Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical

After the Long-Expected Party — and in the case of the hypothetical animated musical, not long after “The Want Song” — Gandalf joined Bilbo in his house and demanded that his hobbit friend give up the One Ring. Bilbo initially reacted badly, as the ring had gained some control over him, but he eventually left the ring to his ‘nephew’, Frodo, along with most of his worldly possessions. Rings have appeared in fiction throughout world literature, spawning dozens of folkloric motifs and inspiring adaptations of ancient stories for stage and film.

So Many Motifs!

I had briefly described the magic ring as a motif back in “Prologue, 4 of the Finding of the Ring” at the same time that I introduced the concept of motifs. I mentioned then that a magic ring has the code D1076 in Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk Literature, while the more broad “extraordinary ring” has F825. With an extensive backstory feature throughout Appendix A when describing “Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur” and “The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen”, the Ring of Barahir has no magic powers but signifies the lasting friendship between two families, that of the elf-king Finrod Felagund Finarfinion and mortal leader Barahir whose descendants included Dúnedain found throughout Middle-earth.

Besides being a historical figure and a character in the Bible, King Solomon is famous in folklore for his wisdom and wealth. His kingly power came from God through a magic ring (D1335.5.2). In one story, the king lost his magic ring in the sea, and God sent dolphins to find it for him (A2275.5.4). Humans completed similar tasks of recovering a lost ring from the sea (H1132.1.1) or water generally (H1132.1.1.1). Animals were known for recovering magic rings (B548.1), including martens (B548.1.1), otters (B548.1.2), fish (B548.2.1), or a cat and dog team (D882.1.1), while birds sometimes stole the rings away (D865.1).

If a ring did not come from God, it might come from a grateful fairy (F343.12), what Tolkien would have called an elf. The Rings of Power were created by the elvish workshops of Eregion under the guidance of Ñoldor elf Celebrimbor and Sauron disguised as an elf named Annatar, which perfectly fits this motif. A ring could be taken by a thief, which Bilbo swore he was not, and discovering a ring-thief was a common task (H1199.9.1), as was a quest for a magic ring (H1352) or missing ring (H1386.2). Occasionally, men could be transformed into rings (D263.1), or a ring could be transformed into another object (D454.8.2) including a saber or sword (D454.8.2.1). Other times, the ring would do the transforming (D572.2) or take away a curse of enchantment (D771.10).

Rings had different powers with some being more useful than others. A ring might tell the wearer “how another fares” (D1310.4.1), tell the future (D1311.18), learn a person’s secret thoughts (D1316.4), show their true nature (D1316.4.1), or reveal guilt (D1318.9). Rings could give a warning (D1317.5) such as identifying a poison (D1317.5.1) or protecting against poison (D1383.3) or acting like an alarm clock (D1317.5.2). Alternatively, it might awaken someone from a magic sleep (D1364.0.1). Some rings give strength (D1335.5) or “sexual prowess” (D1335.5.1), perhaps causing the wearer to fall in love with another (D1355.4) or a woman to come to a man (D1426.2).

Rings rendered the wearer invulnerable (D1344.1), protected them in general (D1380.23) or from a specific attack (D1318.7), fire (1382.11), getting lost (1384.7), or “discomfiture” (D1384.1), which could mean defeat, frustration, or embarrassment. Similarly, the ring could conquer an enemy (D1400.1.2), perhaps by killing the adversary (D1402.11.1). It could prevent poverty (D1389.9.2) by providing money (D1456.2) and multiplying wealth (D1456.2.1). A magic ring might prevent drowning (D1388.0.1) or could cause a person to drown (D1402.0.2.3). Rings often had a strong connection to the spirit world. It might protect the wearer from spirits (D1385.3.1) or some air spirits (D1421.1.13) or a genie (D1412.1.6). Rings might provide wishes (D1470.1.15), transport the wearer (D1520.12), or bring good luck (D1561.1.1). Looking through a ring might give magic sight (D1821.3.5).

For attributes similar to those of the One Ring, some rings rejuvenated the wearer (D1338.5) and gave health (D1342.1), even resuscitating a recently deceased person (E64.13). Similar to Vilya, Elrond’s magic ring of air, healing rings could be of pagan origins (D1500.1.15) or consecrated and of Christian origins (D1500.1.15.1). The ring might cause the wearer to become invisible (D1361.17), cause an illusion (D1368.2), or disappear (D1405.1). A ring could also cause forgetfulness (D1365.5), perhaps an explanation for Bilbo’s spotty short-term memory despite his ability to memorize epic poems or Frodo’s tendency to lose his belongings even though he could remember multiple languages. However, this could equally be attributed to ADHD as mentioned in Middle-earth Psychology Cases Studies #1 and #2. Some magic rings moved under their own power and returned to the original owner when sold (D1602.17.1), similar to the One Ring’s desire to return to Sauron. Bilbo’s final riddle of “Chapter 5, Riddles in the Dark” from The Hobbit appears to be based in folklore. The original phrase was apparently “What do I hold in my hand?” rather than “What do I have in my pocket?”, the answer to both being “A ring” (J2712). Oaths were taken on rings (M112) but not “by” rings, a linguistic distinction maintained by Frodo when ordering Gollum to join the latest iteration of his Fellowship.

