Gollum's ring was NOT the One Ring!

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HelmsLeap
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:06 am

Gollum's ring was NOT the One Ring!

Post by HelmsLeap »

My fellow Ringers!,

I have come here to present you with a revelation: the Ring that was found by Deagol in the Anduin, stolen by Smeagol through capital theft, found by Bilbo, borne by Frodo, and ultimately destroyed in the fires of Mt Doom was NOT.. I repeat, NOT.. the One Ruling Ring! AND, it is my contention that Sauron continued to possess the One Ring (or knew of its secreted location) even after the battle with Isildur, while deliberately misdirecting the efforts of the West towards a counterfeit ring, i.e., the Ring that came into Gollum's possession and ultimately became the subject of the War of the Rings!

I know that most of you will immediately scoff, and proclaim me unhinged, but please hear me out!

Here are the arguments that mitigate AGAINST Gandalf's claim that Gollum's ring was the One Ring:

1. All the lore of the One Ring makes plain that those who would possess the Ring would seek power over others, as well as aggrandizement of their own selves. Yet, how was this manifested with Smeagol? Did he seek greater authority in the wide world? Did he seek power even within his small community? NO! Instead, he allowed himself, even while possessing something that was supposedly the most powerful magical artifact in Middle Earth, to be cowed by the matriarch of his clan. He slunk off and burrowed himself under the Misty Mountains to reign in a dank Kingdom of One for hundreds of years! How, I ask you, is this consistent with the characteristics of a Ring that supposedly goads its owner to megalomaniacal power?!!

2. Similarly, neither Bilbo nor Frodo sought power within Hobbit society. They, too, remained in the background of their communities, and apparently suffered no adverse influence from the Ring to make use of its powers.

3. Frodo offered the ring to several others: Gandalf, Galadriel, and Aragorn. Does this sound like a One Ring that its owner cannot bear to part with? And not only that, but ALL THREE who were offered the Ring refused it! Surely, this ring did not appear to inspire much lust for ownership among those who encountered it.

4. "So, why would Sauron send the entire contingent of 9 Nazgul to retrieve the Ring from Frodo's possession if it wasn't the One Ring?", you might rightfully ask. Yet consider this: by sending his ENTIRE corps of bodyguards to find the Ring, Sauron left himself totally vulnerable to an attack from any Western power. (Sauron, you remember, was in an incorporeal state in which he apparently had very few options to physically defend himself other than through proxies, such as the Nazgul.) Yes, sending all of the Nine to the Shire might be viewed as an act of desperation - going "all in," so to speak - to secure the One Ring. Yet, what if Sauron KNEW that the ring for which he dispatched the Nazgul, was NOT the One Ring? What if Sauron was himself in possession of the One Ring already? Could he not, in such circumstances, afford to allow himself to be seen as totally vulnerable, when in fact he still possessed the ultimate defense: the ONE RING?! And by sending all of The Nine in search of Frodo's ring, he gave that ring the imprimatur of authenticity.

My friends, here is what I believe truly occurred in the history of the Ring. Please do not dismiss it out of hand, but consider it as a sincere hypothesis that answers many questions about the inconsistencies in the Ring's lore:

As the last alliance of Men and Elves assembled their forces for battle within sight of Barad-Dur at the foot of Mt Doom, Sauron could see from his vantage high in the Dark Tower that his forces could not prevail against those of Elves and Men. He knew that he would eventually be besieged in his Tower, and every siege (unless lifted by outside forces) results in the victory of a determined siege force.

So Sauron decided that he must secret the One Ring so that his enemies could not sieze it. He hid it, no doubt within the foundations of Barad-Dur where it would survive even the most energetic attempts to eradicate the Tower.

Venturing forth onto the battlefield, Sauron bore a COUNTERFEIT ring on his hand! Yes, it was powerful. Yes, it looked like the genuine article. BUT IT WAS NOT the ONE RING! How can we know this? Simple: IT DID NOT PREVAIL ON THE BATTLEFIELD! This very fact indicates it was not the One Ring!

