Posted: March 10, 1999 at 12:26:55: by Davewise
: : : More importantly: My theory that Sauron left the Ring in the Barad-dur is taken from Akallabêth (Silm, p. 280): "yet his [Sauron's] spirt arose out of the deep and passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea, and came back to Middle-earth and to Mordor that was his home. There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dûr, and dwelt there ...": : I'm with you on this, Stephen. : : Sauron would have believed that the Ring would be quite safe in Barad-dûr during his sojourn in Numenor since Gil-galad didn't have the strength or urgency to attack Mordor. It took the combined might of the Last Alliance to do it and even that was only in response to Sauron making the first strike. : : As it happened, it was for the best that he left the Ring behind because otherwise it would have been lost at the bottom of the ocean in the destruction of Numenor, out of reach from (probably) both sides but still intact; I don't think that the disembodied Sauron could have handled physical items. Then in the Third Age, even the Ringless Sauron would have been able to eventually conquer the West. : Sorry boys, but you are definately incorrent. As Tolkien says in a letter to a Miss Beare on 14th October 1958: : "Ar-Pharazon, as is told in the 'Downfall' or Akallabeth,
: conquered a terrified Sauron's subjects, not Sauron.
: Sauron's personal 'surrender' was voluntary and cunning*: he got
: free transport to Numenor! He naturally had the One Ring, and so
: very soon dominated the minds and wills of most of the
: Numenoreans. (I do not think Ar-Pharazon knew anything about the
: One Ring. The Elves kept the matter of the Rings very secret, as
: long as they could....: ....Though reduced to a 'spirit of hatred borne on a dark wind',
: I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the
: One Ring...... : That seems pretty clear to me. Not only did Sauron have the One Ring while in Numenor, but he was capable, even as a disembodied spirit (this time), to carry it away with him back to Barad-dur. : Cheers
: Padster
That darn book of collected letters has thwarted me once again. I've owned it for 10 years but I really should give a close reading. It's a real ace in the hole for tidbits of Tolkien insight because many of the letters were written in response to readers' questions.
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