Rings could lose these powers by touching water (D877.1). Perhaps the strangest attributes were that some rings caused “continued sneezing” (D1372.1), made the nose grow long (D1376.1.2), helped gamblers win (D1407.1), prevented someone from standing up from a chair (D1413.2), especially if the stander is a witch (G254.1), provided livestock (D1477.2), made seaweed grow (D1487.1), turned boiling water cold (D1566.2.5, D1592.1), or brought water from dry soil (D1567.9).

Rings could speak (D1610.8), which is creepy in itself, but could also compel people to speak, such as an escaped prisoner being forced to shout, “Here I am!” (D1612.2.1). A ring might pursue a person (D1431.3), although this was not thoroughly explained. Perhaps it is similar to the One Ring somehow slipping onto people’s fingers. Different techniques were used to make magic rings work. Some liked to be petted (D1662.1) or have sunlight shone on their gem (D1622.1.1).

Rings Elsewhere

Other scholars have established how rings in The Lord of the Rings were definitely inspired by those in Norse mythology and likely by those in Jewish folklore, Roman philosophy, and Arthurian legend, so my review of these categories will be relatively brief. I will also focus on two different magic rings that likely would not have influenced Tolkien but may influence the interpretation of modern readers from around the world.

I have referenced the rings of Norse mythology so often it almost does not have to be said. However, some readers may have not read a translation of the original Eddas, have watched the thirteen or so hours’ worth of Wagnerian opera, or even read a decent summary, so I will add a synopsis here with my own commentary. In the opera cycle version The Ring of the Nibelungs by Richard Wagner, a single Ring of Power was forged by the evil dwarf Alberich after being rejected by the beautiful Rhinemaidens and stealing their gold in retaliation. Alberich used the cursed ring to control a group of people called the Nibelungs, but the gods Wotan and Loge eventually imprisoned Alberich and took all his stuff, including the ring. This ring was coveted by a slew of strange people with varying levels of evil intent, including the giant Fafner who turned into a dragon, Alberich’s weird brother Mime, the warrior Siegfried whose only grandfather was Wotan because his parents were twins, and a creepy guy called Hagen who in some versions is part elf but in this version is part dwarf and the son of Alberich with no explanation as to how that happened, seeing as Alberich’s rejection by the ladies is what caused him to make the ring in the first place. After plenty of singing and angst, Hagen and the ring end up in the Rhine, and the Rhinemaidens pull both down to the bottom to get the gold back. Everybody dies, and it serves them right.

Solomon had a ring of power, as mentioned in Thompson’s Motif Index, while a man named Eleazar used his ring to work miracles of healing, as briefly mentioned in my essay on “Of the Finding of the Ring”. The story of Solomon’s demon-controlling ring appears in the Testament of Solomon, an apocryphal scripture with a murky origin dated between the 1^st and 5^th century AD (https://biblehub.com/q/how_does_solomon_use_his_magic_ring.htm). Theologians are quick to point out that possessing such an object would be in opposition to beliefs held against witchcraft practiced in ancient Israel during the reign of historical Solomon.

Meanwhile, the story of Eleazar comes from Antiquitates Judaicae [Antiquities of the Jews] by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian who taught Greek and Roman readers about Jewish culture during the 1st century AD and took twenty books to do it, although he plagiarized a good bit of his work from the laws and the prophets. In Book 8, Chapter 2, Section 5 (8.2.5), he compared the ring of Eleazer to that of Solomon since both rings were used to control demons. Eleazer’s trick was having demons come out through the nose, in my mind possibly related to the ancient Egyptian practice of removing the brain through the nose when making a mummy. However, professional folklorists see more similarity between this story, the biblical account of young David pacifying King Saul with his harp playing (1 Samuel 16:14–23, Antiquitates 5.8.2), a contemporary Greco-Roman account found in Vita Apollonii [Life of Apollonius] by Philostratus, and the slightly earlier stories of Jesus driving out demons as found through the Gospels (Mark 5:1-13).

