In total, 20 great Rings of Power are forged in the Second Age of
Middle-earth. Each would enhance the natural abilities of it’s wearer,
with results ranging from beautiful to tragic to terrible. But another ring would
be made thousands of years later…far into the third age, by one who would betray his order.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover Saruman’s Ring.
When the Istari are sent to Middle-earth, they take on the form of old men. Landing
upon the shores of Middle-earth at the Grey Havens, these wizards are greeted
by Cirdan the Shipwright. Though Saruman the White arrives before,
and is considered the head of their order, Cirdan gives his Ring of Power to Gandalf the Grey.
írdan from their first meeting at the Grey Havens divined in him the greatest spirit and the wisest;
and he welcomed him with reverence, and he gave to his keeping the Third Ring, Narya the Red.
While there are a number of great rings, the three are especially so - and they would always
be greatly coveted by Sauron. Gandalf would wear Narya, the Ring of Fire during his long life in
Middle-earth, and it would prove useful to him - opposing Sauron, the fire that devours with the
fire that kindles hearts. But eventually, Saruman would find out about Gandalf’s secret ring.
In Unfinished Tales we read: And the Grey Messenger took the Ring,
and kept it ever secret; yet the White Messenger (who was skilled to uncover
all secrets) after a time became aware of this gift, and begrudged it, and it was the
beginning of the hidden ill-will that he bore to the Grey, which afterwards became manifest.
There are two points here worth noting when it comes to Saruman’s later creation of his
own ring. One is that he clearly resented Gandalf for posessing this powerful artifact.
As we would see over Saruman’s 2000+ years in Middle-earth, he is ever interested in things
involving power. Not only do we see this in his later breeding of his own Uruk-hai,
but even in his earlier pre-corruption tendencies. He was greatly learned about
the kingdoms of Numenor, Khazad-dum, and Gondor - all of which held great power at
their height. He also came to Orthanc in part to discover a Palantir, another great and
powerful artifact. And there was of course, his study of the Rings of Power themselves.
And it is this study that leads to Saruman to attempt to create his very own Ring of
Power - a feat last attempted nearly 5000 years prior. And it is when Gandalf arrives at Isengard
that we learn of Saruman’s efforts - in one of the first clues of his treachery. Gandalf says:
Later, their conversation would turn tense, as Saruman reveals that he is
no longer simply Saruman the White - but something he deems much greater…
Gandalf looks to see Saruman’s robes, which had seemed white, were not so, but were woven of all
colours, and if he moved they shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered.
But how did Saruman achieve creating his own ring? And how powerful was it? As we have established,
Saruman studied greatly the lore of the great rings, but a crucial point comes from long,
long ago - when Saruman would have still been known as Curumo. That was his name in
the Undyling Lands of Valinor, where he was one of the servants of Aule, the smith of the Valar
and father of the dwarves. And while Saruman would eventually turn to evil, he was not the
first of Aule’s servants to do so - the first was Sauron - The Lord of the Rings himself.
While he may not be as synonymous with craftsmanship as the Gwaith-i-Mirdain of Eregion,
Saruman very likely had great skill learned from his master. As for the power of Saruman’s ring, it
is likely not as powerful as he might have wished. When the Rings of Power are created in Eregion,
they are made with Sauron’s full knowledge and assistance. Even then, it takes the great
jewelsmiths nearly 300 years to get to the point where they create the first 16 great rings. Prior
to that time, they made lesser rings, described by Gandalf as “mere essays in the craft”.
And it is quite possible that Saruman’s ring would be similar in nature to these lesser rings,
or perhaps was somewhere in between. Should his ring have had some measure of success,
which one would think a prerequisite to his wearing and boasting about it - it would have
done what all rings of power are made to do - enhance the abilities of the wearer.
In Saruman’s case, his greatest weapon we see time and again is his voice. Gandalf
warns as much as they ride to Parley after their victory at Helm’s Deep:
The voice of Saruman is described in an incredible way in the Two Towers - capable of gaining swift
agreement and sounding wise to those that heard it. And depending on who was being affected,
Saruman’s words could continue to whisper and urge them though they were far away.
“none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will,
so long as its master had control of it."
Was the power of Saruman’s voice amplified by his created ring? We cannot know for certain.
Either way, his voice is incredibly powerful - in Unfinished Tales we learn of when the
Nazgul arrived at Isengard and even the Witch-king himself does not question
Saruman’s lies. And the voice magically eminates from the gate of Isengard itself,
rather than Saruman coming to his uninvited guests.
No matter the effects Saruman’s ring has, it is likely that he did not achieve his desired results
- for he still greatly desires the One. His entire strategy for years was to acquire it before Sauron
had the chance, and his pitch to Gandalf for them to rule revolves around obtaining the One Ring.
In one of his letters, where he points out that his story is not an allegory for WWII,
he mentions what Saruman could have eventually done in his ring-making
quest. A way for him to fill the gaps in his knowledge of great rings…
The real war does not resemble the legendary war in its process or its conclusion. If it
had inspired or directed the development of the legend, then certainly the Ring would
have been seized and used against Sauron; he would not have been annihilated but enslaved,
and Barad-dûr would not have been destroyed but occupied. Saruman, failing to get possession of
the Ring, would in the confusion and treacheries of the time have found in Mordor the missing
links in his own researches into Ring-lore, and before long he would have made a Great
Ring of his own with which to challenge the self-styled Ruler of Middle-earth.
Like Sauron before him, Saruman would fall from a loyal servant of Aule to a tyrant,
bent on ruling Middle-earth to foce order upon it’s lands. While he would feign some
level of loyalty to Sauron, there is no question, he had grand schemes of
his own - schemes to become the ringbearer, the ring-maker, even become the Lord of the Rings.
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