Lad, I've been having trouble sleeping after the sudden death of my best friend, but your videos are so nice and relaxing that after watching an hour of them, i can fall right asleep. Thanks for the amazing, in depth, and calming videos ❤
My sympathies, for your loss. I know how it feels. As a wise space wizard once said however, "No one's ever _really_ gone." You'll meet again some day - until then, honour them by keeping them in your heart and living the best life you can. Hang in there. You aren't alone.
I like the theory that when Aule originally made the dwarves, he did not know how Middle Earth would turn out. So, just to be sure, he made them as sturdy as possible. He made them so sturdy in fact that even the rings were not powerful enough to seriously alter them.
The whole Nauglamir affair shows that no, Dwarfs can actually be easily corrupted. I mean Morgoth didn't even do anything here and yet the Dwarfs saw fit to bring ruin over Doriath just because of a quarrel over a trinket.
Aulë was able to hide what he'd created from Eru himself, so Thrain's ability to conceal the map and key from Sauron (long after forgetting his own name) suggests he was made in Aulë's image.
In the Council of Elrond in the books, Dragonfire is even discussed as a potential way to destroy the one ring - but Gandalf doubts that even the fire of the most powerful dragon ever - who was already dead - would be sufficient for this one.
Love that whole "least of rings, but a trifle Sauron fancies." Such underselling of what you're after, along with such a high reward for it would make me instantly extremely suspicious. If a deal is too good to be true...well. It usually is. Glad to see the Dwarves didn't fall for that (honestly ham-handed) play.
It's like the original Aladdin tale, when the Vizier tricks Aladdin's wife out of the Magic Lamp by pretending to be an old lamp seller offering to swap 'old lamps for new'. She hands over the old magic lamp and is given a shiny new none-magical one in return.
Yeah, it definitely seems more desperate than cunning to downplay it that much. Also, expecting the dwarves not to realize enough about the history of the last alliance to put two and two together is almost funny
I think a serious consideration has to be made that the dwarves were not part of the original songs. Morgoth did not have any hand in creating them, but their body was still crafted from Arda Marred. Their spirit however was developed outside of the song, so that part of them was not able to be swayed by the rings as they relied on Morgoth's Ring and his influence. The rings affected their base desires of worldly things, but it could not dominate their spirit like humans or potentially elves.
Undoutably, also its important to note that while they didnt end up his slaves, they did end up attracting dragons that brought about death and destruction and made it exponentially easier to conquer them. Had not the ring been destroyed the siege of The Lonely mountain would have succeded, and that was the biggest and strongest realm of dwarves in the West. Enslaving them the old fashioned way from that point would have been simple enough
True enough, but probably not to Sauron's mind. The idea that his unending need for control being manifested in a product of his most devoted craft just not working on these fools would be maddening. At least, that's what I think. Let me know what you think down in the comments.
@@karlsweeney2328 You make a good point. At one stage it's asked 'why would Sauron even bother about the Shire, it's got no value to him wouldn't he just leave it alone?' The reply, from Gandalf is that 'Hobbits enslaved and miserable would please him far more than Hobbits free and happy'. Just as likely Sauron would have been incensed by the stubborn refusal of the dwarves to submit to his will, and the though of them peacefully mining, crafting and singing in their halls would have been more than he could take. By magic ring, dragon fire, Balrog or orc whips he would be determined to either break or wipe-out the dwarves. For Sauron will have Dominion over all life, until the Ending of the World.
@6:40 In the Council of Elrond, it is noted that dragonfire could potentially destroy the One Ring but they could not try, since with Smaug dead, no dragons of sufficient power were around.
Smaug was too weak among Dragonkind. Gandalf believed even Ancalagon, the strongest of dragons, to have not been strong enough to harm the ring, much less outright destroy it. Smaug wouldn't even have been able to dent it.
The whole ring gambit was a disaster for Sauron. He gained 9 powerful servants but the Ring failed to control the elves, dwarves, or the most powerful human kingdom. The Ring increased his own powers but still not enough to crush the elves or put up a decent fight against the Númenóreans. I don't think it was even necessary to corrupt Ar-Pharazôn since the king was already set to head down that path. And finally after being out of his possession far far longer than it had been in it, the Ring was destroyed and he with it.
It's so funny to think of the dwarves from sauron's point of view. You have these insane rings that terrify the elves and correupt mortal men. You try to use them to corrupt the dwarves, but the dwarves ignore you. You get the rings back, tune them up, but the dwarves ignore you again. You try tempt them with power wealth, since that's what they seem to want, but they ignore you AGAIN because they'd rather do it themselves. I'd be so offended 😂
One interesting thing is that the Dwarven houses from the Ered Luin, the Firebeards and the Broadbeams, mostly relocated to Khazad-dûm after the War of Wrath. As far as I know, Tolkien never specified if they later moved elsewhere to re-establish independent homelands. I suspect they did, because otherwise there would have been 3 Rings of Power in Khazad-dûm. There's certainly room for them to have done so in the area around the northern Misty Mountains.
Some did go to Khazad-dûm but there are indications that those dwarves never completely gave up their presence in the Ered Luin. After all that's where Thráin led the survivors of Durin's Folk after Khazad-dûm, Ered Mithrin, and Erebor were lost to them. Perhaps the dwarven community was better established there than in the Iron HIlls.
Well I heard that they mostly integrated into Khazad-dûm and followed the rule of the Longbeards. It is possible that there were indeed three dwarven rings in Khazad-dûm at one time. Khazad-dûm was the wealthiest, largest, and most powerful dwarven realm in the second age. This very well could have been due to Firebeards and Broadbeams diaspora that had come to live in Khazad-dûm in edition to their Lords having rings of their own. However this is also where the Balrog incident happened which could been directly tied to three rings being present in one location.
Here's an odd thing about the Seven - their power did not allow Sauron to control them as he hoped. But, before Sauron served Melkor, he was a maia of Aulë. (This is how Sauron is such a master craftsman.) I find it surprising that he did not learn from Aulë that the dwarves were made to be resistant to outside influences.
The dwarves were a great secret, kept from everyone, including Yavanna, Aule's wife...and he told no one, except for her, after he got busted by Eru. The dwarves were a shock to everyone.
WOW! I posted this comment a few weeks ago and you literally made a video on it! Thank you!!! I always wondered why he wanted the rings back and now we know. Thank you
We're told that Sauron coveted mithril, so maybe he wanted the Dwarves to have the rings so that they would find and mine any that existed, which he could take from them at leisure.
I suspect that the elves only noticed when Sauron put the one ring on, because they were wearing rings that Sauron hadn't touched. The rings that Sauron had a hand in building it is quite reasonable that Sauron influenced their function so that they would not warn the wearer, since his whole plan really depended on this.
