Nine Rings
The Nine Rings were those of the Rings of Power that Sauron used to corrupt Men to his service; those who took the Nine Rings became the Nazgûl.
History
The rings were made along with the others in Eregion and were forged by Celebrimbor. Those were locked away in one of the safes of Eregion, but all were captured by Sauron. He gave nine of them to nine kings of Men, three of which were Numenoreans.
The owners of the nine eventually became the Nazgûl.
During the end of the Third Age, Sauron had the Nine with him.
Effect
The Rings of Power gave their wearer powerful magical abilities and made gave them the ability to influence peoples' will.
On Men those effects could be special: The rings gave a very long life, but the wearer would begin to feel worn out and eventually fade away into a wraith. The nine kings given the rings turned into ringwraiths because Sauron was able to take control of the rings.
Possession of the Nine Rings
In The Council of Elrond Gandalf says that the Nazgûl kept their Rings by saying "The Nine the Nazgûl keep"[1]. However in most other references, it is mentioned that Sauron had taken them.[2][3] Furthermore, Frodo doesn't see any Rings on them on Weathertop, and it is believed that if they did wear the Rings, they would have been fully invisible (including their cloaks).[source?]
The line in the Council of Elrond represents Tolkien's earlier intention that the Nazgûl should still be wearing their Rings, but he later changed his mind and simply missed revising that sentence.
| Rings of Power | |||
| The One Ring | Three Rings (Narya · Nenya · Vilya) | Seven Rings (Ring of Thrór) | Nine Rings | |||
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Council of Elrond
- ↑ "the Nine [Sauron] has gathered to himself; the Seven also, or else they are destroyed." J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Shadow of the Past
- ↑ "You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine." J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Mirror of Galadriel
