Mirrormere

 

Gandalf fought a monster known as a Balrog, and they both fell down a deep pit, likely to their deaths. After Gandalf's self-sacrifice, the Fellowship left the abandoned dwarvish city of Khazad-dûm and escaped the orcs who attacked them.

Members of the Fellowship were deeply saddened by the death of Gandalf, their friend and companion.

But as they continued onward, Gimli the dwarf requested a moment to admire a reflecting pool known as Mirrormere, which was held in high regard by the dwarves of his lineage. During a brief visit to the pool, Gimli discussed its connection to dwarvish history and prophecy.

 

'That is Durin's Stone!' cried Gimli. 'I cannot pass without turning aside for a moment to look at the wonder of the dale!'

'Be swift then!' said Aragorn, looking back towards the Gates. 'The Sun sinks early. The Orcs will not, maybe, come out till after dusk, but we must be far away before nightfall. The Moon is almost spent, and it will be dark tonight.'

'Come with me, Frodo!' cried the dwarf, springing from the road. 'I would not have you go without seeing Kheled-zaram.' He ran down the long green slope. Frodo followed slowly, drawn by the still blue water in spite of hurt and weariness; Sam came up behind.

Beside the standing stone Gimli halted and looked up. It was cracked and weather-worn, and the faint runes upon its side could not be read. 'This pillar marks the spot where Durin first looked in the Mirrormere,' said the dwarf. 'Let us look ourselves once, ere we go!'

They stooped over the dark water. At first they could see nothing. Then slowly they saw the forms of the encircling mountains mirrored in a profound blue, and the peaks were like plumes of white flame above them; beyond there was a space of sky. 

There like jewels sunk in the deep shone glinting stars, though sunlight was in the sky above. Of their own stooping forms no shadow could be seen. (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 6)

 

I love how Gimli takes pride in Mirrormere and wants to show it to his friends.

Mirrormere isn’t a statue honoring a great leader, a precious jewel, or something that could be revered for somewhat selfish reasons.

The pool simply offers a wonderful view of the natural world around it. I enjoy that Gimli and his relatives take pride in something others might fail to appreciate.

Mirrormere was discovered by King Durin I, the oldest of the seven forefathers of the dwarves. Durin I was Gimli’s ancestor.

Gimli described Durin’s discovery of Mirrormere in the Song of Durin, which he sang to the Fellowship during their journey through Moria.

 

The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.

He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadow of his head.

(The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 4)

 

According to The Silmarillion, the dwarves believe their forefathers will one day return and live amongst them once more.

 

They say also that the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves return to live again in their own kin and to bear once more their ancient names: of whom Durin was the most renowned in after ages, father of that kindred most friendly to the Elves, whose mansions were at Khazad-dûm. (The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 2)

 

Gimli alluded to this as he said goodbye to Mirrormere.

 

'O Kheled-zaram fair and wonderful!' said Gimli. 'There lies the Crown of Durin till he wakes. Farewell!' He bowed, and turned away, and hastened back up the green-sward to the road again. (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 6)

 

Gimli also referenced Durin’s return in the Song of Durin.

 

The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dum.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.

(The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 4)

 

It seems likely the dwarves believe Durin will return to them through reincarnation, because they believe he has done so before.

Durin is the name that the Dwarves used for the eldest of the Seven Fathers of their race, and the ancestor of all the kings of the Long-beards. He slept alone, until in the deeps of time and the awakening of that people he came to Azanulbizar, and in the caves above Kheled-zaram in the east of the Misty Mountains he made his dwelling, where afterwards were the Mines of Moria renowned in song.

There he lived so long that he was known far and wide as Durin the Deathless. Yet in the end he died before the Elder Days had passed, and his tomb was in Khazad-dûm; but his line never failed, and five times an heir was born in his House so like to his Forefather that he received the name of Durin. He was indeed held by the Dwarves to be the Deathless that returned; for they have many strange tales and beliefs concerning themselves and their fate in the world. (The Return of the King, Appendix A, III Durin’s Folk)

 

The movie, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), didn’t have time to include all of the events in the book it was based on.

