The Three Elven Rings and their possible relation to the Prophecy of the North.

[kurtzimus]

Last Tuesday in class we discussed whether or not there was some evil, or at least some sort of stain, on the Three Elven Rings. There were many differing viewpoints briefly discussed, but I think we ultimately accepted(for the most part anyways) Elrond's wisdom that the three were made for "...understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained." In class this led to more discussion on whether or not these reasons(particularly "for making") for the three's creation could put an inherent stain on the three because all these powers of the three could possibly be seen as mechanisms to control what would otherwise be nature's due course. After a bit of discussion we moved on as this might have sidetracked(God forbid) the next three weeks of discussion.

Here I would like to offer another speculation as to why there may indeed be peril inherent in the making and usage of the three, The Prophecy of the North offered by no less, some say, than Mandos himself. As the Noldor fled the guarded realms they heard a voice speaking curse and prophecy on them which among other woes included,"... to evil end shall all things turn that they begin well... and those that endure.. shall grow weary of the world.. and shall wane, and become as shadows." Following up on that, when the sons of Finarfin departed Menegroth they perceived how the words of Mandos would ever be true, and "... that NONE of the Noldor could escape the shadow that lay on FEanor's house."

All of this Silmarillion backstory led me to wonder, since it was indeed a Noldor, and furthermore one of the House of Feanor, that created the three, is the curse pronounced in The Prophecy of the North inherent in the Three Elven Rings, the last great creative work of the Noldor? Did The Three "begin well" but eventually turned to evil as they delayed the waning, but in the end, perhaps, made it impossible for the elves under their power to evolve and adapt, making the Elves "become as shadows" all but inevitable when the power of the Three died? I know Celebrimbor turned away from the Oath, but would his personal denunciation have more power than Mandos' prophecy? This leads me to believe that there was an inherent taint of evil in the Three that may have delayed the waning of the Eldar, but ultimately made it inevitable. Only one exceptional Maia was able to turn any of the 20 rings to good, by using it strictly for others. But, of course, he would be "as skillful in it as in all other things he put his mind to."

 

[Flammifer]

If, as you suggest, Gandalf turned one of the Three Rings wholly to good. (Did he? What was the effect of the Ring of Fire upon Gandalf's career? A very interesting question, for which we have but little evidence.) Then he might not have been the ONLY one who managed this feat. What about Cirdan?

We don't really know what Cirdan used that Ring for, when it was in his possession. We do know that he gave it freely to Gandalf, when Gandalf appeared in Middle-earth.

 

[kurtzimus]

Yes Cirdan, the oft forgotten. These are definitely some excellent questions. I put in that last bit about Gandalf as an after thought to the main theory of my post, so I don't have many good answers for these questions which, I agree, do indeed have little evidence with which to speculate. Again, my main point was to raise another disputing viewpoint to "The Three Elven rings are wholly good and being used only for good" thought that seemed to be accepted in class.

However, just off the cuff, I will say this regarding Cirdan and his realm; after the three were gone Cirdan's realm(and bailiwick) lasted the longest and served it's function the longest. Could this have been because Cirdan did indeed give up his ring before it was unmade, possibly, as I claim in my post, allowing his realm to become part of the "existing", non-ring manipulated world? This could be further evidence that the three that were created to preserve, ended up hastening the destruction of the other realms and wielders.