Editing Rings of Power (section)

== Inspiration ==

=== Nodens ===

{{further|Philology and Middle-earth|Tolkien and the classical world}}

The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] thought that Tolkien's work on a Latin inscription at a Roman temple at [[Lydney Park]] was a "pivotal" [[J. R. R. Tolkien's influences|influence]], combining as it did a god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand. The god-hero was [[Nodens]], whom Tolkien traced to the Irish hero ''[[Nuada Airgetlám]]'', "Nuada of the Silver-Hand", and the inscription carried a curse on a stolen ring.<ref name="Tolkien" group=T>[[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien, J. R. R.]], "The Name Nodens", Appendix to "Report on the excavation of the prehistoric, Roman and post-Roman site in [[Lydney Park]], Gloucestershire", ''Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London'', 1932; also in ''[[Tolkien Studies|Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review]]'', Vol. 4, 2007</ref><ref name="Anger 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Anger |first=Don N. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Report on the Excavation of the Prehistoric, Roman and Post-Roman Site in Lydney Park, Gloucestershire |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=563–564}}</ref> "Silver-Hand" is the English translation of "Celebrimbor", the Elven-smith who made the Rings of Power, in association with the Dwarven-smith Narvi. The temple was at a place called Dwarf's Hill.<ref name="Anger 2013"/>{{sfn|Lyons|2004|p=63}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=Helen |title=And Have an Eye to That Dwarf |journal=[[Amon Hen (journal)|Amon Hen]]: The Bulletin of the Tolkien Society |date=May 1997 |issue=145 |pages=13–14}}</ref>{{sfn|Bowers|2019|pp=131–132}}

{{#tag:imagemap|
File:Nodens Temple influence on Tolkien.svg{{!}}thumb{{!}}upright={{{upright|1.7}}}{{!}}center{{!}}{{{caption|Imagemap with clickable links. Apparent influence of archaeological and philological work at Nodens' Temple on [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] legendarium<ref name="Anger 2013"/> }}}

rect  10  10  300  180 [[Celebrimbor]] 

<!--rect 310  10  600  180 [[Rings of Power]]  pointless self-reference-->

rect 610  10  890  180 [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)]] 

rect 180 220  470  400 [[Nuada Airgetlám]]

rect 200 450  400  650 [[Nodens]] 

rect 410 450  800  650 [[Lydney Park]]

rect  10  10  900  675 [[commons:File:Nodens Temple influence on Tolkien.svg]]
}}

=== Ring of Gyges ===

{{see also|Tolkien and the classical world}}

Magical rings occur [[Tolkien and the classical world|in classical legend]], in the form of the [[Ring of Gyges]] in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]''.<!--book 2--> It grants the power of invisibility to its wearer, creating a [[moral dilemma]], enabling people to commit injustices without fearing they would be caught.<ref name="de Armas 1994"/> In contrast, Tolkien's One Ring actively exerts an evil force that destroys the [[morality]] of the wearer.<ref name="Shadow of the Past" group=T/>

<gallery mode=packed heights=250 widths=250>
File:Der Ring des Gyges (Ferrara 16 Jh).jpg|The shepherd [[Gyges of Lydia|Gyges]] of [[Plato]]'s ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' finds the [[Ring of Gyges|magic ring]], setting up a [[moral dilemma]].<ref name="de Armas 1994"/> [[Ferrara]], 16th century
</gallery>

Scholars including [[Frederick A. de Armas]] note parallels between Plato's and Tolkien's rings.<ref name="de Armas 1994"/><ref name="Neubauer 2021">{{cite book |last=Neubauer |first=Lukasz |title=Less Consciously at First but More Consciously in the Revision: Plato's Ring as a Putative Source of Inspiration for Tolkien's Ring of Power |pages=217–246}} in {{harvnb|Williams|2021}}</ref> De Armas suggests that both Bilbo and Gyges, going into deep dark places to find hidden treasure, may have "undergone a [[Catabasis]]", a psychological journey to the Underworld.<ref name="de Armas 1994">{{cite journal |last1=de Armas |first1=Frederick A. |title=Gyges' Ring: Invisibility in Plato, Tolkien and Lope de Vega |journal=[[Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts]] |date=1994 |volume=3 |issue=3/4 |pages=120–138 |jstor=43308203}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Frederick A. de Armas's comparison of Plato's and Tolkien's rings<ref name="de Armas 1994"/>
|-
! Story element !! [[Plato]]'s ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' !! Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]]
|-
| Ring's power || Invisibility || Invisibility, and corruption of the wearer
|-
| Discovery || [[Gyges of Lydia|Gyges]] finds ring in a deep chasm || [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] finds ring in a deep cave
|-
| First use || Gyges ravishes the Queen,<br/>kills the King,<br/>becomes King of Lydia (a bad purpose) || Bilbo puts ring on by accident,<br/>is surprised [[Gollum]] does not see him,<br/>uses it to escape danger (a good purpose)
|-
| Moral result || Total failure || Bilbo emerges strengthened
|}

