Three rings for the elven kings under the sky, Seven for the dwarves in their halls of stone.
They were at the very foundation of seven legendary treasure hoards. Given
by the dark lord to a race that would prove too hardy to fall under his sway.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the Seven Dwarven Rings of Power.
By 1600 SA, Sauron and the Gwaith-i-Mirdain have created 16 great rings of power - the Seven
and the Nine. As mentioned in my previous video on the elven rings,
Celebrimbor would keep the 16 in Eregion until his realm falls to Sauron in 1697.
After capturing and torturing Celebrimbor, Sauron claims the rings of power for his own use.
Now there is some discrepancy on how many of these rings were still around at the time of
the fall of Eregion. In some accounts, like in the Silmarillion, it implies that when Sauron
destroys Eregion he claims the 16 rings. However, in the Appendix of The Lord of the Rings, we find
out that the three elven rings were not the only ones that Celebrimbor gave away. In this account,
we are told that Celebrimbor gives one of these rings to his friend King Durin III of Khazad-dum.
This would mean that the dwarven ring we know the most about was never actually given by Sauron.
But we’ll get back to that ring in a minute. Sometime after the fall of Eregion, Sauron
gives the nine rings to men, and the remaining rings to the dwarves. It is believed that the
seven dwarf lords who possessed the rings were the seven kings of the seven clans - the Broadbeams,
Firebeards, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, Stonefoots and Longbeards.
It’s possible that Sauron intended these rings to have a similar effect as the Nine would have
on men - turning them into wraith slaves in servitude to the dark lord. However, the rings
would not have this effect on the dwarves - it would not even turn their wearers invisible.
Instead, these rings would amplify their wearer’s natural skills. The dwarves use their rings to
amass wealth - bringing about the seven great treasure hoards. However, as they amass wealth,
the rings also feed their greed and wrath, which would indirectly be beneficial to Sauron.
Being one of the more secretive races, we actually don’t know where the seven
hoards of the dwarves were. However, we can guess that some may have coincided with the
areas where the great dwarf fathers awoke in the earliest days of the world.
We also know of a couple specific instances of great dwarf hoards that are overtaken by dragons.
The earliest is Scatha the worm, who plunders a great dwarf treasure in the Grey Mountains.
This would be the great hazard of the dwarven hoards.
In fact, we are told that no less than four of the dwarven rings of power are
either swallowed or destroyed by dragons. Two others were recovered by Sauron.
The most famous, and final, surviving ring was the very same that was given to
Durin III of Khazad-dum. It would be passed down the line of the Kings of Durin’s Folk,
until it comes to Thror, the grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield, who would recolonize the realm of
Erebor. This comes after they are driven from the Grey Mountains by the dragons of the north.
With his ring, and the Arkenstone, Thror leads his people to Erebor and the realm to
great prosperity. As seen time after time in the history of the dwarves and their rings of power,
the great treasure hoard of Erebor attracts the attention of a dragon - not just any dragon,
but the greatest of all the Third Age - Smaug.
After Smaug takes control of the mountain, Thror, with his ring and his people, goes into exile.
As they settle in the lands of Dunland, Thror’s ring would pass to Thorin’s father
Thrain. After coming to settle in the Blue Mountains,
Thrain would embark on a journey in an attempt to reclaim Erebor in 2841 TA. Four
years later (2845), he would be separated from his company and captured by servants of Sauron.
They take the King to Dol Guldur, where Sauron tortures him and reclaims the Ring of Thror,
the final of the seven rings taken from dwarven
control. What Sauron did with these rings, we can only guess. Though we know that Sauron’s messenger
sent to Erebor offered to King Dain these three rings - and the realm of Khazad-dum - in exchange
for the return of his ring, supposedly stolen from the thief Bilbo Baggins. After this,
the dwarven rings fall out of the history of Middle-earth, and are forever lost in mystery.
Fortunately, we see great realms of the dwarves continue into the Fourth Age, unburdened by the
presence of a ring of power. In Erebor, Dain’s son Thorin Stonehelm would rule as King Under the
Mountain. Meanwhile, Gimli son of Gloin would lead a group of dwarves from their home to found the
realm of Aglarond, in the Glittering Caves behind Helm’s Deep. As Galadriel predicted, gold would
flow through Gimli’s hands, yet over him - unlike many Kings before, gold would have no dominion.
If you’re ready for more dwarves,
you’re in luck as I’ll be interviewing the one and only John Rhys-Davies here on the channel!
Be sure you’re subscribed and have that bell clicked so you don’t miss it!
as always i want to say a huge thank you to my patreon supporters who make this channel possible
If you enjoyed the artwork in this video check out the artists in the description and purchase prints of their great
work for yourself thanks so much for watching and we'll see you next time on nerd of the rings