Today’s topic is one I get asked about fairly often. While in so many other cases, we are given
insight into the wisdom of the wizard Gandalf, this topic along with portrayals in adaptations
has led many to wonder if his brilliance faltered when it came to one of the greatest threats.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover Gandalf’s knowledge of Bilbo’s ring.
I feel like today’s topic has been a big one among fans for some time,
and has been brought to the forefront ever since the conclusion of The Hobbit trilogy nearly 10
years ago. I remember having to revisit the issue of Gandalf’s knowledge of the ring all those years
ago because it can be easy to interpret Gandalf’s awareness being greater than it truly is.
We’re going to look at the situation with the ring, and Gandalf’s knowledge of it
in as close to chronological order as I can muster, in hopes this will bring into focus
how this played out and why Gandalf came to the realization when he did.
We know that long before Bilbo entered the story, Gandalf would have had some knowledge of the Rings
of Power. Afterall, Cirdan the Shipwright gives Gandalf his own ring - Narya, the ring of fire
so that he may use it in his many adventures to come as he works against Sauron. Gandalf, being a
member of the White Council - which included the greatest elves and wizards of Middle-earth, and
possessing a ring of power himself, knew a great deal more about the rings than the typical elf.
While we don’t know the exact timeline for Gandalf learning of the creation of the rings,
we know that in 2850, Gandalf enters Dol Guldur,
discovering the Necromancer is indeed Sauron - who is gathering all rings he can while seeking
for news about the One Ring and the Heir of Isildur. Coincidentally, it’s during this
trip to Dol Guldur when Gandalf discover’s King Thrain and receives the key to Erebor.
91 years later, Gandalf sends Bilbo and the dwarves on the Quest of Erebor, in hopes
of solving the potential problem of Sauron teaming up with the dragon Smaug. As we know,
it is during their time in the Misty Mountains that Bilbo discovers the ring and he initially
leaves out any mention of the ring in recounting his tale to the rest of the Company and Gandalf.
While Gandalf would find Bilbo’s story suspicious, Bilbo doesn’t reveal the
ring’s existence to the wizard within the pages of the Hobbit. Only the dwarves are
with Bilbo when he reveals the ring in saving them from the spiders of Mirkwood - by which
time Gandalf has gone to Dol Guldur with the White Council to drive Sauron from his fortress.
Eventually, Bilbo would reveal he had a magic ring, though when he says he “won” the ring,
Gandalf does not believe him. As Frodo later tells us, Gandalf pesters
Bilbo until he gets the true account of Gollum and Bilbo’s Riddles in the Dark,
and his taking of the magic ring. The earliest this could have happened
would’ve likely been sometime in the Spring of 2942 TA - either when Gandalf and Bilbo
make their way back from their journey or some other time Gandalf visits the Shire.
Gandalf would of course check in on the hobbit from time to time - for instance, we know that he
came with Balin in the fall of 2949 - seven years after their adventure together. This is when Bilbo
learns of the new prosperity of the Kingdom of Erebor and the restored mannish realm of Dale.
Just four years later, in 2953 TA, the White Council would hold their final meeting,
for the Tower of Barad-dur had risen again.
Then for the last time the Council met; for now we learned that he was seeking ever more eagerly for
the One. We feared then that he had some news of it that we knew nothing of. But Saruman said nay,
and repeated what he had said to us before: that the One would never again be found in
Middle-earth. ‘“At the worst,” said he, “our Enemy knows that we have it not, and that it still
is lost. But what was lost may yet be found, he thinks. Fear not! His hope will cheat him. Have
I not earnestly studied this matter? Into Anduin the Great it fell; and long ago,
while Sauron slept, it was rolled down the River to the Sea. There let it lie until the End.” ’
When Gandalf recounts this portion of the story at the Council of Elrond, he blames himself,
saying he was lulled by the words of Saruman the Wise. This is a very important point - one
of Saruman’s greatest powers is his voice. We find in The Two Towers that when Saruman
focuses his power on a person or group of people, he can sway their hearts, plant fears,
and sow lies as he pleases. This spell, so to speak, could last as long as the speech itself or
it could take root within the person’s heart and last forever. Indeed in The Two Towers chapter the
Voice of Saruman, we find that even those who are forewarned of this danger find themselves
affected by his words. The way Gandalf describes himself - “I was lulled by the words of Saruman
the Wise” - leaves open the possibility that it was not merely Saruman giving ill counsel,
but actually working subtle magic against those who saw him as a friend.
And the fact that Saruman was still seen as a complete ally at this time is crucially important
not only for the effectiveness of his lie, but also their natural trust in his expertise. Saruman
had spent years in Minas Tirith during the time period of 2500-2759 TA, studying in the archives.
Saruman was unquestionably the expert when it came to the Rings of Power and specifically,
the one Isildur had carried for two years before his death. If anyone remaining in the
late third age could speak with conviction on the One Ring itself, it was Saruman.
Now, over the coming years, Gandalf would certainly notice that Bilbo did not appear
to age. While we as readers and viewers know this to be a symptom of the one ring,
Gandalf provides additional reasoning why he wasn’t initially suspicious it
could be the One. Looking at Bilbo’s genealogy, we see that he comes from a
long-lived family - his maternal grandfather is remembered as the Old Took, and lived to be 130.
