Rachel Port
Well-Known Member
In another thread, this question occurred to me: why do we assume that the One Ring will turn a mortal bearer into a wraith? Gandalf says it in The Shadow of the Past, but how does he know it? Do all the Rings of Power do the same things? The subservient rings were made for the people they were given to. The dwarf rings didn't work. The rings for Men did, but we don't know how they worked. How long did it take the Nazgul to become wraiths? Did they wear them all the time, or only at times? Did they even make their bearers invisible? Surely if they were kings and lords, wouldn't they want to use their powers when they could be seen? Did their rings give them other powers as well? Could it have taken a thousand years for them to become wraiths, after their butter had been stretched so thin it disappeared? They could certainly be Sauron's slaves before they became wraiths. Sauron made those rings specifically for Men, and would be suited to the strength of Men.
But the One Ring was made for one being only - Sauron himself, and was suited to his own strength.
It did not make Sauron invisible. It made Isildur, Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo invisible when they wore it. It didn't make Tom Bombadil invisible. So we can probably conclude that it made mortals invisible when they wore it. But none of those mortals became wraiths, even though Gollum had and used the Ring for hundreds of years. Isildur only had it for a short time. Bilbo had it for 61 years, Frodo 17. We have been discussing this assuming that it meant that hobbits were resistant to wraithification. Frodo's danger of becoming a wraith did not come from the Ring, but from the morgul knife.
So the One Ring has never turned anyone into a wraith. We don't know if hobbits are resistant, or if the Ring just doesn't do that.
But the One Ring was made for one being only - Sauron himself, and was suited to his own strength.
It did not make Sauron invisible. It made Isildur, Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo invisible when they wore it. It didn't make Tom Bombadil invisible. So we can probably conclude that it made mortals invisible when they wore it. But none of those mortals became wraiths, even though Gollum had and used the Ring for hundreds of years. Isildur only had it for a short time. Bilbo had it for 61 years, Frodo 17. We have been discussing this assuming that it meant that hobbits were resistant to wraithification. Frodo's danger of becoming a wraith did not come from the Ring, but from the morgul knife.
So the One Ring has never turned anyone into a wraith. We don't know if hobbits are resistant, or if the Ring just doesn't do that.
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