I like to imagine they all had a unique but, less impressive power than The One. Like you can turn any sandwich into tuna salad on white bread, you can turn water into kool aid made with Splenda, you can decode a cereal box. One is just a mood ring.
Have you ever done a video on the history of the dragons in Middle Earth? My partner and I were watching this and she asked me why there were no dragons in LoTR. My assumption is that Smaug was the last of the dragons, which I believe you've touched on in past videos. But when I went to search through your catalog, I didn't see anything specifically focusing on dragons within Tolkein's works. If I missed it, then I'd love to know. If you've not done one, maybe a worthwhile idea? Either way, thanks for making all these. Yours is among my favorite channels on UA-cam. I appreciate the work you put in to making these videos very much.
…. “Of the ten companions who had survived the Battle of Five Armies seven were still [in Erebor with Dáin, King under the Mountain]: Dwalin, Glóin, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. Bombur was now so fat that he could not move himself from his couch to his chair at table, and it took six young dwarves to lift him. ‘And what has become of Balin and Ori and Óin?’ asked Frodo. A shadow passed over Glóin’s face. ‘We do not know,’ he answered” (BOOK TWO, Chapter 1: MANY MEETINGS) Balin and Óin and Ori went to Moria, to try and reclaim it (Balin was killed by an archer by the Mirrowmere, Óin was killed by the Watcher in the Water, and Ori was killed on their last stand by the Chamber of Mazarbul, he was the one who wrote the last words of the book Gandalf reads). Thórin, Fíli and Kíli were killed in the Battle of Five Armies.
I am sad that he deleted all of his older videos just to redo them. I'd like if he left them up UNTIL he re-did them, but... I'm excited for ungoliant, and shelob again.
Agreed. I am of course happy he is improving upon them, but i do miss them. I am really glad i downloaded the 3 videos covering the whole war of the ring
@@Grancigul ...if indeed they are being improved. It has been disturbing to see images from _Rings of Power_ intruding into recent videos. Those characters are in no way representative of their genuine Tolkien legendarium counterparts. I used to look forward to these videos; however, the inclusion of images from a production that has done such violence to the Tolkien legacy is...well, disappointing at best. It doesn't feel right.
I love the thought and reasoning you apply to these topics. I've been a devotee ("fan" is too weak a word) of the Professor for 45 years, yet you ask (and answer) the questions I never thought to ask.
Here's what I need to know. Were the rings for the dwarves and men able to fit magically? Also, if they didn't fit, do you think after they were gifted, the recipients were just awkwardly trying to fit the rings to one of their fingers?
Especially if they were once intended for elves and not resized before instead being shared with the much stouter dwarven fingers, that seems like a reasonable power for them to have. Not to mention, the One Ring absolutely had the ability to change its size to accomplish its needs.
Yes, Sauron undoubtedly gave them all that power. Imagine the diplomatic shitstorm that would ensue if he tried to give every dwarf lord a ring, and then had to tell some that they could not wear their because they had too big hands. The other dwarfs would feel insulted for having smol hands, and take their rings off - merely to claim that, no, they had big fingers too! Quite a bad domination tool, if the whole plan could be thwarted by finger measuring contests.....
Yes, the One ring shifted sizes to fall off finger when it willed, for instance. Bilbo (or was it Frodo?) put it on a necklace to keep it reliably on himself. It is quite reasonable the other rings did the same.
Hi thanks for another really amazing video!!! Apart from the fact that your videos are wonderfully detailed and in depth I have to say I really like your voice!!! It's soothing!!! And when it comes to the question of the dwarfs not turning into wraiths I think it has to do with the intend of Aule when he created them. I'm not 100% sure (and please correct me if I''m wrong (and I lend my copy of the Silmarilion to a friend)) but I think he created them in a way so they'd be able to resist the corruption of melkor which I think is the reason why the rings did not corrupt them like they did the nine... Thanks again for your video greatings Mo
I believe the attraction of dragons is the key. If the dragon eats the dwarf ring then Sauron might control the dragon. Typically a dragon might only add a ring to its hoard, but a dwarf wearing a ring is like bait and a hook.
I’ve often wondered about Sauron offering the dwarves rings in the Third Age. Sauron: So I want to offer you these 3 remaining rings, they will make you powerful! Dwarves: Can it help us dig for gold? Dwarves: Or find precious gems? Sauron: Well, not help you exactly… Dwarves: Ask him about Mithril. Dwarves: Yes! Will it help us in mining Mithril? Sauron: They don’t really work like that… Dwarves: Are they at least made of Mithril? Sauron: You know what, just never mind.
Sauron's ringcraft has some notable similarities to the magic Aule used to create the original dwarves. The original dwarves were basically robots mindcontrolled by Aule (somewhat similar to nazgul), before Eru imbued them with real souls. The "dwarven soul" was literally created to counteract the kind of mind-control effect that was build into the rings of power by Sauron.
just a quick question that I'm unsure if you've answered, why did the three elven rings made before the others and without Sauron's aid lose power when The One was destroyed? Wouldn't they have remained the same?
What I don't get: If the three Elven Rings were not made by Sauron: #1 How did he even know they existed? #2 How could the One Ring affect them? Does it bind all rings in existence to his will? (Then why only these 19?) #3 If these three Elven Rings were made without Saurons participation, why is the destruction of the One Ring their undoing? - Thanks for any explanation!
They were made by Celibrimbor using the technique he learned from Sauron, so he still had part in their creation in that way.. Sauron had power over all of the Rings of Power, not just any ring anywhere. Even being made separately, it was with knowledge learned from Sauron.
So, the illustrations of these rings used throughout the video, are they based on any Tolkien-sourced illustrations or descriptions or are they complete fan works? Ever since learning that not all the rings of power looked like the one ring we've been really interested in seeing what they all look like
I think it's unfair to say we know dragonfire wouldn't be able to destroy the one ring per se, but its likely the ring could control any dragon your brought it near and seems riskier even than mordor. And after that to find out it wasn't enough- It was proof against anything available, and the fires that forged it is a near certainty- and even if it didn't work, it's beyond mortal, even mayar reach.
Darn. Gandalf tells Frodo, that 'Not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the one ring, the ruling ring, for that was made by Sauron himself .'. I thought that there just weren't any dragons left w/hot enough flame.(& There wasn't),. But I went and read it verbatim........ Darn.🫤
@@knines4280 Gandalf says " ... nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring..." FOTR: The Shadow Of The Past
The effect or non-effects of the Rings on various species or characters is fascinating. One wonders what effect a ring might have had on an Ent? We see the One Ring could ensnare even Maia, and Gandalf shows the 3 were at least usable by them. But Bombadil, who predates the Maiar is not affected. The Barrow-wight, a servant of Morgoth does not even bother to take the One Ring from Frodo. Gollum believes the One Ring won't interest Shelob and she'll leave it after consuming Frodo (or would she have consumed it like her Mother did with all Feanor's gems?). Dragons consumed the Rings when they got ahold of them, which is unusual since they mostly like to sit and look at their treasures, so it had some pull on them. I think it comes back to the idea that the Rings were designed/made by a Maiar targeting Elves. Humans are the Arda weaker siblings of Elves so are even more prone, but other creatures and species are less so or not so.
