The Rings Of Power Detail That May Surprise Casual Lord Of The Rings Fans
Naturally, one of the main plot points of Amazon's new series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," will be the creation of the eponymous powerful rings. This includes the One Ring to Rule Them All and the 19 other Rings of Power.
As Gandalf explains at the beginning of "The Fellowship of the Ring," during the Second Age the Dark Lord Sauron forged several of these rings and distributed them throughout Middle Earth. He gave seven of the Rings of Power to the leaders of dwarven nations, and nine to men. Tolkien doesn't explain much about who those nine men were, but one fan theory about the "Rings of Power" character Halbrand addresses that.
There are also three rings created by the elves: Nenya, Narya, and Vilya. While the other 16 Rings of Power make their users more powerful, these three are designed more for protection. For example, it's been speculated that Elrond uses Vilya, the Water Ring, to safeguard the region around Rivendell (via Tolkien Gateway).
Presumably, "The Rings of Power" will explore how these rings were made and what happened to them. However, those 19 rings plus the One Ring to Rule Them All aren't the only powerful rings that exist in Middle Earth. There's another, equally mysterious category that the show could include as well.
The Lesser Rings of Power could also come into play
During Gandalf's monologue at the beginning of "Fellowship of the Ring," he also mentions the existence of several "lesser" rings of power also made during this period. He describes them as "essays in the craft of ring-making." In other words, they're kind of like "practice rings," forged by elven smiths learning how to construct the Rings of Power.
Even less information about these rings exists in Tolkien's source material than about the more famous Rings of Power. The lesser rings do appear in two ancillary "Lord of the Rings" properties–they're included in the "Middle-earth Collectible Card Game" that was released between 1995 and 1997, as well as in the 2007 video game "The Lord of the Rings Online." In the card game, the lesser rings serve as stat buffs for the player, boosting attributes like stealth and lore. In the video game, one of the rings even gets a name: Narduil (via Tolkien Gateway).
It's worth noting that the Amazon series doesn't have the rights to any of this material. It only has the rights to "The Hobbit," "The Lord of the Rings," and its appendices (via Vanity Fair). So, there's no guarantee that the lesser rings would resemble any of their previous incarnations–if the show includes them at all. Still, it's an interesting potential wrinkle as "The Rings of Power" moves forward.