Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

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Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is relatively short, consisting of about 20 pages.

The work is a historical essay dealing with the preamble to the events described in The Lord of the Rings, and the events themselves, in the style of The Silmarillion. The fact that those events are explored in a mere handful of pages suggests that if the events described in the rest of The Silmarillion had been written in the style of The Lord of the Rings they would have filled hundreds of volumes.

After Tolkien's death in 1973, Christopher Tolkien completed this part, assisted by Guy Gavriel Kay. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age bears some similarities to Elrond's narative in The Fellowship of the Ring during the chapter The Council of Elrond; both do not divulge any details about how Arnor was destroyed and how Gondor became kingless. The closeness is perhaps intentional; as Elrond told the Second and Third Age through his eyes, the Silmarillion is suppose to be told through the point of the view of the Eldar.

Summary

As the name implies, the events of the essay are focused around magical artifacts: the Rings of Power.

The Elves of Eregion forged many rings, including nineteen Rings of Power. But Sauron had deceived them, for he made the One Ring for himself, which was the master of the rest.

However Sauron's plan failed: the Elves discovered his plot and discarded their Rings until they could be shielded from his influence. Sauron then waged war upon the Elves. He captured all the Rings of Power except three. While many Elves were killed and the kingdom in Eregion destroyed, the Men of [[N