None of the characters discuss Mirrormere in the movie. But the movie, in one brief moment, appears to show the reflecting pool for a few seconds as the Fellowship journeys between Moria and Lothlorien.

 

 

 

In my next analysis, I will discuss the forest kingdom of Lothlorien, Lady Galadriel, and the temptation of the Ring of Power.

The Fate of the Elves

 

This is my second post about the Elven Rings, as portrayed in The Silmarillion and the The Fellowship of the Ring. In my first analysis, I explained how the Elven Rings allowed the Elves to preserve their realms.

Elrond and Galadriel, who each wore an Elven Ring, discussed their powerful tools during conversations described in The Fellowship.

  

Elrond and Galadriel

King Elrond shared his thoughts about the Elven Rings during the Council of Elrond.  

Elrond didn’t disclose that he wore one of the Elven Rings. But he told Gloin, a dwarf, that the Elven Rings were being used by those who were working to defeat Sauron.

 

'Ah, alas!' cried Gloin. 'When will the day come of our revenge? But still there are the Three. What of the Three Rings of the Elves? Very mighty Rings, it is said. Do not the Elf-lords keep them? Yet they too were made by the Dark Lord long ago. Are they idle? I see Elf-lords here. Will they not say?'

The Elves returned no answer. 'Did you not hear me, Gloin?' said Elrond. 'The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power.’

‘Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow.’

‘But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One. It would be better if the Three had never been. That is his purpose.'

'But what then would happen, if the Ruling Ring were destroyed as you counsel?' asked Gloin.

'We know not for certain,' answered Elrond sadly. 'Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought. But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten. That is my belief.'

'Yet all the Elves are willing to endure this chance,' said Glorfindel, 'if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be taken away forever.' (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 2)

 

Elrond said the Elven Rings were made by elves who valued “understanding, making, and healing” and who wanted to “preserve all things unstained.”

If Sauron regained the Ruling Ring, the Elven Rings would reveal the minds of their users to the Dark Lord, which would thwart their efforts to defeat him, Elrond said.

But if the Ruling Ring was destroyed, as Elrond recommended, he believed the powers of the Elven Rings would also come to an end, and lead the Elven cultures to fade and be forgotten.

Upon the Fellowship’s visit to Lothlorien, Lady Galadriel showed Frodo that she wore one of the Elven Rings.

Galadriel believed Sauron would destroy the elves, if Frodo failed to destroy the Ruling Ring.

But she also believed that if the Ruling Ring were destroyed, Lothlorien would fade and be swept away by the tides of time. In that came to pass, she believed the elves of Lorien would have to become a “rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten” or return to Valinor, the city of the Gods.

When Frodo asked Galadriel what outcome she preferred, Galadriel told him that she hoped Sauron would be defeated.

  

Earendil, the Evening Star, most beloved of the Elves, shone clear above. So bright was it that the figure of the Elven-lady cast a dim shadow on the ground. Its rays glanced upon a ring about her finger; it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Even-star had come down to rest upon her hand. Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seemed to him that he understood.

'Yes,' she said, divining his thought, 'it is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so. But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye. Verily it is in the land of Lorien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remains. This is Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper.

'He suspects, but he does not know — not yet. Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom? For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlorien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten.'

Frodo bent his head. 'And what do you wish?' he said at last.

'That what should be shall be,' she answered. 'The love of the Elves for their land and their works is deeper than the deeps of the Sea, and their regret is undying and cannot ever wholly be assuaged.’

‘Yet they will cast all away rather than submit to Sauron: for they know him now. For the fate of Lothlorien you are not answerable but only for the doing of your own task. Yet I could wish, were it of any avail, that the One Ring had never been wrought, or had remained for ever lost.' (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 7)

  

Interestingly, Elrond said he believed the world would have been better if the Elven Rings had never been made.

