Sauron (pronounced /ˈsaʊrɒn/, Quenya: "Abhorred") is the title character and the primary antagonist of the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Sauron Sauron is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth universe. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... Tolkiens Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7) is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter on the History of Middle-earth series of books relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. ... (In the context of property law, title refers to ownership or documents of ownership; see title (property). ... This article is about a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth fantasy writings. ... Here is a complete bestiary of the People, Creatures and Mystical Beings of Middle-earth as written about in the mythology of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Ainur (from Valarin Ayanûz; singular Ainu) are a fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe, Eä. Spoiler warning: The Ainur are the spirits emanated by Ilúvatar to help him to create the Universe, Eä, through the Music of the Ainur. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... The Maiar (singular: Maia) are beings from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy legendarium. ... Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... For other uses, see The Third Age. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Quenya is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi) the ones who speak. The first-found children of Ilúvatar, in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The title role is the role (or position) of the character after whom a literary work (e. ... For other uses, see Antagonist (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the novel. ... Tolkien redirects here. ...

In the same work, he is also revealed to have been "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit. In Tolkien's The Silmarillion (published after The Lord of the Rings but begun decades before), he is also revealed to have been the chief lieutenant of the first Dark Lord Morgoth. Tolkien noted that the “angelic” powers of his constructed myth “were capable of many degrees of error and failing”, but by far the worst was “the absolute Satanic rebellion and evil of Morgoth and his satellite Sauron.”^[1] For other uses, see Hobbit (disambiguation) and There and Back Again (disambiguation). ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983-1996, that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ...

Biography

Before Creation of the World

Middle-earth Portal

The cosmological myth prefixed to the The Silmarillion explains how Eru, “the One”, initiated His creation by bringing into being innumerable spirits, “the offspring of his thought”, that were with Him before anything else had been made. The being later known as Sauron thus originated as an “immortal (angelic) spirit.”^[2] In his origin, Sauron therefore perceived the Creator directly. As Tolkien noted: “Sauron could not, of course, be a ‘sincere’ atheist. Though one of the minor spirits created before the world, he knew Eru, according to his measure.”^[3] Image File history File links Arda. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Sauron - evil Maia. To the Númenóreans he appeared "as a man, or one in man's shape, but greater than any even of the race of Númenor in stature... And it seemed to men that Sauron was great, though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil."

In Elvish (Quenya) terminology, these angelic spirits were called Ainur (sg. Ainu). Those who entered the physical world were called Valar (sg. Vala), especially the most powerful, almost godlike ones. The lesser Valar, of whom Sauron was one, were called Maiar (sg. Maia). In Tolkien's letters, the author noted that Sauron “was of course a 'divine' person (in the terms of this mythology; a lesser member of the race of Valar)”.^[4] Though less mighty than the chief Valar, he was more powerful than many of his fellow Maiar; Tolkien noted that he was of a "far higher order" than the Maiar who later came to Middle-earth as the Wizards Gandalf and Saruman.^[5] Quenya is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi) the ones who speak. The first-found children of Ilúvatar, in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Holy Ones (singular Ainu), the first beings created by Ilúvatar, the order of the Valar and Maiar, made before Eä. There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought. ... The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... The Maiar (singular: Maia) are beings from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy legendarium. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a small group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. ... For other uses, see Gandalf (disambiguation). ... Saruman is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ...

As created by Eru, the Ainur were all good and uncorrupt, as Elrond stated in The Lord of the Rings: “Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.”^[6] Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ...

Evil originated with the Vala Melkor. According to a story meant as a parable of events beyond human comprehension^[7], Eru let His spirit-children perform a great Music, developing a Theme revealed by Eru Himself (see Ainulindalë). For a while the cosmic choir made wondrous music, but then Melkor tried to increase his own glory by weaving into his song thoughts and ideas that were not in accordance with the original Theme. “Straightway discord arose around him, and many that sang nigh him grew despondent...but some began to attune their music to his rather than to the thought which they had at first.”^[8] Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ... Ainulindalë (Quenya, Music of the Ainur or, more literally, Singing of the Holy) is the first section and chapter of The Silmarillion (an abridged and condensed collection of fictional legends presented as histories, written over some 60+ years by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously in 1977 by...

The Discord of Melkor would have dire consequences, for this singing was the very Song of Creation, a kind of template for the world to be made: “The evils of the world were not at first in the great Theme, but entered with the discords of Melkor.”^[9] However, “Sauron was not a beginner of discord; and he probably knew more of the ‘Music’ than did Melkor, whose mind had always been filled with his own plans and devices."^[10] Apparently Sauron was not even one of the spirits that immediately began to attune their “music” to that of Melkor, since it is elsewhere noted that his fall occurred later (see below).

Soon it was as if the discords of Melkor were at war with the themes of Eru – the cosmic Music now representing a conflict of good and evil. Finally, abruptly, Eru brought the Song of Creation to an end. To show the spirits, faithful or otherwise, what they had done, Eru gave independent being to the now-marred Music. This resulted in the (sub-)universe of Eä, where the drama of good and evil would play out and be resolved. Eru allowed the spirits who so wished to enter into the new world of Eä and follow its history from inside. Many did so, Sauron among them. By granting free will to enter into Eä, Eru allowed great evil, as well as great good.