So, what was this ring? I believe it was probably a prototype of the One Ring - a first effort, perhaps, by Sauron in which he experimented with his ring-making skills before perfecting them, to eventually bring forth the One Ring.

He took a chance that maybe this counterfeit One Ring might have sufficient power to prevail in the battle. And if it didn't and he were slain, then he knew he would nevertheless be able to reassemble his spirit in some later time, with the full knowledge that his enemies would NOT be in possession of the true One Ring, which he could retrieve in a later Age of Middle Earth.

Additionally, Sauron diabolically planted within the community of Men and Elves a horribly corruptive artifact that would cause dissension and strife among his enemies - the counterfeit One Ring!

AND - to capitalize even more on this ring's capabilities, he knew that his enemies would BELIEVE it to be the One Ring. Thus, Sauron's most powerful foes would be compelled to take this ring and, believing it was the One Ring, use it against a newly resurrected Sauron. This ring, in other words, would be the method whereby Sauron's enemies would decimate each other in their attempts to possess it to the exclusion of any other claimant, AND it would act as a beacon to Sauron, indicating who his most powerful foe was! You see, this counterfeit One Ring would be SUBORDINATE to the One TRUE Ring, which Sauron would again retrieve from its hiding place in the foundations of the Dark Tower, and wield in his resurrected state! Whoever among the Wise in the West would attempt to wield this counterfeit One Ring would be INSTANTLY made known and revealed to Sauron, who would have power over the subordinate ring and its wearer!

So... why was Sauron ultimately defeated when Gollum and his Ring fell into the fires of Mt Doom?

Again, this shows the diabolical genius of Sauron: he deliberately APPEARED to fall! He himself pulled out the foundations of Barad-Dur, and in the chaos escaped with the ONE RING to other parts of Middle Earth.

Why would he do this? Because he could see that an Age of Men would provide infinitely more opportunities for evil and horror to prevail on the Earth than any mere Age of Orcs could ever visit on our planet. If there is anything we know of Sauron, it is that he is patient -- patient enough to wait for the full flowering of the greatest Evil that can could arise in our world: an Age of MEN!

It is my contention that Sauron and the One Ring are currently at work in our world. He will soon again come forth from the shadows in which he has hidden for tens of thousands of years, and where he has quietly worked to wring from the Age of Men a new and greater Sauronian kingdom of evil. He will make himself known to us so that we might finally provide him his ultimate victory in this world of Men.

That is how I read the Lord of the Rings. That is how I see the history and lore of the One Ring. I submit it for your consideration.
Peregrina_Took
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 5:37 pm

Post by Peregrina_Took »

While your theory is fastinating, it is also faulty and vague.

1. All the lore of the One Ring makes plain that those who would possess the Ring would seek power over others, as well as aggrandizement of their own selves. Yet, how was this manifested with Smeagol? Did he seek greater authority in the wide world? Did he seek power even within his small community? NO! Instead, he allowed himself, even while possessing something that was supposedly the most powerful magical artifact in Middle Earth, to be cowed by the matriarch of his clan. He slunk off and burrowed himself under the Misty Mountains to reign in a dank Kingdom of One for hundreds of years! How, I ask you, is this consistent with the characteristics of a Ring that supposedly goads its owner to megalomaniacal power?!!

The Ring gave power according to the power of its current owner - Smeagol was not very powerful, and therefore the Ring was not TOO interested in him. Also, Smeagol only had an idea that the Ring was extremily powerful. He probably was not aware until later on that it was the One Ring. That helped him resist its seductive powers. Also, Smeagol DID want to try to take over the world - Lord Gollum, and such. Sam overhears him talking about it in TTT, I believe.

2. Similarly, neither Bilbo nor Frodo sought power within Hobbit society. They, too, remained in the background of their communities, and apparently suffered no adverse influence from the Ring to make use of its powers.

Bilbo and Frodo were Hobbits - they were incredibly resiliant to the Ring's strength, partly because they were not interested in being in a position of control. Even then, it took them a long time for Frodo to become corrupted and desire power.

