Did Sam tell Merry and Pippin about the One Ring?

[Harnuth]

From the discussion in class on June 20, 2017, I got the impression that Merry and Pippin already knew about the One Ring before the hobbits arrived at Crickhollow. Merry certainly seems to imply this when he reveals the spy ring to Frodo.

However, upon reading for the eleventy bazillionth time, I noted this:

"[Sam is] our collector of information! And he collected a lot, I can tell you, before he was finally caught. After which, I may say, he seemed to regard himself as on parole, and dried up.’
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings: One Volume (p. 105). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.

Sam only leaned about the One Ring when he was spying outside the window at Bag-End on the night he got caught. So, if Sam went silent after that, Merry and Pippin would not have known about the One Ring and Sauron, although they certainly would have concluded that Frodo's ring was very dangerous simply because it was sufficient cause for Frodo to leave The Shire.

 

[NotACat]

I thought this was addressed during the session. Apparently Sam refused to gather ny more information but he was OK with divulging what he had already discovered.

 

[FoxFire]

It was also mentioned that Merry learned about the ring when he espied Bilbo one day putting the ring on and vanishing as Bilbo sought to avoid bumping in to his irritating relatives, the Sackville-Baggins.

It's been awhile since I read the books so I'd forgotten this. (Well not that long ago but it's amazing what I've forgotten or more-likely glossed over on previous readings. You know where you've read something and are still dwelling on it as you continue to read on and what you're currently reading doesn't even register. I suspect I'm not the only one to do that. Then again maybe it's just ADD. )

 

[Merrydey]

So what we're saying is that Sam listened to and reported on The Shadow of the Past.