Saurons big failure with giving the Dwarf lords rings is he facilitated the greed of dwarfs that were already mining their lands. He basically gave people who were already digging a reason to ignore the outside world and a lust to continue digging. But We know that Dwarfs can fight and can be great warriors if they end up in that role, so Saurons plan wasn’t misguided, he just made 1 fatal flaw with the Rings recipients. If he had given his rings to weaker Dwarfs: lesser members of houses or heirs to thrones who might be tempted by the ring into claiming the riches of a Dwarf lord, I think he would’ve had better results more comparable to the mortal men and created some actual Dwarf servants. In fact his attempt to give all 3 surviving rings to the Dwarfs of the Lonely mountain might’ve been him realising his second age oversight and correcting it. Instead of giving 3 rings to 3 different houses he offers 3 rings to 1 relatively weak faction, possibly hoping that they would fight in a civil war to claim those rings, allowing Sauron to enslave the victor who won the rings.
Well done! What always puzzled me though, was how the ring was taken from Thrain, but he managed to hold onto the map and key. Seems odd his tormenters would allow him to keep such things. And if not, how was Thrain able to hide them and not the ring?
I thought that at the time, Thráin looked like a vagabond with ragged possessions not worth stealing. Even Gandalf thought "he might have been a messenger caught as he fled, or even a thief trapped by a greater thief." Sauron detected the ring and after he seized it, didn't care who the dwarf was or what random odds and ends he had.
The 7 rings just made dwarves greedier. Since, dwarves are naturally resilient to powers. There are theories that Thorins father and grandfather were influenced by one of the 7 rings. His grandfather was notoriously greedy and, when Gandalf found him, his father's mind was shattered. It's plausible that a dwarven ring could have caused this.
So I have a couple questions that may seem kind of niche about two things that may or may not get much attention from the fans, or even Tolkien. Was that Thrush on the Misty Mountain unique? Making it extremely old and familiar with the late Dwarven King? Or was it like the Great Eagles, and part of a Dynasty that served the Dwarves for some reason? Why were the trolls so close to the Shire? Where did they come from? How did they go unnoticed by Rangers?
I wonder if Sauron's late bargain with the recovered rings was inspired by the folly of Thorin, craving the Arkenstone and their attachment to historic artefacts of significance. Knowing their resilience to dark rings, they wouldn't fall under the temptation of the One, should they recover it... Besides, they might be lesser now...
I'm going to speculate, and I have not gone through the other comments (so if someone else thought this, I'm not cribbin' your work). But maybe the reason the rings didn't work on the Dwarves as Sauron intended, was because they were not created by Eru. They were not Elves or Men. They were created by a Valar. Maybe Sauron created something that was only really effective on Eru's creations? But, being a Maiar (like Gandalf), he didn't have the creative power of something higher in the chain of command? But then why would it work on Eru's creations? Unless there was something else going on? I'm sure this doesn't work.
@@_whatsername1911 Thinking further...Sauron knows his creator. He has His essence. But he doesn't understand the creation of Aule? That creator's mind is foreign to him?
@@davefarris2014 or, the rings did exactly what he wanted them to. Basically putting the dwarves in self isolation, digging their way to their own doom? Or just keeping them out of the way? Or, Sauron f'd up. lol So many possibilities..
I'd hypothesize that Eru made creatures that were fine and artsy cerebral nature lovers, and creative destiny-expanding but mortally-insecure ones. Meanwhile, Aule made creatures designed to almost _literally_ be tougher than mountains. It's just a completely different division of skill points, basically. And Sauron designed the Rings to work for the Elves. Presumably, because humans were made by the creator of Elves, the Rings also had effects on humans. But the dwarves are too different, and using a hammer to make firewood, that just isn't very effective....
Can I ask a question? Were the Nazgûl in possession of their rings during the main events? If not when did Sauron take them and what did he do with the rings he recaptured? Thanks
Well apparently they needed the rings because they had a bit of a cave in that stopped them growing their food, so they needed the rings to fix it instead of just buying food from others lol
The cave-in was just a symptom. They lost their connection to the spirit of the mountain that housed Khazad-Dûm, which made all manner of normal tasks (like mining) uncertain. When the sunshafts collapsed, a ton of rubble also fell on the city, so it's an existential problem that needs to be stopped immediately.
What about Mim, the petty dwarf? I would very much like to hear (and see) your take on this one individual (and his sons). Mim is in the Silmarillion, a "friend" of Turin.
I remember the first time I read the LOTR nearly 50 years ago. I was surprised then that the Messenger would tell the dwarves to find the ring. The dark lord could have no idea how the one ring would effect a dwarf who chose to put it on. Even though the 7 were less effective than expected, the one ring was a different kettle of fish. I still find it an odd thing for him to have done.
Celebrimbor and his fellow Elven smiths didn't just make those 16 Rings of power, @InDeepGeek , they made literally dozens of lesser rings before hand as they learned and mastered the craft of making magic rings, these lesser rings were test-articles/proof of principle projects.
So, if Thrain was in Sauron's dungeon for five years, Sauron had to know about the map and key and allowed Thrain to keep them. I speculate that maybe the map and key were a trap, to get Thorin killed in the quest for Erebor.
“Seven rings in hand speed through nights with feet in sand Seven rings in hand wonders all under command (c'mon!) Seven rings in hand wild with just one single hand Seven rings in hand arrowed hearts catch fire now” Holy crap… It all makes sense…
So, I tend to not want to believe that Sauron is dumb; I can believe that he requested others find this ring, and then give it to him, though it was barely anything, despite Bilbo almost being revered, and Sauron reviled, and then offer a princely reward for that, just to increase the chances that they'd look, but I'd like to think that Sauron would know the mechanics of his Ring better than most, and one of those was that people could basically NOT give it up. They might've scoured for it, and even siezed it from Bilbo, by force, but could any of them have actually given it over? Was he just hoping to eventually hear something, and then send enough Orcs to siege Erebor? If the secretive Dwarves had found it, they weren't going to tell him, so how would he plan to actually reclaim the Ring from them, if they had gotten it?