First Age

Entering Eä at the beginning of time, the Valar and their Maia servants tried to build and organize the world according to the will of Eru. In their vast demiurgic efforts, Sauron emerged as “a great craftsman of the household of Aulë”.^[11] As the Vala of all crafts, Aulë taught his subordinate Maiar much about the structure, laws and substances of the world, and Sauron would always retain this “scientific” knowledge: “In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people.”^[12] Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ...

Within the vast spaces of Eä, the Valar eventually concentrated their efforts on the realm of Arda, the Earth, where Elves and Men were destined to appear as the “Children of God.”^[13] But Melkor, who would later be known as Morgoth the Black Enemy, had also arrived in Arda. Fiercely desiring to become its supreme lord, he opposed the other Valar, who remained faithful to Eru and tried to carry out the Creator’s designs. Around this time, Sauron fell victim to Melkor’s corrupting influence: “In the beginning of Arda Melkor seduced him to his allegiance.”^[14] In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of fictional prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ...

As for Sauron's motives, Tolkien noted that "it had been his virtue (and therefore also the cause of his fall...) that he loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction." Thus "it was the apparent will and power of Melkor to effect his designs quickly and masterfully that had first attracted Sauron to him."^[15]

For a while, Sauron apparently kept up the pretence that he was a faithful servant of the Valar, all the while feeding Melkor information about their doings. Thus, when the Valar made Almaren as their first physical abode in the world, “Melkor knew of all that was done; for even then he had secret friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his cause, and of these the chief, as after became known, was Sauron.”^[16] Almaren is a fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe, Middle-earth. ...

Almaren was destroyed by Melkor, and the Valar established a new abode in the Uttermost West: the Blessed Realm of Valinor. They still did not perceive Sauron’s dubious loyalties, for he too became “a being of Valinor”.^[17] Valinor (meaning Land of the Valar) is a fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. ...

At some point, Sauron left the Blessed Realm and went to Middle-earth, the central continent of Arda. In one text, Tolkien wrote about Sauron that “in Valinor he had dwelt among the people of the gods, but there Morgoth had drawn him to evil and to his service”.^[18] It would seem that Sauron now definitely sided with Melkor. No longer just a spy and secret sympathizer, he deserted his service to the Valar and openly joined their great enemy: “Because of his admiration of Strength he had become a follower of Morgoth and fell with him down into the depths of evil.”^[5] A map of the Northwestern part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ...

After joining his new master in Middle-earth, he proved to be a devoted and capable servant: “While Morgoth still stood, Sauron did not seek his own supremacy, but worked and schemed for another, desiring the triumph of Melkor, whom in the beginning he had adored. He thus was often able to achieve things, first conceived by Melkor, which his master did not or could not complete in the furious haste of his malice.”^[19] “In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part.”^[20]

In chapter 3 of The Silmarillion, Tolkien writes that by the time the Elves awoke in the world, Sauron had become Melkor’s lieutenant and was given command over the newly-built stronghold of Angband. To protect the Elves, the Valar made war on Melkor and captured him, but Sauron they did not find. In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional world of Middle-earth, Angband (Sindarin for Hells of Iron, although the literal meaning is iron prison) is the name of the fortress of Melkor, constructed before the First Age, located in the Iron Mountains in the enemys realm Dor Daedeloth north...

Thus, “when Melkor was made captive, Sauron escaped and lay hid in Middle-earth; and it can in this way be understood how the breeding of the Orcs (no doubt already begun) went on with increasing speed.” In the Blessed Realm, Melkor feigned reform, but eventually breached the trust of the Valar and escaped back to Middle-earth. By then, Sauron had “secretly repaired Angband for the help of his Master when he returned; and there the dark places underground were already manned with hosts of the Orcs before Melkor came back at last, as Morgoth the Black Enemy.”^[21] In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ...

Shortly after the return of Melkor-Morgoth, the Noldorin Elves also left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Uttermost West against the counsel of the Valar to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank, such as Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs. Known as Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron was at that time a master of illusions and changes of form; werewolves and vampires were his servants, chief among them Draugluin, Father of Werewolves, and his vampire herald Thuringwethil. In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor (meaning those with knowledge) are of the second clan of the Elves who came to Aman, the Tatyar. ... A map of Aman and Valinor A fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, Valinor (meaning Land of the Valar) is the realm of the Valar in Aman, the place to which they moved after being driven from Almaren by Melkor. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the Silmarils (Quenya Silmarilli) are three fictional sacred objects in the form of brilliant star-like jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees. ... Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Gothmog was the Lord of the Balrogs and the High-Captain of Angband, one of the chief servants of the Dark Lord Morgoth with a rank equal to that of Sauron. ... A Balrog fighting Gandalf, as depicted by Ted Nasmith. ... For other uses, see illusion (disambiguation). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, werewolves were servants of Morgoth, bred from wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen lesser Maiar or fëar of Orcs). ... Further reading Christopher Frayling - Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula 1992. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, Draugluin was the first werewolf. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. ... Thuringwethil (Woman of the Secret Shadow) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ...

