Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings prequel series Rings of Power is going to be all about… well, the Rings of Power. So here’s what we know.
After what’s felt like ages of waiting, Amazon revealed a little more about its plans for its Lord of the Rings prequel streaming series today, namely, its name: The Rings of Power. Sauron’s plans to ensorcell the Elves, Dwarves, and realms of Men with his magical trinkets has been at the heart of Tolkien’s universe forever, but before we get to what the new show will tell us… what do we know about the rings already? As echoed in the voiceover for the title reveal today, based off Tolkien’s own verse, there were 19 rings that Sauron, under the guise of the benevolent entity Annatar, convinced Celebrimbor and the smiths of Eregion to forge for him. Three were given to the leaders of the Elves, seven to the Dwarf-lords, and nine to the rulers of Men. The 20th ring of power, the One Ring, was forged by Sauron himself, a greater ring of power to dominate the other 19 —but you kne w that, of course. So what could these magical rings actually do? Read on! The three rings gifted to the Elves are the only rings we actually know of by specific names: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya. Narya, the ring of fire, was gifted to Círdan, the lord of the Grey Havens, the port city that many Elves departed from Middle-e arth to the Undying Lands. It’s f itting, then, that among its magical abilities were its powers to stave off the weariness of age, as well as inspire hope in people around the ringbearer—and perhaps even more fitting then that Círdan eventually gifted the ring to Gandalf, recognizing that the w izard was actually one of the angelic Maiar, believing it better in his hands for the trials the world was about to face. Nenya, the ring of water, was gifted to Lady Galadriel, who bore it to safeguard the forests of Lórien from incursion. While never explicitly specified, the ring—described as gleaming like a star so bright that only other ringbearers could see its true nature—was said to have powers of protection that sustained the forests around Lothlórien, keeping as much of the forces of darkness out as possible. Lastly, Vilya, the ring of air, was gifted to Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor Elves.