I always assumed that the domination that the one ring held over its holder was stronger than the other rings, and the one ring wanted to get back to Mordor. A dwarf holding it may not be able to give it up, but the one ring might control their minds enough, kindling greed, that they felt like they could get Sauron to bring the remaining three rings to them and just take it away from him (when in fact it would just lead Sauron to come and take the one ring from the dwarf). I doubt the one ring itself would just let its holder do _nothing_ though.
It could be that Sauron understood Dwarven nature quite well, and realized that those three rings, which the Dwarves undoubtedly saw as rightfully theirs by virtue of having been owned by their ancestors, could tempt them into, if not obedience, at least some sort of uneasy alliance, however temporary it might have ended up being.
I knew that the rings made them greedy for gold. But I often wondered in how far they were before the rings really avaricious in nature or just appreciated gold like elves appreciated nature. That always felt to me like the chicken and the egg question. I just never liked the idea how the Dwarves are often framed as scapegoats or as comic reliefs like Jackson did with Gimli in his movies. I guess Dwarves were and will always be target of hubris and ridiculing in Middle-Earth as well as in our world.
I'm reading the hobbit for the first time currently, and there's a question that came to me: how come bilbo can wear the ring for so long wiithout problem (he wears it for litteral days at end during the chapter where he sneaks around in the eleven place) while frodo gets super worn out and get visions while wearing it for a few minutes?
When Bilbo obtained the Ring, he found it by accident, and refused to kill or wound Gollum as he escaped the goblin tunnels. He had pity for the gangrel creature and refused to strike at a heavy advantage, without need. The Ring could not corrupt Bilbo the way it did Gollum. In addition, Sauron was far far away, having plans to lull the White Council into thinking they had rousted him out of Dol Guldor. He was not yet at full strength, but getting there, so he needed to fall back on Mordor, which was much more secure. And Bilbo was not using the Ring for its intended purpose...to dominate the wills of all others. He puts the Ring on, and hey, presto! He's invisible! He is not using any real power from the Ring, he's not using arcane knowledge and most of all, he's not doing anything that the Ring objects to... he's carrying the Ring away from Gollum and to places where it will be more likely to be returned to its Master. Frodo also doesn't start seeing or hearing bad stuff until he's been wounded. Also, the minute he leaves Bag End, the Nazgul are in hot pursuit, and their powers come into play. Lucky Bilbo never met a Nazgul in his life! That's why Bilbo could possess the Ring for sixty years before it started to affect him.
I feel a point that doesn't get made explicitly enough is that, so far as we know or have reason to believe, the Seven weren't fundamentally different from the Nine, not like how the Three were fundamentally different from the others & the One different from all. If a human had been given one of the Seven, presumably the same would happen to them as happened to the Nazgul.
![The Dragons of Middle-earth [COMPILATION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YSUlfiQVuDg/mqdefault.jpg)
Lad, I've been having trouble sleeping after the sudden death of my best friend, but your videos are so nice and relaxing that after watching an hour of them, i can fall right asleep. Thanks for the amazing, in depth, and calming videos ❤
Thank you. That means a lot. And every blessing to you.
@@varjagen4160 Sorry for your loss. 💘
My sympathies, for your loss. I know how it feels.
As a wise space wizard once said however, "No one's ever _really_ gone."
You'll meet again some day - until then, honour them by keeping them in your heart and living the best life you can.
Hang in there. You aren't alone.
Thats the worst 😢 so sorry to hear that. ❤
Sorry for your loss.
Hello, Robert. This is everyone.
Not me, I'm chaotic neutral
@@archmage_of_the_aetherMe neither, cause I'm lawful chaotic. 🙃
As opposed to the two comments about, playerofrock04 is representing me in this comment.
Welcome to Too Nerdy to Turn Back
@@darkshibe2267 *above
Every video is a 10+ minute escape into some of my favourite fantasy with a majestic narrator 👌🏻
The epitome of quality content, and nerdy delight.
@@jovetj couldn’t of said it better myself
I like the theory that when Aule originally made the dwarves, he did not know how Middle Earth would turn out. So, just to be sure, he made them as sturdy as possible. He made them so sturdy in fact that even the rings were not powerful enough to seriously alter them.
He made them that way because he knew the Dwarves would awaken in a world where Melkor lived so they needed to be resistant to domination.
It's not a theory. Aule created them after Melkor had taken over Middle Earth, so he made them hard to corrupt.
The whole Nauglamir affair shows that no, Dwarfs can actually be easily corrupted. I mean Morgoth didn't even do anything here and yet the Dwarfs saw fit to bring ruin over Doriath just because of a quarrel over a trinket.
Aulë was able to hide what he'd created from Eru himself, so Thrain's ability to conceal the map and key from Sauron (long after forgetting his own name) suggests he was made in Aulë's image.
I like your idea. It's enjoyable
In the Council of Elrond in the books, Dragonfire is even discussed as a potential way to destroy the one ring - but Gandalf doubts that even the fire of the most powerful dragon ever - who was already dead - would be sufficient for this one.
Love that whole "least of rings, but a trifle Sauron fancies." Such underselling of what you're after, along with such a high reward for it would make me instantly extremely suspicious. If a deal is too good to be true...well. It usually is. Glad to see the Dwarves didn't fall for that (honestly ham-handed) play.
It's like the original Aladdin tale, when the Vizier tricks Aladdin's wife out of the Magic Lamp by pretending to be an old lamp seller offering to swap 'old lamps for new'. She hands over the old magic lamp and is given a shiny new none-magical one in return.
Yeah, it definitely seems more desperate than cunning to downplay it that much.
Also, expecting the dwarves not to realize enough about the history of the last alliance to put two and two together is almost funny
I think a serious consideration has to be made that the dwarves were not part of the original songs. Morgoth did not have any hand in creating them, but their body was still crafted from Arda Marred. Their spirit however was developed outside of the song, so that part of them was not able to be swayed by the rings as they relied on Morgoth's Ring and his influence. The rings affected their base desires of worldly things, but it could not dominate their spirit like humans or potentially elves.
StoneFEET!
I thought the exact same thing 😂
The seven rings ended up with Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Bashful, Grumpy, Dopey and Doc.
I laughed way too hard at that being out in public
Headcanon accepted
Is snow white an elf than?
@@rileydavidson207
Snow White (Los Nim in Sindarin) is Sauron in disguise.
Heigh ho, heigh ho, to the Lonely Mountain we go
Possibly just making the dwarves look inwards and into their mountains is a win in itself rather than helping men and elves fight
huge suppliers of mithril too
Undoutably, also its important to note that while they didnt end up his slaves, they did end up attracting dragons that brought about death and destruction and made it exponentially easier to conquer them. Had not the ring been destroyed the siege of The Lonely mountain would have succeded, and that was the biggest and strongest realm of dwarves in the West. Enslaving them the old fashioned way from that point would have been simple enough
@@Grancigul I don't see the dwarves surrendering under any circumstances.
