Seven for the Dwarf-lords

[Andorinha]

We have not yet specifically addressed the 7 rings of power that the Elves, and/ or Sauron gave to the heads of the various Houses of the Dwarves. Matters of interest here may be: the sources of such rings; the specific functions, properties, and powers they possessed; their impact on the Darves; and how the seven rings differed from the others.

[Andorinha]

In reading some of the source material of the Nibelungen, actually seeking parallels with the One Ring of Sauron, I found instead a parallel between the Seven Dwarven Rings and the ring of the Norse Dwarf, Andvari:

"The gods were forced by Regin, Fafnir, and Hreidmar to fill the flayed skin of the otter with gold and to cover it completely with gold. Loki is therefore compelled to seek the gold they need. He goes back to the waterfall and catches Andvari with a net, for the dwarf has turned into a pike. Loki forces Andvari to hand over all the gold, including a ring that would have allowed the dwarf to build up his treasure again. Andvari curses the gold. He prophesies that two two brothers (Fafnir and Regin) will be killed and eight earls (Sigurd, Gitthorm, Gunnar, hogni, Atli, Erp, Sorli, and Hamadir) will start to quarrel about the treasure. Hreidmar is compensated, but he does not want to share the gold with his sons. Fafnir therefore kills his father, takes the gold, turns himself into a dragon, and guards the gold on the Gnitaheide." (p. 35, The Nibelungen Tradition, Francis G. Gentry et al, 2002)

I'll have to check for the actual source-quotations from JRRT, but I seem to recall that one function of the Seven was to "multiply" wealth, especially gold.

[Stormrider]

That Norse tale sounds very interesting.

On pp. 288-289 in The Silmarillion. This is after Sauron put on the One Ring and the Elves saw what he was up to and took theirs off and hid three:

Sauron gathered into his hands all the remaining Rings of Power; and he dealth them out to the other peoples of Middle-earth, hoping thus to bring under his sway all those that desired secret power beyond the measure of their kind. Seven rings he gave to the Dwarves; but to Men he gave nine, for Men proved in this matter as in other the readiest to his will. And all those rings that he governed he perverted, the more easily since he had a part in their making, and they were accursed, and they betrayed in the end all those that used them.

The Dwarves indeed proved tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows. They used their rings only for the getting of wealth; but wrath and an over-mastering greed of gold were kindled in their hearts, of which evil enough after came to the profit of Sauron. It is said that the foundation of each of the Seven Hoards of the Dwarf-kings of old was a golden ring; but all those hoards long ago were plundered and the Dragons devoured them, and of the Seven Rings some were consumed in fire and some Sauron recovered.

Also on page 299 of The Silmarillion it states:

Dwarves still laboured in the hills and wrought with patient craft works of metal and stone that none now can rival. But the Domination of Men was preparing and all things were changing, until at last the Dark Lord arose in Mirkwood again

It does appear that the Dwarven Rings did help the Dwarf-kings build their hoards and gave them great talents in their metal and stone craft. I assume that because of their rings of power, they were able to delve deeper into the Mountains and dig up their precious ores and fashion them into fine works of beauty. However, they became greedy because of their rings, too. We can see that at work in The Hobbit.

[Andorinha]

Thanks Stormrider! That was just exactly the quote I was looking for, LOL, searching through the appendices of LOTR, wrong place! Like the treasure of Andvari, the seven hoards of the Dwarves seem also to have been cursed, eventually the mere existence of such concentrated wealth seems to have provoked attacks and the loss of each and all, with, I imagine, a goodly loss of Dwarvish lives. After the loss of Moria IIIA 1980/81, was its great hoard taken by the Balrog and the Orcs, or was at least part of it transferred to Erebor to act as the nucleus for a new hoard? At any rate, the last of the Seven Rings seems to have worked well in The Lonely Mountain, allowing the fugitives of Moria to rebuild their vast wealth -- for a while.

But, after the loss of Erebor, there is a curious statement that seems to limit the powers of the Dwarven rings: "Years afterwards Thror, now old, poor, and desperate, gave to his son Thrain the one great treasure he still possessed, the last of the Seven Rings ... Of the Ring he said to Thrain at their parting: 'This may prove the foundation of a new fortune for you yet, though that seems unlikely. But it needs gold to breed gold.'" (RotK, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk," p. 354 hb version)

Hmmm... How much gold was required to act as the seed of a new hoard? I guess Tolkien needed a nearly impoverished set of Dwarves to make it reasonable that they would continue to do "ill-advised" things, such as Thror going back to Moria to be killed? So, he had to disable the Dwarf Ring's gold-generating power in some way. And, of course, if Thrain and Thorin had been able to use the ring to repair their fortunes, they would have been less likely to try to regain the wealth of Erebor, and poor Bilbo would have remained quietly, "grocer-like" in The Shire, while Gollum would have kept the One...