Galadriel, on the other hand, said she wished the Ruling Ring would have never been made or that it would have remained lost after Sauron’s earlier defeat.

Either of those events would have allowed the elves to use the Elven Rings without having to fear that Sauron would use the rings against them.

  

The Twilight of the Elves

I read The Fellowship before I reread passages from The Silmarillion that provided additional information about the Elven Rings.  

I initially thought Galadriel must have been mistaken about the power of the Elven Rings. I thought she might have falsely attributed to the ring what the elves had accomplished without the rings’ assistance.  

I didn’t share Galadriel’s certainty that the Elven Kingdoms would decline if the Elven Rings lost their power. And while Elrond believed the rings would likely lose their magic after the Ruling Ring was destroyed, he wasn’t sure.  

But The Silmarillion clearly explained the power of the Elven Rings and definitively stated that the rings  lost their magic after Frodo destroyed the Ring of Power. 

 

Yet many voices were heard among the Elves foreboding that, if Sauron should come again, then either he would find the Ruling Ring that was lost, or at the best his enemies would discover it and destroy it; but in either chance the powers of the Three must then fail and all things maintained by them must fade, and so the Elves should pass into the twilight and the Dominion of Men begin.

And so indeed it has since befallen: the One and the Seven and the Nine are destroyed; and the Three have passed away, and with them the Third Age is ended, and the Tales of the Eldar in Middle-earth draw to then-close.

Those were the Fading Years, and in them the last flowering of the Elves east of the Sea came to its winter. In that time the Noldor walked still in the Hither Lands, mightiest and fairest of the children of the world, and their tongues were still heard by mortal ears.

Many things of beauty and wonder remained on earth in that time, and many things also of evil and dread: Orcs there were and trolls and dragons and fell beasts, and strange creatures old and wise in the woods whose names are forgotten; Dwarves still laboured in the hills and wrought with patient craft works of metal and stone that none now can rival. 

But the Dominion of Men was preparing and all things were changing, until at last the Dark Lord arose in Mirkwood again. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

 

After the Ring of Power was destroyed, the Elvish cultures faded.

Eventually, the bearers of the Elven Rings — Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf — sailed over the sea and returned to Valinor. Their journey was described in the final passage of The Silmarillion.

 

White was that ship and long was it a-building, and long it awaited the end of which Cirdan had spoken. But when all these things were done, and the Heir of Isildur had taken up the lordship of Men, and the dominion of the West had passed to him, then it was made plain that the power of the Three Rings also was ended, and to the Firstborn the world grew old and grey.

In that time the last of the Noldor set sail from the Havens and left Middle-earth forever.

And latest of all the Keepers of the Three Rings rode to the Sea, and Master Elrond took there the ship that Cirdan had made ready. In the twilight of autumn it sailed out of Mithlond, until the seas of the Bent World fell away beneath it, and the winds of the round sky troubled it no more, and borne upon the high airs, above the mists of the world, it passed into the Ancient West, and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

 

Frodo’s journey to destroy the Ring of Power finally vanquished the Elves’ greatest enemy. But the destruction of the One Ring also ended the power of the Elven Rings, and thus brought the Age of the Elves to a close.

The Elven Rings

 

Among the free peoples of Middle Earth, the elves took special interest in the discovery of the Ring of Power, which had been lost for many years.

Like their allies among dwarves and men, the elves wished to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.

But many elves, including King Elrond and Lady Galadriel, believed destroying the Ring of Power would eliminate the powers of the Elven Rings, which the Elves used to maintain the splendor and success of their realms. Without the power of the Elven Rings, they believed Rivendell and Lothlorien would diminish and fade away to the sands of time.

The origin, significance, and fate of the Elven Rings is discussed at length in The Silmarillion and The Fellowship of the Ring.

I will examine the lore of the Elven Rings, as described in these two books, across two blog posts.   