True enough, but probably not to Sauron's mind. The idea that his unending need for control being manifested in a product of his most devoted craft just not working on these fools would be maddening. At least, that's what I think. Let me know what you think down in the comments.
@@karlsweeney2328 You make a good point. At one stage it's asked 'why would Sauron even bother about the Shire, it's got no value to him wouldn't he just leave it alone?' The reply, from Gandalf is that 'Hobbits enslaved and miserable would please him far more than Hobbits free and happy'.
Just as likely Sauron would have been incensed by the stubborn refusal of the dwarves to submit to his will, and the though of them peacefully mining, crafting and singing in their halls would have been more than he could take. By magic ring, dragon fire, Balrog or orc whips he would be determined to either break or wipe-out the dwarves.
For Sauron will have Dominion over all life, until the Ending of the World.
@6:40 In the Council of Elrond, it is noted that dragonfire could potentially destroy the One Ring but they could not try, since with Smaug dead, no dragons of sufficient power were around.
A dragon would just keep the ring though.
That was the other concern that was expressed @@thelandlord111
Smaug was too weak among Dragonkind. Gandalf believed even Ancalagon, the strongest of dragons, to have not been strong enough to harm the ring, much less outright destroy it. Smaug wouldn't even have been able to dent it.
I do like the dwarves.
Hardy, strongwilled, great craftsmen and their friendship never wears out.
My favorite fantasy race. Lali-ho!
It’s interesting that rings that were likely originally meant for elves are always depicted with dwarvish designs.
Celebrimbor was going through a phase
@@singlikeyoumeanit3261when the inspiration strikes you gotta use it
8:55 One of my favorite part in the Lord Of The Rings. When the story of the Messenger is told. Shivering!
The Mouth of Sauron
The calmest voice on YT
Pure velvet……….
Moth Light Media is amazing too. Like butter. He explores the lore of Earth and it's creatures, kind alike this channel, but for real life.
Sometimes, when my brother and I do an impression of this dude, a little Winnie the Pooh seems to creep in, which I think speaks to your point.
When I first heard Robert, I thought it was Rory McGrath. An English tv personality.
Literally sounds like AI
3:26 “Careful out there buddy, I hear there’s some potentially dangerous rings going about.”
The whole ring gambit was a disaster for Sauron. He gained 9 powerful servants but the Ring failed to control the elves, dwarves, or the most powerful human kingdom. The Ring increased his own powers but still not enough to crush the elves or put up a decent fight against the Númenóreans. I don't think it was even necessary to corrupt Ar-Pharazôn since the king was already set to head down that path. And finally after being out of his possession far far longer than it had been in it, the Ring was destroyed and he with it.
12:04 Pretty poor plan on Sauron's part. Less than 50% success rate. Half baked.
5:41
Hi Robert, this is everyone.
Thank you for the amazing content! Love your vids!
It's so funny to think of the dwarves from sauron's point of view. You have these insane rings that terrify the elves and correupt mortal men. You try to use them to corrupt the dwarves, but the dwarves ignore you. You get the rings back, tune them up, but the dwarves ignore you again. You try tempt them with power wealth, since that's what they seem to want, but they ignore you AGAIN because they'd rather do it themselves. I'd be so offended 😂
One interesting thing is that the Dwarven houses from the Ered Luin, the Firebeards and the Broadbeams, mostly relocated to Khazad-dûm after the War of Wrath. As far as I know, Tolkien never specified if they later moved elsewhere to re-establish independent homelands. I suspect they did, because otherwise there would have been 3 Rings of Power in Khazad-dûm. There's certainly room for them to have done so in the area around the northern Misty Mountains.
Some did go to Khazad-dûm but there are indications that those dwarves never completely gave up their presence in the Ered Luin. After all that's where Thráin led the survivors of Durin's Folk after Khazad-dûm, Ered Mithrin, and Erebor were lost to them. Perhaps the dwarven community was better established there than in the Iron HIlls.
Well I heard that they mostly integrated into Khazad-dûm and followed the rule of the Longbeards. It is possible that there were indeed three dwarven rings in Khazad-dûm at one time. Khazad-dûm was the wealthiest, largest, and most powerful dwarven realm in the second age. This very well could have been due to Firebeards and Broadbeams diaspora that had come to live in Khazad-dûm in edition to their Lords having rings of their own. However this is also where the Balrog incident happened which could been directly tied to three rings being present in one location.
Here's an odd thing about the Seven - their power did not allow Sauron to control them as he hoped.
But, before Sauron served Melkor, he was a maia of Aulë. (This is how Sauron is such a master craftsman.) I find it surprising that he did not learn from Aulë that the dwarves were made to be resistant to outside influences.
The dwarves were a great secret, kept from everyone, including Yavanna, Aule's wife...and he told no one, except for her, after he got busted by Eru.
The dwarves were a shock to everyone.
Sauron to Melkor: "I have a cunning plan, my lord. So cunning as a fox who's just been appointed professor of cunning at Oxford University."
@@ChinceMcMahon316
"Sauron, what begins with 'come here' and ends in _skai_ ?"
"I don't know my lord."
"Sauron, come here."
🔥💥🔥
" *_Skai!_* "
@@jorgeborbinha3207 you mean a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel
I smiled the moment I heard him say that. I wondered if he was a fan of Blackadder.
@@Widdershins. Me too! I chuckled 😁
Well, that was just over the top.
Hello Robert. At 11:08 - There is no reason why the Dwarf Rings would be at Mount Doom. They were probably at the Barad Dur.
WOW! I posted this comment a few weeks ago and you literally made a video on it! Thank you!!!
I always wondered why he wanted the rings back and now we know. Thank you
We're told that Sauron coveted mithril, so maybe he wanted the Dwarves to have the rings so that they would find and mine any that existed, which he could take from them at leisure.
I suspect that the elves only noticed when Sauron put the one ring on, because they were wearing rings that Sauron hadn't touched. The rings that Sauron had a hand in building it is quite reasonable that Sauron influenced their function so that they would not warn the wearer, since his whole plan really depended on this.
Phishing message detected from @sauron1337 . do you want to take off your ring?
I like to imagine they all had a unique but, less impressive power than The One. Like you can turn any sandwich into tuna salad on white bread, you can turn water into kool aid made with Splenda, you can decode a cereal box. One is just a mood ring.
The One Ring is definitely the mood ring: The script only appears when Sauron gets a bit heated.
Another makes you invisible -- romantically.
Have you ever done a video on the history of the dragons in Middle Earth? My partner and I were watching this and she asked me why there were no dragons in LoTR. My assumption is that Smaug was the last of the dragons, which I believe you've touched on in past videos. But when I went to search through your catalog, I didn't see anything specifically focusing on dragons within Tolkein's works. If I missed it, then I'd love to know. If you've not done one, maybe a worthwhile idea?
