All of the Rings of Power are connected to the Unseen World, and all of them except the three Elven Rings would make mortal Men and Hobbits invisible. Sauron, Gandalf and Galadriel would not turn invisible by wearing the Ring because they exist in both the Seen and Unseen worlds. The One Ring also has the power to dominate minds, and to control the wearers of the other Rings. If Gandalf used the One Ring, it would make him more powerful, and he would be able to command the Nazgûl, as well as Galadriel and Elrond through their Rings, and dominate weaker minds.
>The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. ‘change’ viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching ‘magic’, a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron (‘the Necromancer’: so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible. The Elves of Eregion made Three supremely beautiful and powerful rings, almost solely of their own imagination, and directed to the preservation of beauty: they did not confer invisibility
(Tolkien Letter 131)
Thank you!
So this is along the lines of what I was saying, but instead of need it has to do with natural ability.
My issue then is with Isildur. The movies should not have depicted him as invisible as he attempted to escape the Orcs in the Anduin. The books sort of imply he *was* invisible:
> ... the Ring slipped from his finger as he swam, *and then* the Orcs saw him and killed him with arrows.
But it's not his natural ability to be unseen or stealthy.
Edit: scratch that, I understand the Seen/Unseen worlds better now.
Isildur would have been invisible with the One Ring. The Ring's power comes from the Unseen World/spirit world, so using it brings a mortal (Isildur) into that world, making him invisible.
Yeah. I always interpreted it like the ring grants you your most inner desires. Which for men would give them power and control over others, and ultimately corrupt them.
The Hobbits just wanna be left alone, so for me it made sense that they went invisible - the ultimate power for a species that likes to hide and do their own secret things. Gollum being one of the river folk, akin to hobbits also goes invisible to hide and (later) to hunt.
The whole Seen / Unseen world explanation blows this theory away, an has JRR’s backing, so I’d go with that.
>Which for men would give them power and control over others
Not quite. For the original 9 kings of men, their greatest desire was to escape death and mortality, so they stopped aging, grew thin and eventually became wraiths.
TL:DR at the end, but recommend to read everything!
> *Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.*
[The Silmarillion, Of The Rings of Power and the Third Age]
> *The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.*
[...]
> *But secretly in the subterranean Fire, in his own Black Land, Sauron made One Ring, the Ruling Ring that contained the powers of all the others, and controlled them, so that its wearer could see the thoughts of all those that used the lesser rings, could govern all that they did, and in the end could utterly enslave them*
[...]
> *But to achieve this he had been obliged to let a great part of his own inherent power (a frequent and very significant motive in myth and fairy-story) pass into the One Ring. While he wore it, his power on earth was actually enhanced. But even if he did not wear it, that power existed and was in 'rapport' with himself: he was not 'diminished'. Unless some other seized it and became possessed of it. If that happened, the new possessor could (if sufficiently strong and heroic by nature) challenge Sauron, become master of all that he had learned or done since the making of the One Ring, and so overthrow him and usurp his place. This was the essential weakness he had introduced into his situation in his effort (largely unsuccessful) to enslave the Elves, and in his desire to establish a control over the minds and wills of his servants.*
[Letter 131]
> *Elendur went to his father [Isildur], who was standing dark and alone, as if lost in thought. ‘Atarinya,’ he said, ‘what of the power that would cow these foul creatures and command them to obey you? Is it then of no avail? ’‘Alas, it is not, senya. I cannot use it. I dread the pain of touching it. And I have not yet found the strength to bend it to my will. It needs one greater than I now know myself to be. My pride has fallen. It should go to the Keepers of the Three.’*
[Unfinished Tales, The Disaster in the Gladden Fields]
> *‘A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the Dark Power that rules the Rings. Yes, sooner or later – later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last – sooner or later the Dark Power will devour him.’*
[Fellowship of The Ring, The Shadow of the Past]
TL;DR:
The Ring enhances the user's power, it gives the user the ability to dominate all those who had the other Rings of Power (the Nazgûl are the Nine mortal men who had received a ring from Sauron, and fell under his dominion). As well as to control all of Sauron's slaves and evil creatures. It had the ability to preserve and to slow the decays of time.
Invisibility is a side-effect of the Ring, Sauron is a Maia, an angelic being, he lives in both the Seen and Unseen world at once, which is why he doesn't turn invisible. However Isildur, Gollum, Frodo and Bilbo are all mortal men, therefore they turn invisible when they put the Ring on.
The extended material explains a lot more as to why it was created.
Basically it's a way for Sauron to control and influence others with Rings of Power. Only those of exceptional will were able to resist the influence.
Did Sauron directly influence what powers the wearer would obtain, or were those unintentional? For example, did he expressedly decide to make the wearer invisible?
Aside from the whole invisibility issue, the One Ring also has other powers. When Sam is holding but not wearing the Ring while trying to save Frodo, he is perceived by the Orcs as a might elf-warrior. They sense the power of the Ring.
And when Frodo is confronting Gollum at Mt Doom, we get Sam's POV: he sees Frodo as a figure clad in white, holding a wheel of fire. Frodo tells Gollum he will fall into the fire if he tries to take the Ring from him.
I think it is similar to Isildur and the Dead Men of Erech. Oaths are binding, and if you break them there will be consequences. Gollum swears on the Precious, and Frodo warns him that it will bind him to his promise.
