The Lord of the Rings: 5 Things That Still Make No Sense About the Other 19 Rings of Power

The One Ring is easily the most well-known ring in The Lord of Rings, but there were 19 other Rings of Power in both J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and Peter Jackson’s movies (and now Prime’s The Rings of Power streaming series as well). Of those other 19, three went to the elves, seven to the dwarves, and nine went to men. The latter in particular corrupted their bearers, leading to the nine Nazgûl or Ringwraiths.

Like the One Ring, these rings had specific properties as well as narrative significance, even if they generally may not be as well known. The seven dwarf-lords, for example, weren’t corrupted in the way that men were, but they nevertheless were affected by their rings, becoming greedy and obsessed with wealth. Meanwhile, the three elven rings, Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, had protective properties. Yet, even with all this information, these 5 things about the 19 other Rings of Power still make little to no sense.

The Rings Extend The Bearer’s Natural Life

The One Ring is known to extend the bearer’s natural life, as seen with both Gollum, who lives with the Ring for 500 years and is incrementally transformed into a creature who is unrecognizable from his former hobbit form, and with Bilbo, who describes himself as feeling thin and stretched “like butter scraped over too much bread.” The other 19 rings also extend the bearer’s natural lives, which is interesting (and confusing) given the original intention behind the creation of the rings.

Although in the end the elves created three rings for themselves—Narya, Nenya, and Vilya—initially, Sauron intended to give all of the Rings of Power to elves, hoping to corrupt them and bend them to his will. What’s odd about that is that the elves are already immortal themselves, so this would theoretically have little benefit. However, the elven rings did help to preserve their lands, so they did still serve a function in the end.

The Rings Of Power Series Changed The Timeline For The Elven Rings

There are always going to be controversies when it comes to on-screen adaptations of beloved books, and given that Tolkien’s books are largely considered some of the greatest fantasy novels of all time, it’s no surprise that there’s been backlash especially to The Rings of Power. Among the complaints fans have voiced is the fact that the show changed the timeline of the elves creating their three rings.

In the books, the three elven rings are created after the other 16 Rings of Power, but the show switched this to the elven rings being made first. This ruffled feathers particularly because it changed the motivation behind making the rings to a degree, and it’s largely considered an unnecessary change by much of the fanbase.

The Location And Fate Of The Nazgûl Rings Remain Unclear

As mentioned, the nine rings given to men, “who are so easily corrupted,” resulted in the creation of the Nazgûl, who were bent entirely to Sauron’s will. However, what becomes of those rings isn’t made clear in either the books or the movies—it’s left up to audience interpretation. For the most part, the consensus seems to be that when Sauron was destroyed, and the Nazgûl therefore met their demise as well, their rings were destroyed.

However, that’s not explicitly stated. In part, this omission may be because it’s not all that significant; with the One Ring and Sauron destroyed, these rings would no longer possess any power. There is another mystery with these rings as well, though, as there is contradictory information in the books regarding whether the Nazgûl continued to wear their rings or Sauron had taken them back.

The Elves Didn’t Anticipate The Trap Sauron Had Laid

While Sauron’s plans to corrupt the elves via the Rings of Power was foiled, the elves’ three rings were actually still affected by the One Ring. Presumably, they believed that because they were making the rings, they would not be susceptible to Sauron in the same way.

Unfortunately, because they were forged using the techniques Sauron had taught Celebrimbor, they were still tied to Sauron and the One Ring to a degree. What’s odd is that the elves didn’t anticipate the dangers of using those techniques—although, that very well may be why The Rings of Power changed the timeline of when the elves made their rings.

Sauron Believed The Rings Of Power Could Corrupt Elves

Finally, as mentioned, Sauron initially believed that he could corrupt the elves with his Rings of Power and then had to course correct and instead divide the 16 between the dwarves and men. What’s odd about that is that Sauron thought the elves were corruptible, when this is a race in The Lord of the Rings that is particularly difficult to corrupt.

Of course, this is no doubt in part just Sauron’s hubris on display. He likely believed that, despite this trait in the elves, he could manage to corrupt the seemingly incorruptible.

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