# What power did the One Ring grant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238 "2007-01-09T01:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/21 "2007-01-09T18:13:06Z")
TOTAL HIJACK - **Muad’Dib** , you know something? You’re right - there are no beef, bean and cheese burritos in the supermarket! And it frustrated the hell out of me, too! I almost started a thread on it but I couldn’t find that old thread. 😉 END TOTAL HIJACK **Albert Rose** , 🙂 Legolas is the prettiest, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/22 "2007-01-09T18:27:15Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] The Power of Command, once one learned to the wield the Ring. That is the power to order people. . . well, elves, **dwarves,** Men, hobbits and Ents to do things, just like the Dark Lord could order orcs & the Nine to do his terrible bidding. [/QUOTE] Not the dwarves. They were curiously resistant to his mind-bending powers (resistant to the point of immunity, all things considered), such that he gave them the Seven, they put them on, he put on the One, said “Hah! Submit to my bidding!”, they said “stuff it, old man,” and he said “… aw, dang…” At which point he tried to get them back from the dwarves; he got back a couple, a couple were destroyed when their wearers were eaten by dragons, and a couple were lost. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/23 "2007-01-09T19:35:39Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] Not the dwarves. They were curiously resistant to his mind-bending powers (resistant to the point of immunity, all things considered), such that he gave them the Seven, they put them on, he put on the One, said “Hah! Submit to my bidding!”, they said “stuff it, old man,” and he said “… aw, dang…” At which point he tried to get them back from the dwarves; he got back a couple, a couple were destroyed when their wearers were eaten by dragons, and a couple were lost. [/QUOTE] Nearly right. He got back three, the rest ended up in dragons. The last to be possessed by a dwarf was presumably that taken from Thrain in the dungeons of the Necromancer, between about 150 and 250 years before the War of the Ring. (Thrain disappeared a hundred years before the events in _The Hobbit_ and by the time Gandalf found him in Dol Guldur it was too late to rescue either him or the Ring.) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/24 "2007-01-09T19:49:39Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] I always laugh at blanket statements about the Rings of Power. Not one single such statement appears to be true about all the rings, all the time. Frodo perceives Nenya on Galadriel, but he never perceives that Gandalf is wearing Narya, or that Elrond is wearing Vilya. Etc., etc., etc. [/QUOTE] While I don’t disagree about blanket statements, it should be noted that Frodo’s power/ability grows over time. He first becomes aware of Galadriel’s ring, but after he gains that insight, he doesn’t see either Elrond or Gandalf until after Mount Doom. Thus, it’s not quite a fair comment. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/25 "2007-01-09T20:03:19Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Nearly right. He got back three, the rest ended up in dragons. [/QUOTE] So what happens to a Ring of Power in a dragon’s stomach? I can’t imagine it is destroyed, so it should be excreted in the fullness of time. Why didn’t Sauron get them back? Squeamish about rummaging through dragon shit? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/26 "2007-01-09T20:04:54Z")
I don’t think I would want a Ring of Power after a dragon had passed it. Might still be handy for dealing with those pesky elves, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/27 "2007-01-09T20:21:08Z")
[QUOTE=Albert Rose] Plus, Sam would kill him if he tried anything. [/QUOTE] (Wiping Mountain Dew off of my monitor) Thanks **Albert Rose**. Thanks a lot. I just hope that my keyboard is machine washable. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/28 "2007-01-09T20:28:50Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] So what happens to a Ring of Power in a dragon’s stomach? I can’t imagine it is destroyed, so it should be excreted in the fullness of time. Why didn’t Sauron get them back? Squeamish about rummaging through dragon shit? [/QUOTE] The brief references to this, give the impression that being consumed by a dragon was indeed sufficient to destroy a ring of power. Not the one ring and maybe not the Elven Rings, but the 7 Dwarven and the 9 for mortal men. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/29 "2007-01-09T20:40:56Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] So what happens to a Ring of Power in a dragon’s stomach? I can’t imagine it is destroyed, so it should be excreted in the fullness of time. Why didn’t Sauron get them back? Squeamish about rummaging through dragon shit? [/QUOTE] Actually, it might well have been destroyed. Here’s what Gandalf had to say about dragons and Rings in FotR: > [@Gandalf](#): > > It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself. Of course, it’s possible that one of the Seven could have been swallowed by a dragon without passing through the dragon’s fire, or that it could have been consumed by a dragon without a hot enough flame to destroy it. However, Sauron had plenty of flunkies to dig through dragon dung for him; the fact that he evidently wrote those rings off suggests that they were destroyed. I would guess that the last dragon capable of destroying one of the Seven was Smaug, as he was the second-largest dragon (after Ancalagon) ever to plague Middle Earth. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/30 "2007-01-09T20:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Yes, and in the “Mirror” scene it is established that Frodo, who carries and has worn the One Ring, can see Nenya the Adamant Ring that Galadriel wears, while Sam cannot. [/QUOTE] You can? I just thought Galadriel needed a better manicure. I don’t recall reading that bit in the book(s). I argue that Bilbo really didn’t give up the ring voluntarily or perhaps I should say wholeheartedly. Sam is purer of heart, as is Frodo (who fails to give it up). But then, I liked Bilbo tremendously in The Hobbit, but really didn’t like him much in the trilogy… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/31 "2007-01-09T21:38:42Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] Moderator Comment: **Der Trihs** , you quoted WAY more material than is fair usage. [/QUOTE] Sorry; I didn’t realize that was too much. I was more worried it was too little. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/32 "2007-01-09T21:45:30Z")