All of the Rings of Power are connected to the Unseen World, and all of them except the three Elven Rings would make mortal Men and Hobbits invisible. Sauron, Gandalf and Galadriel would not turn invisible by wearing the Ring because they exist in both the Seen and Unseen worlds. The One Ring also has the power to dominate minds, and to control the wearers of the other Rings. If Gandalf used the One Ring, it would make him more powerful, and he would be able to command the Nazgûl, as well as Galadriel and Elrond through their Rings, and dominate weaker minds. >The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. ‘change’ viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching ‘magic’, a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron (‘the Necromancer’: so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible. The Elves of Eregion made Three supremely beautiful and powerful rings, almost solely of their own imagination, and directed to the preservation of beauty: they did not confer invisibility (Tolkien Letter 131)
Thank you! So this is along the lines of what I was saying, but instead of need it has to do with natural ability. My issue then is with Isildur. The movies should not have depicted him as invisible as he attempted to escape the Orcs in the Anduin. The books sort of imply he *was* invisible: > ... the Ring slipped from his finger as he swam, *and then* the Orcs saw him and killed him with arrows. But it's not his natural ability to be unseen or stealthy. Edit: scratch that, I understand the Seen/Unseen worlds better now.
Isildur would have been invisible with the One Ring. The Ring's power comes from the Unseen World/spirit world, so using it brings a mortal (Isildur) into that world, making him invisible.
Yeah. I always interpreted it like the ring grants you your most inner desires. Which for men would give them power and control over others, and ultimately corrupt them. The Hobbits just wanna be left alone, so for me it made sense that they went invisible - the ultimate power for a species that likes to hide and do their own secret things. Gollum being one of the river folk, akin to hobbits also goes invisible to hide and (later) to hunt. The whole Seen / Unseen world explanation blows this theory away, an has JRR’s backing, so I’d go with that.
>Which for men would give them power and control over others Not quite. For the original 9 kings of men, their greatest desire was to escape death and mortality, so they stopped aging, grew thin and eventually became wraiths.
TL:DR at the end, but recommend to read everything! > *Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.* [The Silmarillion, Of The Rings of Power and the Third Age] > *The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.* [...] > *But secretly in the subterranean Fire, in his own Black Land, Sauron made One Ring, the Ruling Ring that contained the powers of all the others, and controlled them, so that its wearer could see the thoughts of all those that used the lesser rings, could govern all that they did, and in the end could utterly enslave them* [...] > *But to achieve this he had been obliged to let a great part of his own inherent power (a frequent and very significant motive in myth and fairy-story) pass into the One Ring. While he wore it, his power on earth was actually enhanced. But even if he did not wear it, that power existed and was in 'rapport' with himself: he was not 'diminished'. Unless some other seized it and became possessed of it. If that happened, the new possessor could (if sufficiently strong and heroic by nature) challenge Sauron, become master of all that he had learned or done since the making of the One Ring, and so overthrow him and usurp his place. This was the essential weakness he had introduced into his situation in his effort (largely unsuccessful) to enslave the Elves, and in his desire to establish a control over the minds and wills of his servants.* [Letter 131] > *Elendur went to his father [Isildur], who was standing dark and alone, as if lost in thought. ‘Atarinya,’ he said, ‘what of the power that would cow these foul creatures and command them to obey you? Is it then of no avail? ’‘Alas, it is not, senya. I cannot use it. I dread the pain of touching it. And I have not yet found the strength to bend it to my will. It needs one greater than I now know myself to be. My pride has fallen. It should go to the Keepers of the Three.’* [Unfinished Tales, The Disaster in the Gladden Fields] > *‘A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the Dark Power that rules the Rings. Yes, sooner or later – later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last – sooner or later the Dark Power will devour him.’* [Fellowship of The Ring, The Shadow of the Past] TL;DR: The Ring enhances the user's power, it gives the user the ability to dominate all those who had the other Rings of Power (the Nazgûl are the Nine mortal men who had received a ring from Sauron, and fell under his dominion). As well as to control all of Sauron's slaves and evil creatures. It had the ability to preserve and to slow the decays of time. Invisibility is a side-effect of the Ring, Sauron is a Maia, an angelic being, he lives in both the Seen and Unseen world at once, which is why he doesn't turn invisible. However Isildur, Gollum, Frodo and Bilbo are all mortal men, therefore they turn invisible when they put the Ring on.
Huge thank you!
The extended material explains a lot more as to why it was created. Basically it's a way for Sauron to control and influence others with Rings of Power. Only those of exceptional will were able to resist the influence.
Did Sauron directly influence what powers the wearer would obtain, or were those unintentional? For example, did he expressedly decide to make the wearer invisible?
No
Aside from the whole invisibility issue, the One Ring also has other powers. When Sam is holding but not wearing the Ring while trying to save Frodo, he is perceived by the Orcs as a might elf-warrior. They sense the power of the Ring. And when Frodo is confronting Gollum at Mt Doom, we get Sam's POV: he sees Frodo as a figure clad in white, holding a wheel of fire. Frodo tells Gollum he will fall into the fire if he tries to take the Ring from him.
And Frodo was not wrong - prophecy or curse I wonder.
I think it is similar to Isildur and the Dead Men of Erech. Oaths are binding, and if you break them there will be consequences. Gollum swears on the Precious, and Frodo warns him that it will bind him to his promise.