[Stormrider]

Makes you wonder if Sauron would ever have found his One Ring! Gollum would just have kept on living on his little island in the mountain squeezing the life out of any goblins that ventured down into the roots.

[Andorinha]

I wonder how much antipathy JRRT might have had towards the Dwarves? His original group of early Silmarillion Dwarves seem always to be cast in a bad light, especially the unfortunate "Petty Dwarvs," who are nearly exterminated by the Elves. Dwarves also have "dealings" with the Orcs, and by 1956 (in the tale of Aule and Yavana) they are "careless" of plant life, especially trees. But, sometime, again I think post LOTR, JRRT tries to elevate the House of Durin above the common run of Dwarves, allowing them to have a specially friendly relationship with the Noldorin elves, and of course, a special relationship with some hobbits. When it comes time to discuss the Dwarven Rings, Tolkien (1950 or later?) also elevates the Durin-dwarves by declaring that their ring was in a class by itself:

"Of this Ring something may be said here. It was believed by the Dwarves of Durin's Folk to be the first of the Seven that was forged; and they say that it was given to the King of Khazad-dum, Durin III, by the Elven-smiths themselves and not by Sauron, though doubtless his evil power was on it, since he had aided in the forging of all the Seven." (ROTK, appendix A, hb ver p. 357)

Makes me wonder, IF the Elves had been able to make ALL the Rings of Power on their own, and they made the Three to "Preserve the world unstained," what particular power, or function did they have in mind for the Dwarven Rings, and those of Men? That is, what function would the Rings be designed to perform had they been left fully clean? Would they still function as wealth gaining objects for the Dwarves, and possibly "immortality" surrogates for Men, extending life but without the Nazgul curse of "undead" slavery?

[Fredeghar Wayfarer]

andorinha said:

But, after the loss of Erebor, there is a curious statement that seems to limit the powers of the Dwarven rings: "Years afterwards Thror, now old, poor, and desperate, gave to his son Thrain the one great treasure he still possessed, the last of the Seven Rings ... Of the Ring he said to Thrain at their parting: 'This may prove the foundation of a new fortune for you yet, though that seems unlikely. But it needs gold to breed gold.'" (RotK, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk," p. 354 hb version)

To me, this doesn't sound like the power of the Seven Rings was diminished. More like Thror had learned the hard way that the rings would bring wealth for a time but also a curse of bad luck and endless attacks from greedy enemies. I guess it's all in how we intepret the line.

[Stormrider]

That sounds like today's quote, "You need money to make money."

But yes, it does also sound like there is a curse of bad luck that comes along with it. After having used his ring to make his hoard, Thror knew what the consequences were from experience. He must have also known that Sauron was lurking in the background controlling Thror's ring--at least until the One Ring was cut from Sauron's finger by Isildur.

Was the greed so strong that Thror (knowing he was going to die) wanted to pass along his "gold-making" heirloom to Thrain despite its grave dangers? I know I would not want to pass on such a destructive heirloom to my children. Was Thror so blinded by greed that he thought Thrain would also want the heirloom despite its controlling dangers and curse?

[Andorinha]

fredegar said:

To me, this doesn't sound like the power of the Seven Rings was diminished. More like Thror had learned the hard way that the rings would bring wealth for a time but also a curse of bad luck and endless attacks from greedy enemies. I guess it's all in how we intepret the line.

Hmm, yeah, this is a tough one to interpret. Does JRRT mean for us to understand that the Dwarf Ring has temporarily lost its power to "increase" the wealth of its holder; or has Thror lost his desire to use it, perhaps having come to some sort of understanding that any wealth gained through the Ring's assistance will carry a curse with it? Maybe he is viewing the loss of Moria as connected with the Ring-assisted drive for wealth accumulation that resulted in the freeing of Durin's Bane? And then, more recently, the ring-assisted growth of the wealth of Erebor resulting in the curse of Smaug? Consequently Thror just does not care to use the cursed thing again? But why not just tell us that? What's with JRRT talking about "the ring needs gold to make gold"?

Hmmm, I need more thinking on this one! LOL.