Well, according to the opening scene in Fellowship of the Ring the ring doesn’t seem to give you enough power to keep someone from chopping your finger off with the ring on it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/33 "2007-01-09T21:47:02Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] I would guess that the last dragon capable of destroying one of the Seven was Smaug, as he was the second-largest dragon (after Ancalagon) ever to plague Middle Earth. [/QUOTE] Interesting, can you cite that? I was not aware that Smaug was supposed to be the second-largest. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/34 "2007-01-09T22:07:57Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] > [@Malacandra](#): > > Yes, and in the “Mirror” scene it is established that Frodo, who carries and has worn the One Ring, can see Nenya the Adamant Ring that Galadriel wears, while Sam cannot. You can? I just thought Galadriel needed a better manicure. I don’t recall reading that bit in the book(s). [/QUOTE] [Quote=The Fellowship of the Ring, ch. 7, “The Mirror of Galadriel”] She lifted up her white arms, and spread out her hands towards the East in a gesture of rejection and denial. Eärendil, the Evening Star, most beloved of the Elves, shone clear above. So bright was it that the figure of the Elven-lady cast a dim shadow on the ground. Its rays glanced upon a ring about her finger; it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Even-star had come down to rest upon her hand. Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seems to him that he understood. ‘Yes,’ she said, divining his thought, ‘it is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so. But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye. Verily it is in the land of Lórien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remain. This is Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper.’ … ‘Yet even so, as Ring-bearer and as one that has borne it on your finger and seen that which is hidden, your sight is grown keener. You have perceived my thoughts more clearly than many that are accounted wise. You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine. And did you not see and recognize the ring upon my finger? Did you see my ring?’ she asked turning again to Sam. ‘No, Lady,’ he answered. ‘To tell you the truth, I wondered what you were talking about. I saw a star through your finger.’ [/quote] Note as well that this passage responds to **DSYoungEsq** ’s concern: Frodo has just now seen the Eye, in the Mirror of Galadriel, which is one of the things which Galadriel says contributes to his ability to see the Elven Rings. Since that occurs after he had last seen Elrond and Gandalf, it’s consistent that he wouldn’t have perceived the other two rings before hand, as **CK** notes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/35 "2007-01-09T22:09:46Z")
The power to convince movie moguls to finance a fantasy trilogy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/36 "2007-01-09T22:52:50Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] Note as well that this passage responds to **DSYoungEsq** ’s concern: Frodo has just now seen the Eye, in the Mirror of Galadriel, which is one of the things which Galadriel says contributes to his ability to see the Elven Rings. Since that occurs after he had last seen Elrond and Gandalf, it’s consistent that he wouldn’t have perceived the other two rings before hand, as **CK** notes. [/QUOTE] There is NOTHING in that passage to suggest that his having seen the Eye in the mirror had ANYTHING to do with seeing her ring. That is simply wishful reading. :rolleyes: And while one could assert that Nenya was simply his first time he became able to see an elven ring, it’s hard to perceive just why this is so, because _Frodo doesn’t wear the Ring once between Rivendell and Lothlorien_. Mind you, too, he just saw Gandalf last about two weeks prior, in Moria. I’ve always thought that he saw Nenya because Galadriel didn’t mind him seeing that she wore it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/37 "2007-01-09T23:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] I’ve always thought that he saw Nenya because Galadriel didn’t mind him seeing that she wore it. [/QUOTE] Aye, a bit of a morale boost and friendship. I know it’s not entirely supported by the text but I’ve always thought that Galadriel perceived in Frodo a purity (or destiny) that she recognised she was in danger of losing for herself, and made her decision based on that. “Here’s a mere mortal carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders, and I’ve been thinking of my own selfish designs. Now I remember who I am”. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/38 "2007-01-09T23:26:33Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Interesting, can you cite that? I was not aware that Smaug was supposed to be the second-largest. Jim [/QUOTE] I don’t have my references available just now, so it’s probably best to take it with a grain of salt. I don’t remember for certain if it’s explicitly stated somewhere, or if I just inferred it. I’m pretty sure Smaug is mentioned as the greatest of the fire-drakes to survive the War of Wrath, but even if I remember that correctly, it doesn’t necessarily mean there weren’t intermediate dragons between him and Ancalagon at one point. Ancalagon was _much_ bigger than Smaug (his fall destroyed Thangorodrim, after all). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/39 "2007-01-09T23:52:57Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] I’m pretty sure Smaug is mentioned as the greatest of the fire-drakes to survive the War of Wrath, but even if I remember that correctly, it doesn’t necessarily mean there weren’t intermediate dragons between him and Ancalagon at one point. Ancalagon was _much_ bigger than Smaug (his fall destroyed Thangorodrim, after all). [/QUOTE] Ancalagon was the greatest of the dragons. The only other named dragons are Glaurung (father of the kind), Scatha (obscure long worm), and Smaug. The Hobbit refers to Smaug as the last of the great Fire-Drakes, which implies he is of First Age origin, but there is no extant size/power comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238/40 "2007-01-10T01:06:58Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Ancalagon was the greatest of the dragons. The only other named dragons are Glaurung (father of the kind), Scatha (obscure long worm), and Smaug. [/QUOTE] Chrysophylax! (OK, OK, I’m stretching it a bit. but it is a bonafide JRRT dragon! Just from “Farmer Giles of Ham”.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-power-did-the-one-ring-grant/387238.md?page=3)