The magic ring in Roman culture came not from mythology but from philosophy. Plato made up a story for his book The Republic where he talked a good deal about how people ought to live. In the story, Gyges the shepherd from Lydia stole a magic ring from a dead body and discovered that the ring made him invisible. He used this new power to seduce the queen, kill the king, and become the new king of Lydia. Plato believed this was a mental exercise in character, as a genuinely good person would never be tempted to do bad things even with an invisible ring. However, I think this actually says more about the type of person the original king was. If the queen was so quick to get a new husband, and the citizens immediately accepted a totally unqualified and occasionally invisible new king, the original King of Lydia must have been a lousy person.

A less familiar story in a famous myth is Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion [Yvain, the Knight of the Lion] by Chrétien de Troyes written during the 12^th century. Yvain was a Knight of the Round Table under the rule of King Arthur but was not as famous as his fellow knight, Lancelot. Yvain received a magic invisibility ring from his wife Laudine, who he married after murdering her first husband, Esclados. Laudine wanted Yvain to visit at least once a year instead of going on knightly quests all the time. While this seemed like a simple ask, Yvain forgot all about his wife, so she sent her favorite servant to take back the ring and ask for a divorce. After Yvain had a mental breakdown, he did good deeds, got a pet lion, and eventually won over his wife. The ring is less central to the story and acts as a symbol of a relationship rather than adding much practical value.

Magic rings are found outside of Europe, and although these likely did not have an influence on the original text of The Lord of the Rings, knowledge of these other rings would alter the perspective of readers who grew up hearing the stories. A magic ring is prominently featured in Abhijnanashakuntala, an Indian epic play written by Kalidasa in the 5^th century AD in Sanskrit. The play tells the story of Shakuntala and her partner King Dushyanta and is a toned-down variation of a story appearing in the Mahabharata around the 4^th century BC. Both versions are considered among the most important literary works in the world. The king is cursed to forget Shakuntala unless she shows her magic ring to him. Unfortunately, Shakuntala loses the ring in the water, and the king forgets all about her. His memory is restored when the ring is found inside a fish. Interestingly, the ring was not in the original version of the story. Instead, Shakuntala had rebuked the deadbeat king and a voice from heaven backed her up. I personally found the older version to be more fun, but I understand the reason for the change. According to legend, Kalidasa was once kicked out of the house by his own wife, Vidyottama, who was widely recognized as smarter than him. Maybe the original version was too close to home.

Magic rings can be found in Chinese mythology with the story of Nezha. A more modern version of the story appears in Fengshen Yanyi, also known as The Investiture of the Gods written by Ming Dynasty era novelist Xu Zhonglin around the early to mid 16^th century AD. Nezha possesses a golden Universal Ring which he uses to fight people. While Nezha’s enemies possess their own weaponized rings, such as the White Jade Ring of rival Mo Liqing and the Jade Ring of Wen Liang, these would ultimately be no match for Nezha. This violent story continues to be popular and has received several film remakes with the events of the story changed to fit the ideology of the current government power in China, the most recent film being a 3D animated steampunk version called New Gods: Nezha Reborn. I suppose this proves the universality of the desire for major entertainment corporations to make awkwardly modernized reboots of public domain material instead of developing their own storylines. If King Arthur and Nezha teamed up, the cycle would be complete.

Conclusion

The One Ring shared many similarities to other rings found in world literature between turning its mortal wearers invisible and having a mind of its own. The biggest difference between this ring and the other rings was its origin story. While the other rings were discovered or gifted, this ring was made as part of a set. The cursed nature of the One Ring with the intent to ensnare a specific group of people is directly descended from the concept of Alberich’s ring in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Sauron’s plan seemed better executed than Alberich’s, although both lost their rings and their lives in the end.

Screenshot of animation. A middle-aged hobbit wearing a sea green suit coat, yellow waistcoat, and sea green bicorne hat holds up a plain ring to his left eye and looks through it.

As for a ring’s ability to control a person’s thoughts, there seems to be a subtle difference between the One Ring and other magic rings. While other rings might completely possess a person’s conscience by immediately and obviously altering personality, the One Ring emphasized negative traits but could not completely change a person, making the change subtle or even ambiguous. The One Ring may have aggravated Bilbo’s natural forgetfulness and inability to sit still along with encouraging his seemingly psychopathic tendencies, but even in his worst argument with Gandalf over giving up the Ring, he had the same high energy personality. For Gollum, the Ring seems to have increased the famous appetite shared by all halflings, supposedly causing him to resort to cannibalism even as he remained painfully thin, although the other characters never personally saw him eat a human. For Frodo and other members of the Fellowship, I will analyze potential effects of the One Ring juxtaposed with their health conditions throughout future essays. I hope my careful analysis will show the reaches of the Ring not previously considered by readers, along with demonstrating how an understanding of culture and medicine provides scientific explanations for altered behavior.

Read past installments of Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical