View source for Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

{{disambig-more|Rings of Power|[[Rings of Power (disambiguation)]]}}
{{disambig-more|Third Age|[[Third Age (disambiguation)]]}}
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'''''Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age''''' is the fifth and last part of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', edited by [[Christopher Tolkien]] from [[Tolkien|his father]]'s later texts.

==Synopsis==
[[File:Ted Nasmith - The Forging of the One.jpg|left|thumb|''The Forging of the One'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]

The Elves of [[Eregion]] forged many [[Rings of Power]]. But [[Sauron]] had deceived them, for he made [[the One Ring]] for himself, which was the master of the rest.

However Sauron's plan failed: the Elves discovered his plot and discarded their Rings until they could be shielded from his influence. Sauron then waged war upon the Elves. During the war, many Elves were killed and the kingdom in [[Eregion]] destroyed. Sauron captured all the Rings of Power except the Three and he gave seven of them to Dwarves and nine to Men. But Sauron feared to assail [[Lindon]] as the Men of [[Númenor]] aided [[Gil-galad]], the mighty elvenking. Throughout the [[Black Years]] or [[Days of Flight]] Sauron gathered to him all the evil things of Days of Morgoth. Hundreds of years later, the Men of Númenor decided to capture Sauron to demonstrate their might. As it is described in ''[[Akallabêth]]'', Sauron was brought to Númenor as a slave; however, he soon corrupted most Númenóreans, encouraging them to replace their traditional reverence for [[Ilúvatar]] with worship of [[Melkor]], Sauron's previous master. Under Sauron's influence, the Númenóreans decided to challenge the [[Valar]] by invading [[Aman]]. As a result, Númenor was destroyed and sank beneath the waves.

Only a few survivors left Númenor before it was too late, and led by [[Elendil]] the Tall and his two sons [[Isildur]] and [[Anárion]], they had settled in [[Middle-earth]]. They created realms that were governed in Númenórean style: Elendil ruled over [[Arnor]] in the North, and Isildur and Anarion ruled together in the great country of [[Gondor]] in the South. However, Sauron survived the disaster, and although he had lost his fair appearance, both he and his One Ring returned safely to his stronghold of old in the land of [[Mordor]].

Years passed, and Sauron, who had renewed his might, decided to attack the new realms while they were still weak. His onslaught failed, however, Elendil, his sons, and the Elven kings fought back. For many years the great coalition (The [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]], as it became known) besieged Mordor. At last the host broke through to Sauron's fortress [[Barad-dûr]]. Gil-galad and Elendil wrestled with Sauron and were slain; however, they managed to defeat Sauron. Isildur, Elendil's son approached Sauron's body and cut off his finger with the One Ring. In vain [[Elrond]] and [[Círdan]] tried to convince Isildur to destroy the ring in the fire of [[Mount Doom]] where it was made. But Isildur took it for his own and declared that it was his and his folk's, a consolation after the enormous loss of the war (besides the death of Elendil, his father, another of those who perished was his brother Anárion, who was killed during the siege of Barad-dûr). Thus began the [[Third Age]] of Middle-earth.

Isildur himself died soon in a sudden ambush by a band of [[Orcs]] near [[Gladden Fields]], and the Ring that had betrayed him was lost in the great river [[Anduin]]. Heirs of royal blood were chosen to lead Arnor and Gondor. For a millennium, both realms enjoyed relative freedom and prosperity. However afterwards, Arnor became subject to attacks from the north-eastern kingdom of [[Angmar]]. More and more people fled from the North, and although Angmar was defeated by the beginning of the third millennium of Third Age, Arnor was no more. Its people were scattered, and its royalty decreased in number and fame; however they remained true to their Númenórean descent. They became the [[Rangers of the North]], protecting the paths of the North from the menace that came from the East.

As for Gondor, it prospered for much of the Third Age. However in the beginning of its third millennium, this began to change. Gondor was assailed by Orcs and Men from the nearby Mordor. For a long time, no one suspected that the same force that had driven the attacks upon Arnor was now fighting Gondor.

A thousand years earlier, several [[Wizards]] had come to the land: [[Saruman]], [[Radagast]], [[Gandalf]], and two [[Blue Wizards]]. Although it was unknown to the peoples of Middle-earth, they were emissaries from the West, sent on behalf of the [[Valar]] to help them obtain their freedom. For many centuries they were silent, and little was done by them apart from observation and counsel. However as the times darkened, they decided to take action against a mysterious dark force which seemed to dwell in the fortress of [[Dol Guldur]] amidst the forest of [[Mirkwood]]. During the attack, the force fled to [[Mordor]] and was revealed as Sauron, who was thought to have perished. And in the same year, the One Ring was found.

Sauron made war on Middle-earth again, but Frodo the Hobbit went to [[Mount Doom]] and destroyed the Ring, defeating Sauron. After this, it was made clear that Gandalf bore the Red Ring, [[Narya]].

==History of composition==
The work is a historical essay dealing with the preamble to the events described in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and the events themselves, in the style of ''The Silmarillion'' or the [[Appendices]].

The basis of "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" was information about the rings of power from an earlier version of the chapter ''[[The Council of Elrond]]'' that was removed from the final published version of that chapter. It was originally intended to be included in the Appendices of ''The Lord of the Rings''.<ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. 227</ref> Indeed, it bears some similarities to [[Elrond]]'s narrative during that chapter; both do not divulge any details about how [[Arnor]] was destroyed and how [[Gondor]] became kingless.

It is not known how much of this chapter was written or edited by [[Christopher Tolkien]] and [[Guy Gavriel Kay]] after Tolkien's death in 1973. However, Christopher Tolkien mentions an "original manuscript of Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age".<ref>{{PM|Second}}, reference to the name Tarkilion in T1</ref> He also refers to "one of the earliest texts of the work Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age".<ref>{{PM|Second}}, note 10</ref> He also refers to the chapter Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age (published in The Silmarillion) as one of several narrative sources for the events in the West of Middle-earth up to the defeat and expulsion of Sauron from Eriador in the year 1701 of the Second Age.<ref>{{UT|Concerning}}, first two sentences</ref> Cristopher Tolkien states that the name Ulairi of the Ringwraiths seems to mark a period in his father's work where it is found also in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age (published in The Silmarillion).<ref>{{PM|Akallabeth}}, §30</ref> Christopher Tolkien mentions that notes on [[Celebrimbor]] son of [[Curufin]] were the basis of the passages introduced editorially in Of the Rings of Power.<ref>{{PM|XNotes}}, note 7</ref>

In [[Letter 115|a letter]] to Katharine Farrer from possibly 1948, J.R.R. Tolkien planned to send her a copy of a text he called "Rings of Power" which he described as, along with the "Fall of Númenor", the link between the ''Silmarillion'' and the "Hobbit world".<ref>{{L|115}}</ref> He also mentioned in [[Letter 131|a letter]] to [[Milton Waldman]] that was probably from late 1951 that the three main themes of the Second Age are dealt with annalistically and in the two tales ''The Rings of Power'' and ''The Downfall of Númenor''.<ref>{{L|131}}</ref> J.R.R. Tolkien offered [[Naomi Mitchison]] in [[Letter 144|a letter]] from 1954 to have a typed copy made of material called ''The Rings of Power'' if she wanted.<ref>{{L|144}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[The Hobbit]]''
*''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''

{{references}}
[[fi:Mahtisormukset ja Kolmas Aika (Silmarillion)]]
[[Category:Books and documents within the legendarium]]
[[Category:The Silmarillion chapters]]