When Morgoth left Angband to corrupt the newly-created Men, Sauron directed the war against the Elves. He conquered the Elvish island of Tol Sirion, so that it became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional world of Middle-earth, Angband (Sindarin for Hells of Iron, although the literal meaning is iron prison) is the name of the fortress of Melkor, constructed before the First Age, located in the Iron Mountains in the enemys realm Dor Daedeloth north... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fiction as recounted in The Silmarillion, Minas Tirith was the tower on Tol Sirion that guarded the Pass of Sirion. ...

Ten years later, Finrod Felagund, the king of Nargothrond and former lord of Tol Sirion, came there with Beren. He duelled Sauron and was defeated (in part because of the curse of Fëanor). Later, he died fighting a wolf in Sauron's dungeons to save Beren. ‹ The template below (Mecanon) has been proposed for deletion. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Nargothrond (Halls of Narog) is the stronghold built by Finrod Felagund, delved into the banks of the river Narog in Beleriand, and the lands to the north (the Talath Dirnen or Guarded Plain) ruled by the city. ... Beren is a fictional character, from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy-world Middle-earth. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, Fëanor is a fictional character who is central to Tolkiens mythology as told in The Silmarillion. ...

Soon afterwards Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound arrived, hoping to rescue Beren. Aware of a prophecy to the effect that Huan would be killed by the greatest wolf ever, Sauron himself assumed a monstrous wolf-like form and attacked him. But the prophecy actually applied to the still-unborn Carcharoth, and Wolf-Sauron could not prevail against Huan. Lúthien Tinúviel is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Huan was a great Hound. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Carcharoth (IPA: ) was the greatest werewolf that had ever lived. ...

In a frenzy of shape-shifting, Sauron slipped in and out of various animal-like shapes and finally back into his accustomed (apparently humanoid) form, but Huan had him by the throat. Lúthien gave him two choices: either to surrender to her the magical control he had established over Tol-in-Gaurhoth, or to have his body killed so that his naked ghost would have to endure the scorn of Morgoth. Sauron yielded, and Huan let him go. He fled in the form of a huge vampire bat, and Lúthien rescued Beren from the dungeons. Afterward Sauron spent some time as a vampire in the woods of Taur-nu-Fuin. Taur Nu Fuin is a medieval/dark ambient music project, similar to Mortiis/Wongraven. ...

Following the voyage of Eärendil to the Blessed Realm, the Valar finally moved against Morgoth. In the resulting War of Wrath, the Dark Lord was defeated and cast into the Outer Void beyond the world. But "Sauron fled from the Great Battle and escaped."^[22] For the Anglo-Saxon name, see Earendel. ... Combatants Host of Valinor[1] All the hosts of Morgoth[2] Commanders Eönwë Morgoth Casualties Unknown, but probably severe Nearly all the forces of Morgoth: Balrogs, Orcs, Dragons and others In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, was the final war...

Shocked by the overthrow of his master, Sauron repented (truly at first, if only out of fear). He assumed his most beautiful form and approached Eönwë, emissary of the Valar, who however could not pardon a Maia like himself. Through Eönwë, Manwë as Lord of the Valar "commanded Sauron to come before him for judgement, but [he] had left room for repentance and ultimate rehabilitation."^[23] Thus Sauron now had a genuine chance of rejoining the forces of good, but he would obviously risk being sentenced to long servitude as proof of his good will. Having wielded great power under Morgoth, Sauron was unwilling to face this humiliation, and so hid in Middle-earth. In Tolkiens fictional world, Eönwë was the banner-bearer and the herald of Manwë, and Chief of the Maiar along with Ilmarë. Eönwë was referred to as the greatest of arms in Arda, meaning that he was the best with weapons, though not necessarily the most powerful. ... Manwë Súlimo is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ...

Second Age

About five hundred years into the Second Age, Sauron reappeared. "Bereft of his lord...[he] fell into the folly of imitating him."^[24] "Very slowly, beginning with fair motives: the reorganizing and rehabilitation of Middle-earth, 'neglected by the gods,' he becomes a reincarnation of Evil, and a thing lusting for Complete Power," eventually rising to become "master and god of Men."^[17] The Second Age is a fictional time period from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth. ...

As for Sauron's original "fair motives", it is noted that in his early career as an independent power, he actually brought material wealth to his subjects: "He made himself a great king in the midst of the earth, and was at first well-seeming and just and his rule was of benefit to all men in their needs of the body; for he made them rich, who so would serve him. But those who would not were driven into the waste places... [He desired] to be both a king over all kings and as a god to men. And slowly his power moved north and south, and ever westward."^[25]

Sauron eventually initiated a scheme that he hoped would make him able to subjugate the Elves as well. After assuming a beautiful appearance and calling himself Annatar, "Lord of Gifts,"^[26] Sauron befriended the Elven-smiths of Eregion, and counselled them in arts and magic. To the Elves, Sauron hinted that he was an emissary of the Valar, specifically of the Vala Aulë whom the Ñoldorin Exiles held in high regard. (Another assumed name of Sauron's was therefore Aulendil, Friend of Aulë.) This was actually a half-truth, since Sauron had indeed been attached to Aulë in the remote past, before he joined Melkor. Some of the Elves distrusted this "Annatar" or "Aulendil", especially the Lady Galadriel in Lórien and Gil-galad, the High King of the Ñoldor. However, the Elves in Eregion did not heed their warnings. location of Eregion in Middle-earth marked in red In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age, located near the West Gate of Khazad-dûm under the shadow of the Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains). ... Not to be confused with Magic (illusion). ... Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Ñoldor (meaning those with knowledge) are of the second clan of the Elves, the Tatyar. ... Galadriel is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. ... In J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, two places are known as Lórien, both exceptionally beautiful. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, Ereinion Gil-galad was the son of Orodreth,[1] and his mother was a Sindarin Elf. ...

With Sauron's assistance, the Elven-smiths forged the Rings of Power, which conferred great power to their bearers. The Elves did not seek "political" dominion, but rather magical powers that would let them maintain all things unstained, as well as prolong the Elvish era (destined to ultimately give way to the world of Mortal Men). Sauron, however, saw that the Rings of Power could also be made into instruments of domination. He secretly forged the One Ring in the volcanic Mount Doom in Mordor. This "One Ring to rule them all" had the power to dominate the other Rings and enslave their wearers to Sauron's will. The Rings of Power were extremely potent, however, and to accomplish his goal of creating an instrument that could dominate even them, Sauron was forced to place the greater part of his native power into it. Yet "while he wore it, his power on earth was actually enhanced".^[27] The bearers of the Rings of Power in Peter Jacksons The Fellowship of the Ring The Rings of Power are fictional artifacts from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mount Doom, or Orodruin, is a volcano in Mordor where the One Ring was forged in the Crack of Doom, a fiery chasm within the mountain. ...

Sauron never intended others to use this Master-ring, and at the time he did not consider the fact that anyone of sufficiently strong will who possessed the Ring would have available to him much of Sauron's own power to dominate:

If that happened, the new possessor could (if sufficiently strong and heroic by nature) challenge Sauron, become master of all that he had learned or done since the making of the One Ring, and so overthrow him and usurp his place... There was another weakness: if the One Ring was actually unmade, annihilated, then its power would be dissolved, Sauron's own being would be diminished to vanishing point, and he would be reduced to a shadow, a mere memory of malicious will. But that he never contemplated nor feared. The Ring was unbreakable by any smithcraft less than his own. It was indissoluble in any fire, save the undying subterranean fire where it was made - and that was unapproachable, in Mordor... It was in any case on his finger.^[28]

When Sauron put on the One Ring and tried to dominate the Elves, their subtle perceptions warned them, and they became aware of his intent. Finally recognizing "Annatar" for whom he really was, they removed their Rings and did not wear or use them anymore. Enraged, Sauron responded with military force, initiating the War of the Elves and Sauron and conquering much of the land west of Anduin. This began the Dark Years. He overran Eregion, killed Celebrimbor, leader of the Elven-smiths, and seized the Seven and the Nine Rings of Power that had been previously forged with his assistance. However, Celebrimbor had forged Three Rings himself without Sauron's help. These Rings, the most potent of all except the One Ring itself, were saved and remained in the hands of the Elves. According to The Lord of the Rings, Celebrimbor entrusted the Three to Gil-galad, Galadriel, and Círdan; but according to Unfinished Tales Gil-galad received two Rings, Galadriel one, and Gil-galad entrusted the third to Círdan. In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Elves and Sauron was a great war fought in the Second Age. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age (the original Sindarin name means Long River). ... The Dark Years is a term used in the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings for the time of Saurons great and almost undisputed domination of Middle-earth, during which many peoples were enslaved or corrupted. ... Celebrimbor is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth. ... The bearers of the Rings of Power in Peter Jacksons The Fellowship of the Ring The Rings of Power are fictional artifacts from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... In the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, Círdan (ship-maker in Sindarin) the Shipwright is a Teleri Elf (of which he was one of the wisest princes), a great mariner and shipwright, lord of the Falas during much of the First Age, the wisest and perhaps the second... Unfinished Tales (full title Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth) is a collection of stories by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. ...

With the Elves near incapacitated, Sauron besieged Imladris, battled with Moria and Lórien, and pushed further into Gil-galad's realm. The Elves fought back, however, and with the aid of a powerful army from Númenor under their king Tar-Minastir, destroyed Sauron's army and drove it back to Mordor. The Númenóreans held the most powerful kingdom of Men at this time; they were descended from the Three Houses of the Edain who helped the Elves in their war against Morgoth, and they lived on the island of Númenor in the seas between Middle-earth and Valinor. Rivendell (Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien, Tar-Minastir (1474 - 1873 S.A., r. ... In the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Edain were those Men (humans) who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves. ...