Either way, thanks for making all these. Yours is among my favorite channels on UA-cam. I appreciate the work you put in to making these videos very much.
I really want to see a video for "Where did all the Dwarves from The Hobbit end up?"
Obviously some died, but some went on to do all sorts of things
Hopefully he'll repost that one soon
Sadly, none of them got hired for the live action remake of Snow White.
…. “Of the ten companions who had survived the Battle of Five Armies seven were still [in Erebor with Dáin, King under the Mountain]: Dwalin, Glóin, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. Bombur was now so fat that he could not move himself from his couch to his chair at table, and it took six young dwarves to lift him.
‘And what has become of Balin and Ori and Óin?’ asked Frodo.
A shadow passed over Glóin’s face. ‘We do not know,’ he answered”
(BOOK TWO, Chapter 1: MANY MEETINGS)
Balin and Óin and Ori went to Moria, to try and reclaim it (Balin was killed by an archer by the Mirrowmere, Óin was killed by the Watcher in the Water, and Ori was killed on their last stand by the Chamber of Mazarbul, he was the one who wrote the last words of the book Gandalf reads).
Thórin, Fíli and Kíli were killed in the Battle of Five Armies.
Amazing work, beautifully done (again and again), Robert. Thank you.
I am sad that he deleted all of his older videos just to redo them. I'd like if he left them up UNTIL he re-did them, but... I'm excited for ungoliant, and shelob again.
I feel like Amazon bought him at this point, considering the only thing that has changed is the addition of stills from RoP.🤑
Agreed. I am of course happy he is improving upon them, but i do miss them. I am really glad i downloaded the 3 videos covering the whole war of the ring
Thanks for proving my point.
@@Grancigul ...if indeed they are being improved. It has been disturbing to see images from _Rings of Power_ intruding into recent videos. Those characters are in no way representative of their genuine Tolkien legendarium counterparts. I used to look forward to these videos; however, the inclusion of images from a production that has done such violence to the Tolkien legacy is...well, disappointing at best. It doesn't feel right.
@@Vito_Tuxedo They aren't improved. I said earlier that the only change was stills from Rings of Power being inserted and my comment was deleted.
I love the thought and reasoning you apply to these topics. I've been a devotee ("fan" is too weak a word) of the Professor for 45 years, yet you ask (and answer) the questions I never thought to ask.
Here's what I need to know. Were the rings for the dwarves and men able to fit magically? Also, if they didn't fit, do you think after they were gifted, the recipients were just awkwardly trying to fit the rings to one of their fingers?
Especially if they were once intended for elves and not resized before instead being shared with the much stouter dwarven fingers, that seems like a reasonable power for them to have. Not to mention, the One Ring absolutely had the ability to change its size to accomplish its needs.
Yes, Sauron undoubtedly gave them all that power.
Imagine the diplomatic shitstorm that would ensue if he tried to give every dwarf lord a ring, and then had to tell some that they could not wear their because they had too big hands.
The other dwarfs would feel insulted for having smol hands, and take their rings off - merely to claim that, no, they had big fingers too!
Quite a bad domination tool, if the whole plan could be thwarted by finger measuring contests.....
Yes, the One ring shifted sizes to fall off finger when it willed, for instance. Bilbo (or was it Frodo?) put it on a necklace to keep it reliably on himself. It is quite reasonable the other rings did the same.
I so much enjoy your videos. Your in depth look into the lore, your insight and especially your delivery. Always a great job!
Hi thanks for another really amazing video!!! Apart from the fact that your videos are wonderfully detailed and in depth I have to say I really like your voice!!! It's soothing!!! And when it comes to the question of the dwarfs not turning into wraiths I think it has to do with the intend of Aule when he created them. I'm not 100% sure (and please correct me if I''m wrong (and I lend my copy of the Silmarilion to a friend)) but I think he created them in a way so they'd be able to resist the corruption of melkor which I think is the reason why the rings did not corrupt them like they did the nine... Thanks again for your video greatings Mo
I believe the attraction of dragons is the key. If the dragon eats the dwarf ring then Sauron might control the dragon. Typically a dragon might only add a ring to its hoard, but a dwarf wearing a ring is like bait and a hook.
Great videos. I always enjoying watching/listening to them. Keep it up!
I’ve often wondered about Sauron offering the dwarves rings in the Third Age.
Sauron: So I want to offer you these 3 remaining rings, they will make you powerful!
Dwarves: Can it help us dig for gold?
Dwarves: Or find precious gems?
Sauron: Well, not help you exactly…
Dwarves: Ask him about Mithril.
Dwarves: Yes! Will it help us in mining Mithril?
Sauron: They don’t really work like that…
Dwarves: Are they at least made of Mithril?
Sauron: You know what, just never mind.
Sauron's ringcraft has some notable similarities to the magic Aule used to create the original dwarves. The original dwarves were basically robots mindcontrolled by Aule (somewhat similar to nazgul), before Eru imbued them with real souls. The "dwarven soul" was literally created to counteract the kind of mind-control effect that was build into the rings of power by Sauron.
I wonder how the story would have went, if Sauron hadnt created the rings at all and kept his power to himself. Can you maybe do a video on that?
just a quick question that I'm unsure if you've answered, why did the three elven rings made before the others and without Sauron's aid lose power when The One was destroyed? Wouldn't they have remained the same?
What I don't get: If the three Elven Rings were not made by Sauron: #1 How did he even know they existed? #2 How could the One Ring affect them? Does it bind all rings in existence to his will? (Then why only these 19?) #3 If these three Elven Rings were made without Saurons participation, why is the destruction of the One Ring their undoing? - Thanks for any explanation!
They were made by Celibrimbor using the technique he learned from Sauron, so he still had part in their creation in that way.. Sauron had power over all of the Rings of Power, not just any ring anywhere.
Even being made separately, it was with knowledge learned from Sauron.
@@Draconightfury Thanks!
Thanks as always Robert. Appreciate your content ❤
I'm amazed there's so many topics that perfectly fit a 10-15 minute video
A treasure trove of info. THanks!
Thanks for explaining this. It is interesting.
So, the illustrations of these rings used throughout the video, are they based on any Tolkien-sourced illustrations or descriptions or are they complete fan works? Ever since learning that not all the rings of power looked like the one ring we've been really interested in seeing what they all look like
Always a pleasure to listen to your insights 👍🏻
I liked this video a lot. Great visuals.
I think it's unfair to say we know dragonfire wouldn't be able to destroy the one ring per se, but its likely the ring could control any dragon your brought it near and seems riskier even than mordor. And after that to find out it wasn't enough-
It was proof against anything available, and the fires that forged it is a near certainty- and even if it didn't work, it's beyond mortal, even mayar reach.
