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The One Ring, it is said, would not be allowed in Valinor, but the three rings, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, crafted by Celebrimbor (who learned the skill from Sauron) were allowed to travel West. All went West with their bearers Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond. Why were these rings, which were bound to the One Ring and a product of Middle-earth, allowed to go west into the Undying Land?

terdon
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Morgan
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    By the time they went to Valinor, Sauron was dead and the three rings were just jewelry. There was nothing magic about them any more. They were just metal and stone. – Wad Cheber Feb 23 '16 at 23:12
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    @WadCheber I hear what you're saying and not to get nitpicky but a Maia can't die. – Morgan Feb 23 '16 at 23:18
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    Where do you see the claim that the ring wouldn't be allowed in Valinor? I don't remember any edicts about objects, just people. – Avner Shahar-Kashtan Feb 24 '16 at 05:44
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    Elrond's Council. http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/64472/1924 – chx Feb 24 '16 at 15:52
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    @Morgan Maiar can die. Gandalf and Saurman both die in LotR. – ibid Feb 25 '16 at 00:41
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    @ibid Maia are not flesh and blood beings, they're spirit beings who can take on mortal form. When/if their 'body' is destroyed they continue, much like taking off a worn jacket. The jacket is merely a covering. – Morgan Feb 25 '16 at 01:29
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    @Morgan - That is what death is in Tolkien's universe. Death of the hröar. One's fëa can never die. This is true by elves, humans, and maiar. The only difference is how easy it is to get a new hröa. (This is talked about in HoME X.) – ibid Feb 25 '16 at 01:34

3 Answers3

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quote from The Silmarillion From the Chapter headed: Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age:

"...they were given unto 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 Celibrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they were subject to the one."

also:

"...yet after the fall of Sauron their power was ever at work, and where they abode mirth also dwelt and all things were unstained..."

Once the One Ring was destroyed, it no longer had power over The Three.

Added:

And the last paragraph of the Silmarillion:

"...and then it was made plain, that the power of the Three Rings had ended, and to the Firstborn the world grew old and grey."

They passed unsullied and powerless to the Ancient West.

Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
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    Good first answer. I'm holding off my upvote until tomorrow, however, so that you can get even more rep. :) (I feel like I'm talking to myself.) – Mithical Feb 24 '16 at 10:26
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    Indeed a good answer. I would speculate that the 3 bearers could only bring them to the West AFTER the Ruling Ring was destroyed – user001 Feb 24 '16 at 11:13
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    I didn't realise the three retained their power, I thought I read in another answer that they lost their powers with the passing of the one. – thegreatjedi Feb 24 '16 at 11:56
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    @thegreatjedi That quote refers to the fall of Sauron at the end of the Second Age, not the Third. – chepner Feb 24 '16 at 14:14
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    The key difference was that bringing the One Ring to Valinor would have been a way of hiding the ring and avoiding the problem of dealing with Sauron once and for all. Bringing the Three was simply a matter of bringing a few mementos of their struggle with Sauron. – chepner Feb 24 '16 at 14:15
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    @Mithrandir upvoting Gandalf? Don't we have rules against upvoting yourself from other accounts? :) – reirab Feb 24 '16 at 16:20
  • @chepner doesn't Return of the King contain a good remark that the destruction of the One ring stripped the power from the remaining rings? – Kaithar Feb 24 '16 at 18:04
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    The only quote I'm aware of concerning the fate of the Three if the One were to be destroyed is Elrond's at the Council of Elrond: "[...] But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten. This is my belief." (II.2.282) I don't think it is ever explicitly stated that is is, in fact, what happened, but I think it is implied by the fact that the bearers of the Three all departed together. – chepner Feb 24 '16 at 18:08
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    Galadriel seems more certain: "Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, [...]" (II.7.380) – chepner Feb 24 '16 at 18:15
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    @chepner "....and the latest of the Keepers rode to the sea...and took there the ship..." Yes,it is implied, but that is ever Tolkien's way. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Feb 25 '16 at 12:17
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    @Cascabel Also Gandalf says this to Aragorn: 'For though much has been saved, much must now pass away; and the power of the Three Rings also is ended.' And I'm pretty sure there are other quotes in Return of the King - perhaps when they see Treebeard again (or somewhere around that)? Yes, same chapter indeed: Many Partings: 'But at length all was said, and they parted again for a while, until it was time for the Three Rings to pass away.' – Pryftan Dec 24 '17 at 01:29
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“And they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.”

This can have two interpretations:
1. The ring belongs to Middle-earth so we can't bring it to Valinor. Therefore we have to deal with it here
2. As the ring belongs to Middle-earth, we are responsible for dealing with all the problems it's causing it; we can't hide it in Valinor.

I am in favour of the second interpretation: the problem is not the characteristics of the ring, if it's powerful or corrupting, the problem is that Sauron wants it and bringing it to Valinor will (eventually) cause conflict as Sauron will scheme (maybe send Saruman as a spy?) to get it back. And They don't want conflict, that's why Valinor was hidden in the First Age.

Additionally, it fits the theme of leaving Middle-Earth alone and letting people handle the problems (e.g. by imposing restrictions on what the wizards can do); allowing the Ring in Valinor would contradict this completely.

On the other hand, nobody (powerful) desires the Three (especially if they've lost their power) so allowing them in Valinor will not bring any more conflict than bringing a sword.

falsedot
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  • Didn't Sam keep Sting? – Mithical Feb 25 '16 at 11:34
  • @Mithrandir not sure to be honest (but didn't Sam go to Valinor anyway?). I mentioned Sting because it's a somewhat famous named sword but I see how it can be misleading; I replaced it with just a sword as the point is not that String "got in". – falsedot Feb 25 '16 at 12:35
  • @Mithrandir After Rose's death, Sam met Elanor one last time, left her the Red Book and it is said that he reached the Grey Havens and crossed the sea (Appendix B, The Tale of Years, year 1482 S.R.). – lfurini Feb 25 '16 at 18:12
  • @lfurini Really? From the end of RotK, it seems like he would stay in Middle-Earth. :/ – Mithical Feb 25 '16 at 18:22
  • @Mithrandir Yes, but the end of The return of the king is not the end of the book, the appendixes add a lot to the story! :-) (more than 60 years pass from Frodo's departure to Sam's one) – lfurini Feb 25 '16 at 18:33
  • @lfurini Ah. The appendices were too dry for me. :P – Mithical Feb 25 '16 at 18:34
  • @Mithrandir Gimli also goes there. This too is in the appendices as well as the letters (or certainly Tolkien mentions it in the letters but if memory serves me right it's also in the appendix though I don't recall which one). – Pryftan Dec 24 '17 at 01:31
  • I've made it through the appendices by now, @Pryftan. But thanks ;) – Mithical Dec 24 '17 at 13:11
  • @Mithrandir So the pages of the book became wet (how else can they not be 'dry' ? :) ). Was just a FYI but it seems not needed. Cheers. – Pryftan Dec 25 '17 at 01:58
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Well, you see, the Elves made a bunch of stuff in Middle Earth (probably) before ending up at Valinor in the first place; so why not a bunch of rings? If the Silmarlis could be on Valinor, I don't see why the rings shouldn't. And as for skill learned from Mairon - he had been a Maya of Aule, after all; I bet there's plenty of things on Valinor made with some kind of contribution from him.

einpoklum
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