From this time on, Sauron became known as the Dark Lord of Mordor. He erected Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower, and built the Black Gate of Mordor to prevent any possible invasion. He distributed his 16 Rings to lords of Men and Dwarves, giving them nine and seven respectively. Dwarves proved too resilient to bend to his will (instead being overwhelmed with greed), but the Men were enslaved to Sauron as the Nazgûl, his most feared servants. Sauron regained control over most of the creatures that had served Morgoth in the First Age (such as Orcs and Trolls) though it is unclear whether the Balrog of Moria was under his command or independent. The Dragons of the North for sure were not, though it seems that, according to Gandalf, Sauron intended to form a sort of alliance with Smaug. Sauron also gained power over most of the Men in the East and the South, becoming their god-king. Barad-dûr and Mount Doom in Peter Jacksons film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. ... The Black Gate or Morannon is a location in J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy universe of Middle-earth. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Dwarves (also known as the Naugrim) are beings of short stature who all possess beards and are often friendly with Hobbits, although long suspicious of Elves. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, the Nazgûl (from Black Speech Nazg (ring) and Gûl (wraith, spirit); Ringwraiths, sometimes written Ring-wraiths), also known as the Nine Riders or Black or Dark Riders (or simply the Nine), are evil servants of Sauron. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens world of Middle-earth, Trolls are very large (twelve feet tall or more) humanoids of great strength and poor intellect. ... A Balrog fighting Gandalf, as depicted by Ted Nasmith. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Smaug is a fictional character in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... A divine king is a monarch who is held in a special religious significance by his subjects, and serves as both head of state and a deity or head religious figure. ...

The second Dark Lord was now at the height of his power, having become “almost supreme in Middle-earth… He rules a growing empire from the great dark tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor, near to the Mountain of fire, wielding the One Ring.”^[29] Towards the end of the Second Age, Sauron assumed the titles of Lord of the Earth and King of Men.

In many ways, the new Dark Lord exceeded the first:

Sauron was ‘greater’, effectively, in the Second Age than Morgoth at the end of the First. Why? Because, though he was far smaller by natural [spiritual] stature, he had not yet fallen so low. Eventually he also squandered his power (of being) in the endeavour to gain control over others. But he was not obliged to expend so much of himself… [He] inherited [from Morgoth] the ‘corruption’ of Arda [the world], and only spent his (much more limited) power on the Rings; for it was the creatures of earth, in their minds and wills, that he desired to dominate. In this way Sauron was also wiser than Melkor-Morgoth.^[30]

(Morgoth had rather desired to control the very matter of the world.)

One of Sauron’s more peculiar achievements in the Second Age was a constructed language: "It is said that the Black Speech was devised by Sauron in the Dark Years, and that he desired to make it the language of all those that served him, but he failed in that purpose.” (LotR, Appendix F). A few samples of Black Speech are cited in Tolkien’s narratives, and he noted that it "was meant to be self-consistent, very different from Elvish, yet organized and expressive, as would be expected of a device of Sauron before his complete corruption." ^[31] Sauron must have devised the Black Speech before he made the Ring, since it bore an inscription in that language, and it is interesting that Tolkien indicates that this was "before his complete corruption." Compare the above-cited statement that Sauron "had not yet fallen so low" as Morgoth had. Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... The Black Speech is the fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. ...

The time would come, however, when Sauron was almost wholly consumed by evil. Tolkien wrote that he did not think there could be such a thing as "Absolute Evil" ("since that is Zero"), but "in my story Sauron represents as near an approach to wholly evil as is possible. He had gone the way of all tyrants, beginning well, at least on the level that while desiring to order all things according to his own wisdom he still at first considered the (economic) well-being of other inhabitants of the Earth. But he went further than human tyrants in pride and the lust for domination, being in origin an immortal (angelic) spirit."^[2]

Toward the end of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazôn, the last and most powerful of the Númenórean kings, came to Middle-earth with massive armies, and Sauron's forces deserted him rather than fight. Realizing he could not defeat the Númenóreans with military strength, Sauron actually surrendered. Clad in a beautiful incarnation, he came to Ar-Pharazôn's camp and swore allegiance to the king. He even allowed himself to be taken as a prisoner to Númenor. In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien, Ar-Pharazôn the Golden (3118–3319 S.A., r. ...

This was however part of a cunning plan to corrupt Númenorean civilization from inside. "Sauron's personal 'surrender' was voluntary and cunning: he got free transport to Númenor."^[32] When Ar-Pharazôn (or, Arpharazôn) in his arrogance took Sauron as a prisoner-hostage, he failed to realize whom he was dealing with: Sauron "was of course a 'divine' person...and thus far too powerful to be controlled in this way. He steadily got Arpharazôn's mind under his own control, and in the event corrupted many of the Númenóreans" — destroying "the conception of Eru, now represented as a mere figment of the Valar or Lords of the West (a fictitious sanction to which they appealed if anyone questioned their rulings)".^[4]

The Akallabêth, the account of the history of Númenor, does not specifically mention the Ring. In his letters, however, Tolkien noted that Sauron "naturally had the One Ring, and so very soon dominated the minds and wills of most of the Númenóreans. (I do not think Ar-Pharazôn knew anything about the One Ring. The Elves kept the matter of the Rings very secret...)"^[32] Akallabêth is the fourth part of the fictional work The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

With the power of the Ring, Sauron quickly grew from captive to adviser of the king. He established himself as High Priest of Melkor, "Lord of the Dark," and a great temple was built where human sacrifice was carried out. Having dismissed Eru as a convenient fantasy of the Valar, Sauron portrayed Melkor as the true Lord of the World. Human sacrifice is the act of killing a human being for the purposes of making an offering to a deity or other, normally supernatural, power. ...