From this, we can conclude that the desire of power was a sign of extreme curruption. Gandalf and Galadriel wanted power because they were already in a position of control.

3. Frodo offered the ring to several others: Gandalf, Galadriel, and Aragorn. Does this sound like a One Ring that its owner cannot bear to part with? And not only that, but ALL THREE who were offered the Ring refused it! Surely, this ring did not appear to inspire much lust for ownership among those who encountered it.

Frodo was resisting the strength of the Ring. As time went on, he did become more and more reluctant to show others the Ring - think about Sam taking it to protect it from the Orcs.

4. "So, why would Sauron send the entire contingent of 9 Nazgul to retrieve the Ring from Frodo's possession if it wasn't the One Ring?", you might rightfully ask. Yet consider this: by sending his ENTIRE corps of bodyguards to find the Ring, Sauron left himself totally vulnerable to an attack from any Western power. (Sauron, you remember, was in an incorporeal state in which he apparently had very few options to physically defend himself other than through proxies, such as the Nazgul.) Yes, sending all of the Nine to the Shire might be viewed as an act of desperation - going "all in," so to speak - to secure the One Ring. Yet, what if Sauron KNEW that the ring for which he dispatched the Nazgul, was NOT the One Ring? What if Sauron was himself in possession of the One Ring already? Could he not, in such circumstances, afford to allow himself to be seen as totally vulnerable, when in fact he still possessed the ultimate defense: the ONE RING?! And by sending all of The Nine in search of Frodo's ring, he gave that ring the imprimatur of authenticity. Additionally, Sauron diabolically planted within the community of Men and Elves a horribly corruptive artifact that would cause dissension and strife among his enemies - the counterfeit One Ring!

AND - to capitalize even more on this ring's capabilities, he knew that his enemies would BELIEVE it to be the One Ring. Thus, Sauron's most powerful foes would be compelled to take this ring and, believing it was the One Ring, use it against a newly resurrected Sauron. This ring, in other words, would be the method whereby Sauron's enemies would decimate each other in their attempts to possess it to the exclusion of any other claimant, AND it would act as a beacon to Sauron, indicating who his most powerful foe was! You see, this counterfeit One Ring would be SUBORDINATE to the One TRUE Ring, which Sauron would again retrieve from its hiding place in the foundations of the Dark Tower, and wield in his resurrected state! Whoever among the Wise in the West would attempt to wield this counterfeit One Ring would be INSTANTLY made known and revealed to Sauron, who would have power over the subordinate ring and its wearer!

Sauron knew at once that someone had his Ring, the Ring he had been searching for for the past century. In the panic and rage of the moment, he put all his power and thought and resources into finding the Ring. And besides, if the Ringwraiths HAD brought the Ring back to him, then he would no longer be unprotected. All this happened during Mt. Doom. Before that, when he was sending Ringwraiths into the Shire, he was not being threatened. No one was attacking him, and even if they did, he still had massive defenses around Mordor, plus his Orcs. He realized that lowering his guard for a time would be worth it if he found the Ring.

As the last alliance of Men and Elves assembled their forces for battle within sight of Barad-Dur at the foot of Mt Doom, Sauron could see from his vantage high in the Dark Tower that his forces could not prevail against those of Elves and Men. He knew that he would eventually be besieged in his Tower, and every siege (unless lifted by outside forces) results in the victory of a determined siege force.

So Sauron decided that he must secret the One Ring so that his enemies could not sieze it. He hid it, no doubt within the foundations of Barad-Dur where it would survive even the most energetic attempts to eradicate the Tower.

Venturing forth onto the battlefield, Sauron bore a COUNTERFEIT ring on his hand! Yes, it was powerful. Yes, it looked like the genuine article. BUT IT WAS NOT the ONE RING! How can we know this? Simple: IT DID NOT PREVAIL ON THE BATTLEFIELD! This very fact indicates it was not the One Ring!
He took a chance that maybe this counterfeit One Ring might have sufficient power to prevail in the battle. And if it didn't and he were slain, then he knew he would nevertheless be able to reassemble his spirit in some later time, with the full knowledge that his enemies would NOT be in possession of the true One Ring, which he could retrieve in a later Age of Middle Earth.



