Nine Rings

The Nine Rings were made along with the other Rings of Power in Eregion and were forged by Elven smiths under the guidance of Sauron. They were kept in the House of the Mírdain, but all rings save the Three Elven rings were captured by Sauron when he attacked Eregion. He gave nine of them to Men, and it was said that three of those that received them were Númenórean lords, and another was from the East.

The owners of the Nine were corrupted, amassing glory and riches, and becoming great among Men. They had the ability to become invisible, and their lives were extended unnaturally, until they fell at last to the power of the One Ring held by Sauron. They became part of the wraith-world, permanently invisible, and were enslaved by Sauron. They were afterwards his greatest servants, terrible to behold, known as the Nazgûl.

During the end of the Third Age, Sauron had apparently reclaimed the Nine Rings to himself.

In The Council of Elrond, Gandalf indicates that the Nazgûl kept their Rings by saying, "The Nine the Nazgûl keep". However in many other references, it is indicated that Sauron later held the Nine Rings. Furthermore, Frodo does not see any Rings on them on Weathertop, and it is believed that if they did wear the Rings, they would have been fully invisible (including their cloaks).

It is possible that the line in the Council of Elrond represents Tolkien's earlier intention that the Nazgûl should still be wearing their Rings; if that is so, he later changed his mind and simply missed revising that sentence.

The Nine Rings in adaptations

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Nine Kings are shown holding the Nine Rings in the prologue.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game:

Two of the Rings are named in the Rise of Saruman expansion: The Ring of Savagery and the Ring of Terror.

2017: The Lord of the Rings Online:

The Nine Rings are named as "Orôm, the Warmonger", "Sâkhla, the Cruel One", and "Adâsh, the Foe-maker", given to the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur and two other Easterling rulers, respectively; "Jûru, the Herald of Mourning", "Mêbat, the Mirth-eater", and "Khânto, the Pain-giver", given to Haradrim; and "Sapthân, the Foolstone", "Nitîr, Terror's Sting", and "Ûri, the Heart-stopper", given to Númenóreans, the third of whom became the Witch-king of Angmar.

2017: Middle-earth: Shadow of War:

In a number of departures from the canon, a few of the Nine are shown to have had multiple bearers. These include a revived Isildur and Talion, the game's main protagonist; Suladân, an original character; and original characters Riya and Yuka, sisters who killed their rings' previous owners and claimed them only to become wraiths themselves. Helm Hammerhand is also depicted as receiving one of the Nine from both Sauron and Celebrimbor in a clear breach of the timeline established in canon.

1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 28/05/2026.