Sauron "finally induces Arpharazôn, frightened by the approach of old age, to make the greatest of all armadas, and go up with war against the Blessed Realm itself, and wrest it and its 'immortality' into his own hands"^[4]. Actually the land could not confer immortality to Men; moreover, Sauron knew perfectly well that it was utterly impossible for the Númenóreans to conquer the Valar. Sauron was deftly creating a situation where (as he thought) the Valar would wipe out the military force of Númenor and remove this threat to Sauron's own plans for world dominion. But Ar-Pharazôn did believe the lies of Sauron, and after years of massive armament, the greatest armada the world had ever seen landed on the shores of Valinor.

However, the Valar did not react quite like Sauron had expected. "The Valar had no real answer to this monstrous rebellion — for the Children of God [Elves and Men] were not under their ultimate jurisdiction: they were not allowed to destroy them, or coerce them with any 'divine' display of the powers they held over the physical world. They appealed to God; and a catastrophic 'change of plan' occurred."^[33]

This appeal of the Valar to Eru resulted in a massive divine intervention which also demonstrated that Eru was in no way just an invention by the Valar. "At the moment that Arpharazôn set foot on the forbidden shore, a rift appeared: Númenor foundered and was utterly overwhelmed; the armada was swallowed up; and the Blessed Realm removed for ever from the circles of the physical world."^[33] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

This was a most shocking development for Sauron himself as well. Sauron had expected that the Valar would destroy Ar-Pharazôn and the Númenórean army, but he never foresaw that his cunning manipulations would result in a total restructuring of the entire world. "Sauron was, of course, 'confounded' by the disaster, and diminished (having expended enormous energy in the corruption of Númenor)"^[34]. In the Downfall of Númenor, Sauron's handsome body was destroyed, and he lost forever the ability to take beautiful and charming forms.

Yet his spirit rose out of the abyss, and he was able to carry with him the one thing that mattered most. Wrote Tolkien, "I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largely depended."^[34].

In the essay Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, Tolkien wrote that Sauron "took up" the Ring after returning to Middle-earth. This has made some readers conclude that Sauron had somehow hidden it before his cunning surrender to Ar-Pharazôn, only to recover it when he returned to Middle-earth. From the quotes above, it is however clear that Tolkien did imagine that Sauron had and used the Ring during his years in Númenor. After returning to Middle-earth, he "took up" the Ring simply in the sense that he started using it once again. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

In relatively short order Sauron assumed a new physical form and began to rebuild his forces. Now unable to take such fair shapes as he had used to deceive the Elves and seduce the Númenóreans, he assumed the form of a gigantic warrior with black armour on burning black skin and had terrible raging eyes, and could only rule through terror and force from then on.

The few faithful Númenóreans were saved from the Downfall. With Elendil as their leader, they escaped the cataclysm and founded the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor among the Númenórean colonists and the natives of north-western Middle-earth. At first they believed that Sauron had perished in the Downfall, but it soon became evident that the Dark Lord had returned to Mordor. In Middle-earth, the fantasy universe of J. R. R. Tolkien, Elendil was a heroic figure. ... For the city in Ethiopia, see Gondar. ... In the fictional legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. ...

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien wrote that Elendil and his sons forged the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with Gil-galad, to fight Sauron. The Alliance won a great victory on the plain of Dagorlad and invaded Mordor, laying siege to Barad-dûr for seven years. During the siege, Elendil's younger son Anárion was killed by a stone cast from the tower. Finally, Sauron was forced to emerge from his tower and fight, himself. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Combatants Mordor and allies Lindon, Gondor, Arnor and allies Commanders Sauron Gil-galad and Elendil Strength The Hosts of Mordor: Many Orc-hosts. ... The Battle of Dagorlad took place in the Middle-earth fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. ... Anárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, born S.A. 3219 and killed S.A. 3440 (lived 221 years). ...

In the battle on the slopes of Mount Doom, Sauron slew both Gil-galad and Elendil, though he himself was destroyed in the process. Elendil's sword, Narsil, broke beneath him when he fell. Taking up the hilt-shard of Narsil, Elendil's surviving son, Isildur, cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. "Then Sauron was for that time vanquished, and he forsook his body, and his spirit fled far away and hid in waste places."^[35] The shards of Narsil in Peter Jacksons The Fellowship of the Ring. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, Isildur was a Dúnadan of Númenor, elder son of Elendil. ...

Elrond and Círdan, Gil-galad's lieutenants, urged Isildur to destroy the Ring by casting it into Mount Doom, but he refused and kept it for his own: "This I will have as weregild for my father's death, and my brother's. Was it not I that dealt the Enemy his death-blow?"^[36] Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... In the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, Círdan (ship-maker in Sindarin) the Shipwright is a Teleri Elf (of which he was one of the wisest princes), a great mariner and shipwright, lord of the Falas during much of the First Age, the wisest and perhaps the second...