This is harder to disprove. But you have to remember that the Ring WAS NOT INVINCIBLE. Almost, impossibe to destroy, yes, but not invincible. If it was invincible and all-powerful, it would not have melted in Mt. Doom.

Sauron had bad experiences with being defeated. It is unlikely, in my opinion, that he would so willingly sacrifice himself. Why go through all the trouble of being defeated and returning, when he could just obliviate his enemies at once?

As far as I can tell from the few glimpses of Sauron's character that we get in LotR, he was very self-confident. He would sometimes ignore facts he didn't like. Also, he was for all or nothing. He didn't like running chances and risks. He wanted to completely destroy his enemies, and do it in a memorable way.

Another hole - how would his enemies know that it was the One Ring? Not until much later, after Isildur and other humans had studied the Ring did they come to a conclusion about it.

How would this counterfeit Ring corrupt humans if it wasn't the One? You've said yourself that the fake ring did not have strong corruptive powers.

How would it act as a beacon? The One Ring did not send out a signal strong enough for Sauron to know its exact location. How would its less powerful counterpart manage this?

How did Sauron know that the most powerful country would get the ring? How did he know that someone less important person would find and keept it? coughSmeagolcough

Again, this shows the diabolical genius of Sauron: he deliberately APPEARED to fall! He himself pulled out the foundations of Barad-Dur, and in the chaos escaped with the ONE RING to other parts of Middle Earth.

Why would he do this? Because he could see that an Age of Men would provide infinitely more opportunities for evil and horror to prevail on the Earth than any mere Age of Orcs could ever visit on our planet. If there is anything we know of Sauron, it is that he is patient -- patient enough to wait for the full flowering of the greatest Evil that can could arise in our world: an Age of MEN!

It is my contention that Sauron and the One Ring are currently at work in our world. He will soon again come forth from the shadows in which he has hidden for tens of thousands of years, and where he has quietly worked to wring from the Age of Men a new and greater Sauronian kingdom of evil. He will make himself known to us so that we might finally provide him his ultimate victory in this world of Men.

That is how I read the Lord of the Rings. That is how I see the history and lore of the One Ring. I submit it for your consideration.

Sauron knew that the Elves were leaving Middle-earth. If he was as clever as you say he was (and you are right), and if Sauron chose the perfect time to come out of hiding in Mordor, then why did he wait for the time he did?

If Sauron made a more powerful Ring, and is using it today, then there should be more signs of it - why hasn't he taken over the world yet?

It is impossible to dissapear entirely. Even if Sauron did flee Mordor, then where did he go? If he was still alive then Gandalf and the others would feel and know it.

Overall, you theories are fastinating. Unfortunately they are still only theories in my opinion, and rather faulty ones at that.[/i]
Nuada
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:51 am

Post by Nuada »

I think if it was a counterfeit ring then the elves who have the remaining rings would know Sauron still had the one ring. They would have felt it when wearing their rings! Sauron would not be able to resist trying to corrupt the wearers of the 3 elven rings! Its what he made the one ring for in the first place!!! Gandalf has an elven ring and knows a lot more about what goes on than he lets on! If he didnt think Bilbo had the one ring he would have said so! And felt the power of the original. He did a lot of research! The one ring had a will of its own and therefore a plan of its own to get back to Sauron. It was not really designed to be away from its master, if it was then why did he put so much strength into it? Dont think he would have the strength to make 2 rings! If he did then that power would have been lost when the counterfeit was destroyed! Its obvious that Sauron hates losing his power and influence! Very interesting theory tho, but I feel the points you bring up can be answered well enough by reading tlor books in detail :D
Rhynnyn_of_the_South
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 1:55 pm

Post by Rhynnyn_of_the_South »

Plus the reason neither Bilbo nor Frodo saught power in there own communities was because Bilbo was LOADED. He had wealth from the treasure he had brought back from his adventure to the lonely mountain, he could sit at the back of the community and not feel the need to rule because he was rich and people knew it.
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