  

Origin 

Sauron approached various Elvish kingdoms, seeking to persuade them to become his allies. His goal was to bring them under his control.

At the time, Sauron appeared fair and wise. He presented himself as, “Annatar, the Lord of Gifts.”  

The elves in the land of Eregion accepted Sauron’s assistance and learned many things from him. They used their new-found knowledge to create magic rings.

 

In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power. But Sauron guided their labours, and he was aware of all that they did; for his desire was to set a bond upon the Elves and to bring them under his vigilance.

Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last.

And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow.

And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.

But the Elves were not so lightly to be caught. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and perceived that he would be master of them, and of that they wrought.

Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. But he, finding that he was betrayed and that the Elves were not deceived, was filled with wrath; and he came against them with open war, demanding that all the rings should be delivered to him, since the Elven-smiths could not have attained to their making without his lore and counsel. But the Elves fled from him; and three of their rings they saved, and bore them away, and hid them.

Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world.

But Sauron could not discover them, for they were given into the hands of the Wise, who concealed them and never again used them openly while Sauron kept the Ruling Ring.

Therefore the Three remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they also were subject to the One.

From that time war never ceased between Sauron and the Elves; and Eregion was laid waste, and Celebrimbor slain, and the doors of Moria were shut.

In that time the stronghold and refuge of Imladris, that Men called Rivendell, was founded by Elrond Half-elven; and long it endured. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

  

According to The Silmarillion, the Elven Rings allowed their ring-bearers to, “ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world.”

King Elrond of Rivendell discussed the origin of the Elven Rings with assembled representatives of Elves, Dwarves, and Men during the Council of Elrond. They debated what to do with the Ring of Power.

  

Then all listened while Elrond in his clear voice spoke of Sauron and the Rings of Power, and their forging in the Second Age of the world long ago. A part of his tale was known to some there, but the full tale to none, and many eyes were turned to Elrond in fear and wonder as he told of the Elven-smiths of Eregion and their friendship with Moria, and their eagerness for knowledge, by which Sauron ensnared them.

For in that time he was not yet evil to behold, and they received his aid and grew mighty in craft, whereas he learned all their secrets, and betrayed them, and forged secretly in the Mountain of Fire the One Ring to be their master. But Celebrimbor was aware of him, and hid the Three which he had made; and there was war, and the land was laid waste, and the gate of Moria was shut. (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter 2)

 

Elrond described the friendship between the Elven-smiths of Eregion and the Dwarves of Moria.

Later events in The Fellowship underscore the extent of that friendship. The door to Moria, opened by the fellowship, displayed text written in Elvish that stated Celebrimbor, the elf who forged the three Elven Rings, drew the door’s decorative pattern.

After the elves learned of Sauron’s intentions and refused to hand over the Elven Rings, Sauron went to war with the elves.

After he failed to bring the elves under his command, Sauron attempted to use magic rings to bring other races of Middle Earth under his control.

Sauron provided seven rings to the dwarves, who used them to amass large hordes of gold. But Sauron wasn’t able to bring the dwarves under his command.

Sauron provided nine rings to men, who used the rings to gather power, wealth, and glory. Among men, Sauron’s scheme finally worked as planned. The Dark Lord was able to corrupt these ring-bearers and bring them under his control.

These men diminished and became Ring Wraiths, frightening spirits who were invisible to almost everyone. They served as loyal servants to the Dark Lord.

Eventually, Sauron was vanquished, at least temporarily, by the free peoples of Middle Earth.  

Afterward, the elves felt safe using the Elven Rings again.

 

The Ring Bearers

King Elrond of Rivendell commanded the power of Vilya, the Blue Sapphire Ring. The elves referred to Rivendell as Imladris.  

Vilya is also known as the Ring of Air.

Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien marshalled the majesty of Nenya, the White Ring of Adamant. Tolkien likely used Adamant as a synonym for diamond, which would mean Galadriel wore a diamond ring.