Elsewhere Tolkien noted that Elendil and Gil-galad were "slain in the act of slaying Sauron."^[37] Apparently Sauron's body was already mortally wounded when Isildur cut the Ring from his hand, though Isildur may thereby have provided the final quietus. Tolkien nowhere discusses what happened to Sauron's physical remains.

A few years after the battle, Isildur's party was ambushed by a band of Orcs on the way to Rivendell and overwhelmed, an event known as the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. He put on the Ring and attempted to escape by swimming across Anduin, but the Ring — which had a will of its own and a desire to return to Sauron — slipped from his finger. He was spotted and killed by Orc-archers. The Ring would remain lost beneath the water for thousands of years. Location of Rivendell in Middle-earth marked in red Rivendell (Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Combatants Army of Arnor Unknown number of Orcs Commanders Isildur, (High-King of Arnor and Gondor) Elendur (Heir to the Throne) Uruks of Mordor Strength 200 Knights and Soldiers less than 20 archers Unknown Casualties Isildur Elendur Aratan Ciryon 217 men of Arnor Serious casualties The Disater of the Gladden... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age (the original Sindarin name means Long River). ...

Third Age

The traumatic loss of the Ring greatly weakened Sauron. He did not swiftly rebuild, as he had done following the Downfall of Númenor. Sauron spent the first thousand years of the Third Age as a shapeless, dormant evil.

The Elves were now able to use the Rings of Power according to the original intentions of the Elven-smiths, and “for long they were at peace, wielding the Three Rings while Sauron slept and the One Ring was lost”.^[38] Galadriel used the power of the Ring Nenya to maintain her realm in Lothlórien, and Elrond using the Ring Vilya did the same in Rivendell. With the healing and maintaining power of the Rings, pockets of the ancient "Elvish world" could be maintained. In Lórien, visitors might feel that they had stepped back in time, as experienced by the Fellowship of the Ring later. In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Nenya, also named the Ring of Adamant and the Ring of Water, is one of the Rings of Power, specifically, one of the Three Rings of the Elves of Middle-earth. ... In J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, two places are known as Lórien, both exceptionally beautiful. ... Vilya may refer to: Vilya (urban-type settlement), an urban-type settlement in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia Vilya, one of the Three Rings in the fictional J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings universe Vilya little finnish girl Category: ... Location of Rivendell in Middle-earth marked in red Rivendell (Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... location of Lórien in Middle-earth marked in red This article is about the Lórien of J. R. R. Tolkiens works. ...

The Elves were however aware that this situation might not continue indefinitely. Indeed "many voices were heard among the Elves foreboding that, if Sauron should come again, then either he would find the Ruling Ring that was lost, or at best his enemies would discover it and destroy it; but in either case the powers of the Three [Rings] must then fail and all things maintained by them must fade, and so the Elves should pass into the twilight and the Dominion of Men begin."^[39]

A full millennium into the new Age, around the year 1050^[40], a shadow of fear fell on the forest later called Mirkwood. As would later become known, this was the first intimidation of Sauron manifesting yet again. He established a stronghold called Dol Guldur, “Hill of Sorcery”, in the southern part of the forest. In Mirkwood he was known as the Necromancer (mentioned briefly in The Hobbit), but the Elves did not recognize him at first. For the game Mirkwood, see Mirkwood (mud). ... In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, Dol Guldur, or Hill of Sorcery, was a stronghold of Sauron located in the south of Mirkwood. ... This article is about the general subject of necromancy. ... For other uses, see Hobbit (disambiguation) and There and Back Again (disambiguation). ...

As he started to rebuild, Sauron’s ultimate aim was the same as before: world conquest. By now, the shock of the divine intervention at the Downfall of Númenor had worn off, and Sauron "probably deluded himself with the notion that the Valar (including Melkor) having failed, Eru had simply abandoned Eä, or at any rate Arda, and would not concern himself with it any more...he had ceased to fear God's action in Arda". Indeed he had arrived at a self-serving interpretation of the Downfall, assuming that Eru had acted not only against the Númenóreans, but also against the Valar: As the Blessed Realm was removed from the physical world, "Valar (and Elves) were removed from effective control, and Men [were] under God's curse and wrath." ^[41] To Sauron, it seemed that the world was free for the taking.

Actually the Valar were still concerned with the events in Middle-earth, and they were able to send agents back into the physical world. But according to the divine master-plan, Mortal Men were meant to inherit the world from the Elves. Thus "Sauron...was a problem that Men had to deal with finally: the first of many concentrations of Evil into definite power-points that they would have to combat."^[42]

The Valar would not act to defeat Sauron in a massive intervention comparable to the War of Wrath that overthrew Morgoth; rather they made arrangements so that Sauron's enemies would themselves have a chance of defeating him. They sent a group of five Maiar incarnated in a humble form, as old (if agile) men: "[T]he purpose was precisely to limit and hinder their exhibition of 'power' on the physical plane, and so that they should do what they were primarily sent for: train, advise, instruct, arouse the hearts and minds of those threatened by Sauron to a resistance with their own strengths; and not just do the job for them. They thus appeared as 'old' sage figures."^[43] Combatants Host of Valinor[1] All the hosts of Morgoth[2] Commanders Eönwë Morgoth Casualties Unknown, but probably severe Nearly all the forces of Morgoth: Balrogs, Orcs, Dragons and others In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, was the final war...