Even with Bilbo being from a well-preserved family and Saruman’s convincing argument
that the ring was swept out to the Sea, Gandalf had another reason to believe all
was well - perhaps the greatest reason of all. What isn’t as commonly known,
and what is omitted from the films, is that there were more than just the 19 Rings of
Power created in Eregion during the Second Age. Before any of the 19 were made, the smiths under
Celebrimbor made the lesser rings. As Gandalf later tells Frodo in the Fellowship of the Ring:
‘In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made, magic rings as you call them, and they were,
of course, of various kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in
the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles – yet still
to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous.”
Gandalf essentially comes to the conclusion that Bilbo has likely stumbled upon one of these lesser
rings. We don’t even know how many were made, and they certainly weren’t thought highly of by the
elves. Gandalf also knew from his conversation with Saruman at the final White Council that
the Nine and Seven rings had jewels on them - the three were accounted for between Galadriel,
Elrond, and Gandalf himself. Only the lesser rings and the One were unadorned
by any jewel. But Gandalf notes that Bilbo seems unharmed and unchanged by the ring - and surely
the One Ring would have had a far worse effect on Bilbo if he indeed possessed it.
And now we come to the fateful evening in Sept, 3001. Gandalf, once again in The Shire,
sees that Bilbo still has hardly aged in the 60 years since gaining the ring. This gives
Gandalf his first true warning that all is not well. Bilbo has certainly passed beyond being
“well-preserved”. That night, Bilbo takes a great amount of convincing to follow through
with leaving the ring for Frodo - going so far as to imply Gandalf wants it for himself
and placing his hand on the hilt of his small sword while calling the ring ‘his Precious.’
As Gandalf later recounts to Frodo: “He said and did things then that filled me with a fear
that no words of Saruman could allay. I knew at last that something dark and deadly was
at work. And I have spent most of the years since then in finding out the truth of it.”
And indeed, this would be the moment Gandalf would launch into his investigation after
warning Frodo not to use the ring. Gandalf would still periodically check in on Frodo to
see how the ring was or wasn’t affecting him. Gandalf begins to notice there are
spies around the shire of many sorts - even beasts and birds. At his request,
the Dunedain double their watch on The Shire, and Gandalf finally confides in Aragorn. Aragorn
in turn counsels that they should hunt for Gollum to find out what they could from him.
Aragorn proclaims it is fitting that Isildur’s heir should labour to repair Isildur’s fault.
Aragorn and Gandalf searched at great length for Gollum,
but are not successful for a long time. Nearing despair,
Gandalf remembered the words of Saruman at a previous meeting of the White Council…
Gandalf: “The ring itself might tell if it were the One. The memory of words at the Council came
back to me: words of Saruman, half-heeded at the time. I heard them now clearly in my heart.”
‘“The Nine, the Seven, and the Three,” he said, “had each their proper gem. Not so
the One. It was round and unadorned, as it were one of the lesser rings;
but its maker set marks upon it that the skilled, maybe, could still see and read.”
As Saruman had continued to say the ring was swept out to sea, Gandalf decides to go to Minas
Tirith himself. Arriving in 3017 TA, Gandalf discovers the Scroll of Isildur, which states…
Already the writing upon it, which at first was as clear as red flame,
fadeth and is now only barely to be read. It is fashioned in an elven-script of Eregion,
for they have no letters in Mordor for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to
me. I deem it to be a tongue of the Black Land, since it is foul and uncouth. What
evil it saith I do not know; but I trace here a copy of it, lest it fade beyond recall.
The Ring misseth, maybe, the heat of Sauron's hand, which was black and yet burned like fire,
and so Gil-galad was destroyed; and maybe were the gold made hot again,
the writing would be refreshed. But for my part I will risk no hurt to this thing:
of all the works of Sauron the only fair. It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain.
In early 3018, Gandalf makes his way to Mirkwood, where Aragorn has taken the
captured Gollum after finding him at long last. Gandalf interrogates the miserable creature,
though by now, he is merely confirming what he already believes to be true - that
Gollum discovered the ring in the very location where Isildur died.
With a clear history of the One Ring, and a fool-proof way to determine if Frodo’s ring
is The One, Gandalf returns to the Shire in secret the night of April 12, 3018.
The next morning, Gandalf inspects the ring, using fire to reveal its strange markings…
'I cannot read the fiery letters,' said Frodo in a quavering voice.
'No,' said Gandalf, 'but I can. The letters are Elvish, of an ancient mode, but the language is
that of Mordor, which I will not utter here. But this in the Common Tongue is what is said...:
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.'
He paused, and then said slowly in a deep voice: 'This is the Master-ring,
the One Ring to rule them all. This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago,
to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it — but he must not get it.'
Knowing beyond doubt that Frodo’s ring is the very ring he has feared, he sends the halfling upon the
quest that would lead him first to Rivendell, then onward to Mount Doom. However, there is one last
question to be answered. If this ring was indeed the One Ring, why did it take so long for Bilbo
to show such symptoms? How could he have seemed unharmed for so long with such an evil object?
The answer lies in a dialogue between Frodo and
Gandalf shortly after the ring is revealed, when Frodo says of Gollum:
“What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!’
‘Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without
need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil,
and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.’
In the end, it was Bilbo’s pity that would save his own life, for the manner of receiving and
giving the One Ring is vital. Smeagol murdered Deagol to claim the ring, and he lost it to Bilbo
in the caverns under the Misty Mountains. But Bilbo began his ownership with an act of pity, and
in the end, though it was with encouragement of his friend Gandalf, Bilbo indeed gave up the ring
of his own accord. If Gandalf had taken it from him, it would have destroyed the poor halfling.
Instead, the pity for Gollum by both Bilbo and later Frodo and Sam,
would not only save themselves, but all of Middle-earth.
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