Darn.
Gandalf tells Frodo, that 'Not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the one ring, the ruling ring, for that was made by Sauron himself .'.
I thought that there just weren't any dragons left w/hot enough flame.(& There wasn't),.
But I went and read it verbatim........
Darn.🫤
@@knines4280 Gandalf says " ... nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring..." FOTR: The Shadow Of The Past
@@DanPoffenbarger yes, I kind of said that.
Even Quoted him.
You might have noticed.
Thanks for having my back though.,...
The effect or non-effects of the Rings on various species or characters is fascinating. One wonders what effect a ring might have had on an Ent? We see the One Ring could ensnare even Maia, and Gandalf shows the 3 were at least usable by them. But Bombadil, who predates the Maiar is not affected. The Barrow-wight, a servant of Morgoth does not even bother to take the One Ring from Frodo. Gollum believes the One Ring won't interest Shelob and she'll leave it after consuming Frodo (or would she have consumed it like her Mother did with all Feanor's gems?). Dragons consumed the Rings when they got ahold of them, which is unusual since they mostly like to sit and look at their treasures, so it had some pull on them.
I think it comes back to the idea that the Rings were designed/made by a Maiar targeting Elves. Humans are the Arda weaker siblings of Elves so are even more prone, but other creatures and species are less so or not so.
Saurons big failure with giving the Dwarf lords rings is he facilitated the greed of dwarfs that were already mining their lands. He basically gave people who were already digging a reason to ignore the outside world and a lust to continue digging. But We know that Dwarfs can fight and can be great warriors if they end up in that role, so Saurons plan wasn’t misguided, he just made 1 fatal flaw with the Rings recipients. If he had given his rings to weaker Dwarfs: lesser members of houses or heirs to thrones who might be tempted by the ring into claiming the riches of a Dwarf lord, I think he would’ve had better results more comparable to the mortal men and created some actual Dwarf servants.
In fact his attempt to give all 3 surviving rings to the Dwarfs of the Lonely mountain might’ve been him realising his second age oversight and correcting it. Instead of giving 3 rings to 3 different houses he offers 3 rings to 1 relatively weak faction, possibly hoping that they would fight in a civil war to claim those rings, allowing Sauron to enslave the victor who won the rings.
4:00 So that's what happened to Doogie Howser. What's he doing with the dwarf?
Thank you Robert!
Well done! What always puzzled me though, was how the ring was taken from Thrain, but he managed to hold onto the map and key. Seems odd his tormenters would allow him to keep such things. And if not, how was Thrain able to hide them and not the ring?
I thought that at the time, Thráin looked like a vagabond with ragged possessions not worth stealing. Even Gandalf thought "he might have been a messenger caught as he fled, or even a thief trapped by a greater thief." Sauron detected the ring and after he seized it, didn't care who the dwarf was or what random odds and ends he had.
@markvictor8776 I sure hope Gandalf didn't see him pull them out of there. 😱
The 7 rings just made dwarves greedier. Since, dwarves are naturally resilient to powers. There are theories that Thorins father and grandfather were influenced by one of the 7 rings. His grandfather was notoriously greedy and, when Gandalf found him, his father's mind was shattered. It's plausible that a dwarven ring could have caused this.
Maybe you can do a video on the travels of the One Ring
So I have a couple questions that may seem kind of niche about two things that may or may not get much attention from the fans, or even Tolkien.
Was that Thrush on the Misty Mountain unique? Making it extremely old and familiar with the late Dwarven King? Or was it like the Great Eagles, and part of a Dynasty that served the Dwarves for some reason?
Why were the trolls so close to the Shire? Where did they come from? How did they go unnoticed by Rangers?
Nice to hear you again, Robert.
Always a pleasure.
Where did the images used for the rings come from? I can't seem to find them
I wonder if Sauron's late bargain with the recovered rings was inspired by the folly of Thorin, craving the Arkenstone and their attachment to historic artefacts of significance. Knowing their resilience to dark rings, they wouldn't fall under the temptation of the One, should they recover it...
Besides, they might be lesser now...
Dwarves with rings? Are we sure this isn’t Wagners ring cycle?
Arda-dämmerung?
"...Do you remember Alberic?"
I'm going to speculate, and I have not gone through the other comments (so if someone else thought this, I'm not cribbin' your work). But maybe the reason the rings didn't work on the Dwarves as Sauron intended, was because they were not created by Eru. They were not Elves or Men. They were created by a Valar. Maybe Sauron created something that was only really effective on Eru's creations? But, being a Maiar (like Gandalf), he didn't have the creative power of something higher in the chain of command?
But then why would it work on Eru's creations? Unless there was something else going on? I'm sure this doesn't work.
Orrrr, maybe it does. 🤷
Maybe the magic couldn't penetrate the mountain.
Sauron seems to have some inadequacies in his plans.
@@_whatsername1911 Thinking further...Sauron knows his creator. He has His essence. But he doesn't understand the creation of Aule? That creator's mind is foreign to him?
@@davefarris2014 or, the rings did exactly what he wanted them to. Basically putting the dwarves in self isolation, digging their way to their own doom? Or just keeping them out of the way?
Or, Sauron f'd up. lol
So many possibilities..
I'd hypothesize that Eru made creatures that were fine and artsy cerebral nature lovers, and creative destiny-expanding but mortally-insecure ones.
Meanwhile, Aule made creatures designed to almost _literally_ be tougher than mountains.
It's just a completely different division of skill points, basically.
And Sauron designed the Rings to work for the Elves.
Presumably, because humans were made by the creator of Elves, the Rings also had effects on humans.
But the dwarves are too different, and using a hammer to make firewood, that just isn't very effective....
I know you probably are already but you should do a video on Celebrimbor.
Can I ask a question? Were the Nazgûl in possession of their rings during the main events? If not when did Sauron take them and what did he do with the rings he recaptured?
Thanks
Fantastic info!
I think Sauron would give the 3 rings to 3 more men. He knew it worked on them and he could always use 3 more mind controlled slaves.
Whenever you mention Sauron's "cunning plans" I'm just imagining him as a sort of high-fantasy Baldrick from Blackadder
Well apparently they needed the rings because they had a bit of a cave in that stopped them growing their food, so they needed the rings to fix it instead of just buying food from others lol
Is that a Rings of Power plotpoint? That sounds like one of RoP's nonsense plots.
The cave-in was just a symptom. They lost their connection to the spirit of the mountain that housed Khazad-Dûm, which made all manner of normal tasks (like mining) uncertain. When the sunshafts collapsed, a ton of rubble also fell on the city, so it's an existential problem that needs to be stopped immediately.
@@TheSuperRatt Aren't Dwarves, like, the _least_ in-touch-with-spirits race in all of Arda?