Nenya is known as the Ring of Water.

 

Of the Three Rings that the Elves had preserved unsullied no open word was ever spoken among the Wise, and few even of the Eldar knew where they were bestowed. Yet after the fall of Sauron, their power was ever at work, and where they abode there mirth also dwelt and all things were unstained by the griefs of time.

Therefore ere the Third Age was ended the Elves perceived that the Ring of Sapphire was with Elrond, in the fair valley of Rivendell, upon whose house the stars of heaven most brightly shone; whereas the Ring of Adamant was in the Land of Lorien where dwelt the Lady Galadriel.

A queen she was of the woodland Elves, the wife of Celeborn of Doriath, yet she herself was of the Noldor and remembered the Day before days in Valinor, and she was the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth.

But the Red Ring remained hidden until the end, and none save Elrond and Galadriel and Cirdan knew to whom it had been committed.

Thus it was that in two domains the bliss and beauty of the Elves remained still undiminished while that Age endured: in Imladris; and in Lothlorien, the hidden land between Celebrant and Anduin, where the trees bore flowers of gold and no Orc or evil thing dared ever come. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

 

But Sauron wasn’t truly defeated.

Benevolent Gods, known as Valar, resided in Valinor, a city that resided on a continent to the west of Middle Earth, across a great ocean.

The Valar sent Wizards to Middle Earth to aid in the fight against Sauron, whose power was slowly returning.

 

Even as the first shadows were felt in Mirkwood there appeared in the west of Middle-earth the Istari, whom Men called the Wizards. None knew at that time whence they were, save Cirdan of the Havens, and only to Elrond and to Galadriel did he reveal that they came over the Sea.

But afterwards it was said among the Elves that they were messengers sent by the Lords of the West to contest the power of Sauron, if he should arise again, and to move Elves and Men and all living things of good will to valiant deeds. In the likeness of Men they appeared, old but vigorous, and they changed little with the years, and aged but slowly, though great cares lay on them; great wisdom they had, and many powers of mind and hand.

Long they journeyed far and wide among Elves and Men, and held converse also with beasts and with birds; and the peoples of Middle-earth gave to them many names, for their true names they did not reveal.

Chief among them were those whom the Elves called Mithrandir and Curunir, but Men in the North named Gandalf and Saruman.

Of these Curunir was the eldest and came first, and after him came Mithrandir and Radagast, and others of the Istari who went into the east of Middle-earth, and do not come into these tales.

Radagast was the friend of all beasts and birds; but Curunir went most among Men, and he was subtle in speech and skilled in all the devices of smith-craft.

Mithrandir was closest in counsel with Elrond and the Elves. He wandered far in the North and West and made never in any land any lasting abode. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

 

The free peoples of Middle Earth waged another great war against Sauron. Frodo destroyed the Ring of Power by dropping it into Mount Doom, leading to Sauron’s final defeat.

Only after these consequential events was it revealed that Gandalf, who helped Frodo and others defeat the Dark Lord, wore the third and final Elven Ring — Narya, the Ring of Fire, which donned a Red Ruby.

The elf Cirdan, a master ship-builder, had given the ring to Gandalf, who was known to the elves as Mithrandir. Cirdan believed Gandalf could put the ring to good use.

  

Not until the time came for him to depart was it known that he had long guarded the Red Ring of Fire. At the first, that Ring had been entrusted to Cirdan, Lord of the Havens; but he had surrendered it to Mithrandir, for he knew whence he came and whither at last he would return.

'Take now this Ring,' he said; 'for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores, guarding the Havens until the last ship sails. Then I shall await thee.' (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)
 

In my next analysis, I will examine what Elrond and Galadriel, who both wore Elven Rings, believed was at stake for the Elves in the fight against Sauron. 

I will also discuss what they believed the discovery of the Ring of Power, and its planned destruction, meant for the Elven kingdoms they led.