The Tolkien scholar Eric Katz writes that "Plato ''argues'' that such [moral] corruption will occur, but Tolkien ''shows'' us this corruption through the thoughts and actions of his characters".<ref name="Katz 2003"/> Plato argues that immoral life is no good as it corrupts one's soul. So, Katz states, according to Plato a moral person has peace and happiness, and would not use a Ring of Power.<ref name="Katz 2003"/> In Katz's view, Tolkien's story "demonstrate[s] various responses to the question posed by Plato: would a just person be corrupted by the possibility of almost unlimited power?"<ref name="Katz 2003"/> The question is answered in different ways: the monster [[Gollum]] is weak, quickly corrupted, and finally destroyed; [[Boromir]], son of the [[Steward of Gondor]], begins virtuous but like Plato's Gyges is corrupted "by the temptation of power"<ref name="Katz 2003"/> from the Ring, even if he wants to use it for good, but redeems himself by defending the hobbits to his own death; the "strong and virtuous"<ref name="Katz 2003"/> [[Galadriel]], who sees clearly what she would become if she accepted the ring, and rejects it; the immortal [[Tom Bombadil]], exempt from the Ring's corrupting power and from its gift of invisibility; [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] who in a moment of need faithfully uses the ring, but is not seduced by its vision of "Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age"; and finally [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] who is gradually corrupted, but is saved by his earlier mercy to Gollum, and Gollum's desperation for the Ring. Katz concludes that Tolkien's answer to Plato's "Why be moral?" is "to be yourself".<ref name="Katz 2003">{{cite book |last=Katz |first=Eric |title=The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All |publisher=Open Court |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8126-9545-8 |editor-last=Bassham |editor-first=Gregory |pages=5–20 |chapter=The Rings of Tolkien and Plato: Lessons in Power, Choice, and Morality |oclc=863158193 |editor-last2=Bronson |editor-first2=Eric |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw-NAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5}}</ref>

=== Germanic legend and fairy tale ===

Tolkien was certainly influenced by the Germanic legend: [[Andvaranaut]] is a magical ring that can give its wielder wealth, while [[Draupnir]] is a self-multiplying ring that holds dominion over all the rings it creates. [[Richard Wagner]]'s opera series ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' adapted Norse mythology to provide a magical but cursed golden ring.<ref>{{harvnb|Simek|2005|pp=165, 173}}</ref> Tolkien denied any connection, but scholars agreed that Wagner's ''Ring'' powerfully influenced Tolkien.<ref name="Arvidsson 2010"/> The scholar of religion Stefan Arvidsson writes that Tolkien's ring differs from Wagner's in being concerned with power for its own sake and that he turned one ring into many, an echo of the self-multiplying ring.<ref name="Arvidsson 2010">{{cite journal |last=Arvidsson |first=Stefan |year=2010 |title=Greed and the Nature of Evil: Tolkien versus Wagner |journal=Journal of Religion and Popular Culture |volume=22 |issue=2 |at=article 7 |doi=10.3138/jrpc.22.2.007 |url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:349219/FULLTEXT01.pdf<!--full text, not redundant to DOI-->}}</ref>

"Magic rings are a frequent motif in [[fairy tale]]s; they confer powers such as invisibility or flight; they can summon wish-granting [[djinn]]s and dwarves", writes the Tolkien and feminist scholar Melanie Rawls. She adds that they "identify the enchanted princess, hold the tiny golden key to the secret room, give one the power to transform oneself into any form — animal, vegetable, or mineral: duck, lake, rock or tree on a plain, and so escape the ogre."<ref name="Rawls 1984">{{cite journal |last=Rawls |first=Melanie |year=1984 |title=The Rings of Power |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=11 |issue=2 |at=Article 5 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol11/iss2/5}}</ref> As Tolkien was well acquainted with fairy tales like The [[Brothers Grimm]]'s [[Snow White|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]],  Jeanette White from ''[[Comic Book Resources]]'' suggested that his choice "to gift seven rings of power to the Dwarf Lords of the seven kingdoms is probably no accident".<ref name="CBR">{{cite web|last=White |first=Jeannette |title=Are Lord of the Rings and Disney's Snow White Part of the Same Universe? |date=20 February 2021 |publisher=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] |url=https://www.cbr.com/lotr-snow-white-same-universe/ |access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="Atlas">{{Cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tolkien-cs-lewis-disney-snow-white-narnia-hobbit-dwarves |title=The Movie Date That Solidified J.R.R. Tolkien's Dislike of Walt Disney|date=25 April 2017 |first=Eric |last=Grundhauser |publisher=[[Atlas Obscura]]|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref> 

The nine rings for Mortal Men match the number of the Nazgûl. Edward Pettit, in ''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'', states that nine is "the commonest 'mystic' number in Germanic lore". He quotes the "[[Nine Herbs Charm]]" from the ''[[Lacnunga]]'', an Old English book of spells, suggesting that Tolkien may have made multiple uses of such spells to derive attributes of the Nazgûl:<ref name="Pettit 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Pettit |first1=Edward |title=J.R.R. Tolkien's use of an Old English charm |journal=Mallorn |date=2002 |issue=40 |pages=39-44 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/132/126}}</ref>

{{blockquote|<poem>
against venom and vile things
and all the loathly ones,
that through the land rove, 
...
against nine fugitives from glory, 
against nine poisons and 
against nine flying diseases.</poem>}}