elrond says that I think this task was appointed for you Frodo and if you do not find a way no one will Gandalf rather prophetically says that he senses Gollum has some part yet to play for good or ill and Galadriel gives Frodo the file of light from Aaron Dale's star so he would have it when all other lights go out given it saved his life more than once it is a prescient gift but most of all Tolkien uses these three rings to underline one of the central themes of The Lord of the Rings the way to confront the power-hungry is not to also be power-hungry but to be its opposite to prioritize helping others some of the most powerful and important magic that happens anywhere in the Lord of the Rings happens so subtly through these rings that many readers don't ever realize it is happening we just do not see how powerful they are the most powerful don't need to show off their power and they definitely don't need to use it to gain even more power for themselves if you'd like to see more videos on the world of 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Channel: In Deep Geek

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Keywords: in deep geek, deep geek, lord of the rings, lotr, the lord of the rings, rings of power, three rings for the elven-kings under the sky, elven kings, why are the elf rings, elven rings, gandalf, galadriel, elrond, narya, nenya, vilya, gandalfs ring, elronds rings, galadriels ring, celembrimbor, explained, theory, theories, lore, middle earth, what did the elven rings do, the elven rings of power, powers of the three elven rings

Id: OLgoHgfquOw

Length: 16min 17sec (977 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020