Not to poke a hole in Swiss Cheese or anything.
@@TheSuperRatt. It’s a pile
Of 💩
Rock and Stone!
ROCK AND ROLLIN' STONE
If you don’t rock and stone, you ain’t comin home
Stiff beards! Weve all been there before..am i right lads!
Stiffmornings
I wonder whether the desire for gold and mithril was increased by Durin's ring and caused them to dig too deep and awake the Balrog?
That's the theory.
Hey do you think you could do a video on the book of mazarbul? I'd love to know more of what was written in it
What about Mim, the petty dwarf? I would very much like to hear (and see) your take on this one individual (and his sons).
Mim is in the Silmarillion, a "friend" of Turin.
I remember the first time I read the LOTR nearly 50 years ago. I was surprised then that the Messenger would tell the dwarves to find the ring. The dark lord could have no idea how the one ring would effect a dwarf who chose to put it on. Even though the 7 were less effective than expected, the one ring was a different kettle of fish. I still find it an odd thing for him to have done.
I like how Sauron creates a larger or smaller number of rings depending on the size and strength of the race
Except that wasn't really his plan, it just kinda worked it that way.
he doesn't, he creates all of them to give to the elves but they refuse so he just gives them to them
Celebrimbor and his fellow Elven smiths didn't just make those 16 Rings of power, @InDeepGeek , they made literally dozens of lesser rings before hand as they learned and mastered the craft of making magic rings, these lesser rings were test-articles/proof of principle projects.
Not being a purist, im enjoying how the show is.doing things (now knowing this)
So, if Thrain was in Sauron's dungeon for five years, Sauron had to know about the map and key and allowed Thrain to keep them. I speculate that maybe the map and key were a trap, to get Thorin killed in the quest for Erebor.
So glad to see you are still posting videos. More and more AI-generated content keep showing up in my timeline :(
In BfME 2, The Dragonlord, Drogoth, wears a ring on a chain around his neck.....
I have no idea if BfME 2, is cannon.
according to CPGrey on his video about the rings given to the dwarves: The dwarves had clockwork brains and weren't able to be controlled by Ausron
“Seven rings in hand speed through nights with feet in sand
Seven rings in hand wonders all under command (c'mon!)
Seven rings in hand wild with just one single hand
Seven rings in hand arrowed hearts catch fire now”
Holy crap… It all makes sense…
Thanks for your essays
So, I tend to not want to believe that Sauron is dumb; I can believe that he requested others find this ring, and then give it to him, though it was barely anything, despite Bilbo almost being revered, and Sauron reviled, and then offer a princely reward for that, just to increase the chances that they'd look, but I'd like to think that Sauron would know the mechanics of his Ring better than most, and one of those was that people could basically NOT give it up. They might've scoured for it, and even siezed it from Bilbo, by force, but could any of them have actually given it over? Was he just hoping to eventually hear something, and then send enough Orcs to siege Erebor? If the secretive Dwarves had found it, they weren't going to tell him, so how would he plan to actually reclaim the Ring from them, if they had gotten it?
I always assumed that the domination that the one ring held over its holder was stronger than the other rings, and the one ring wanted to get back to Mordor. A dwarf holding it may not be able to give it up, but the one ring might control their minds enough, kindling greed, that they felt like they could get Sauron to bring the remaining three rings to them and just take it away from him (when in fact it would just lead Sauron to come and take the one ring from the dwarf). I doubt the one ring itself would just let its holder do _nothing_ though.
If I recall - couldn't dragon fire also destroy the One Ring but the council didn't know if there were any dragons still around?
It could be that Sauron understood Dwarven nature quite well, and realized that those three rings, which the Dwarves undoubtedly saw as rightfully theirs by virtue of having been owned by their ancestors, could tempt them into, if not obedience, at least some sort of uneasy alliance, however temporary it might have ended up being.
I love the zinger conclusions of these videos.
I'd have preferred Robert playing a lore master recording everything from the big party at end of return of king where "all stories were told"
I knew that the rings made them greedy for gold. But I often wondered in how far they were before the rings really avaricious in nature or just appreciated gold like elves appreciated nature. That always felt to me like the chicken and the egg question. I just never liked the idea how the Dwarves are often framed as scapegoats or as comic reliefs like Jackson did with Gimli in his movies.
I guess Dwarves were and will always be target of hubris and ridiculing in Middle-Earth as well as in our world.
It always makes me wonder if Sauron appeared as a dwarf while distributing the seven. Surely he would if he wished to appear “comely” to them.
I always wondered if the Dwarf rings summoned the dragons, or at least the dragons could sense the rings and find them.
I dont know if you ever made a video about that, but i was curious what would happen after or why noone tried to destroy whole Mordor?
I'm reading the hobbit for the first time currently, and there's a question that came to me: how come bilbo can wear the ring for so long wiithout problem (he wears it for litteral days at end during the chapter where he sneaks around in the eleven place) while frodo gets super worn out and get visions while wearing it for a few minutes?
When Bilbo obtained the Ring, he found it by accident, and refused to kill or wound Gollum as he escaped the goblin tunnels. He had pity for the gangrel creature and refused to strike at a heavy advantage, without need.
The Ring could not corrupt Bilbo the way it did Gollum.
In addition, Sauron was far far away, having plans to lull the White Council into thinking they had rousted him out of Dol Guldor. He was not yet at full strength, but getting there, so he needed to fall back on Mordor, which was much more secure.
And Bilbo was not using the Ring for its intended purpose...to dominate the wills of all others. He puts the Ring on, and hey, presto! He's invisible! He is not using any real power from the Ring, he's not using arcane knowledge and most of all, he's not doing anything that the Ring objects to... he's carrying the Ring away from Gollum and to places where it will be more likely to be returned to its Master.
Frodo also doesn't start seeing or hearing bad stuff until he's been wounded. Also, the minute he leaves Bag End, the Nazgul are in hot pursuit, and their powers come into play. Lucky Bilbo never met a Nazgul in his life!
That's why Bilbo could possess the Ring for sixty years before it started to affect him.
I feel a point that doesn't get made explicitly enough is that, so far as we know or have reason to believe, the Seven weren't fundamentally different from the Nine, not like how the Three were fundamentally different from the others & the One different from all. If a human had been given one of the Seven, presumably the same would happen to them as happened to the Nazgul.
awsome info...great vid
This is why the dwarves are my favorite middle earth race, absolute chads just took the rings and made money moves
I have a question: did Gandalf ever tell Saruman about the hobbits? Why didn’t he know where the Shire was even after Bilbo’s adventure?
300 years ---- 16 rings made...dayum had no idea Sauron was playing the long game to that extent.
Sauron had a cunning plan, sir, wut cannot fail...