These figures arrived in Middle-earth about a thousand years into the Third Age, just as Sauron began to take shape yet again. For the longest time, they kept a low profile about their origin and purpose. In Middle-earth, they were known as the Wizards, and the most prominent of them came to be called Gandalf and Saruman. Círdan of the Havens, one of the few who knew that they had come from the Blessed Realm, perceived Gandalf as the wisest of the Wizards. He therefore gave to him Narya, the last of the Three Rings of the Elves. In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a small group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. ... For other uses, see Gandalf (disambiguation). ... Saruman is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... narya written in Quenya In Middle-earth, the fantasy universe of J. R. R. Tolkien, Narya (the Ring of Fire or Red Ring) is one of the Rings of Power, specifically one of the Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky. Created by Celebrimbor after Annatar had left...

Around the year 1100, “the Wise” (the Wizards and the chief Elves) became aware that an evil power had made a stronghold at Dol Guldur. Initially it was assumed that this was one of the Nazgûl rather than Sauron himself. About the year 1300, the Nazgûl did indeed reappear, and their influence would have serious consequences for the nations established by the Númenórean exiles.

Over the ensuing centuries, the Witch-king of Angmar (actually the chief Nazgûl acting on Sauron’s behalf) repeatedly attacked the northern realm of Arnor, first in 1409 and finally overrunning the realm in 1974. Six years later, the Witch-king was able to enter Mordor and gather the Nazgûl there. In 2000, the Nazgûl issued from the Black Land and took the city of Minas Ithil (later known as Minas Morgul) in one of the mountain-passes. Thereby they also captured an object that would prove most valuable to Sauron: a palantír, one of the seven Seeing Stones that Elendil’s people had brought with them from Númenor at the eve of the Downfall. The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character from the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, set in the fantasy world of Middle-earth. ... Minas Morgul (Sindarin for Tower of Black Magic), also known by its earlier name Minas Ithil (Tower of the Moon), is a fictional city in J.R.R. Tolkiens world of Middle-earth. ... A palantír is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ...

In 2050 the Witch-king challenged Eärnur, childless king of the southern kingdom of Gondor; the King rode to Minas Ithil, but was never heard of again. From that point on, Gondor was ruled by Stewards.

As the power of Dol Guldur kept growing, the Wise came to suspect that the controlling force behind the Witch-king and the other Nazgûl was indeed their original master, Sauron. In 2063, Gandalf the Wizard went to Dol Guldur and made the first attempt to ascertain the truth, but Sauron retreated and hid in the East. It would be almost four centuries before he returned to his stronghold in Mirkwood, and his identity remained undetermined.

Sauron finally came back with increased strength in 2460. About the same year there occurred an event that went quite unnoticed at the time, but it would prove very decisive: The long-lost Ruling Ring was finally recovered from the river. It was found by a member of the river folk named Déagol. His relative^[44] Sméagol killed him for the Ring, and was eventually corrupted into the creature Gollum. He took the Ring, which he called his "Precious," and hid in the Misty Mountains. This article is about the fictional character. ... The Misty Mountains as seen in the prologue to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). ...

In 2850, Gandalf made a second attempt to spy out Dol Guldur. Stealing into the stronghold, he was finally able to confirm the identity of its lord, later reporting to the White Council of Elves and Wizards: “True, alas, is our guess. This is not one of the Úlairi [Nazgûl], as many have long supposed. It is Sauron himself who has taken shape again and now grows apace; and he is gathering again all the Rings to his hand, and he seeks ever for news of the One [Ring], and of the Heirs of Isildur, if they live still on earth.”^[45] In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the White Council is a group of Elves and Wizards of Middle-earth, formed in 2463 T.A. to contest the growing power of Dol Guldur, at the request of Galadriel. ...

Eventually the Wizards and chief Elves combined to put forth their might, and Sauron was driven out of Mirkwood in 2941. He had already planned his next move, however, and was willing to abandon Dol Guldur temporarily.

Just before Sauron fled Dol Guldur, the peace-loving Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, on an improbable adventure with a party of Dwarves, stumbled across the Ring deep within the Misty Mountains. The Ring had abandoned Gollum, perhaps sensing the increasing power of its Master and wishing to return to him. By now, Gollum himself had become completely addicted to the Ring’s presence; he would spend the rest of his life in a pathetic search for his “Precious”. For other uses, see Hobbit (disambiguation). ... Bilbo Baggins (2890 Third Age - ? Fourth Age) is an important character in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ...

Bilbo used the power of the Ring to make himself invisible on several subsequent occasions, but was not evil himself and was slow to corrupt. Just like Gollum, he still developed a sinister attachment to the Ring, but with Gandalf’s help he was barely able to pass it on to his heir Frodo on his 111th birthday. (Any mortal possessing the One Ring stopped aging normally.) Frodo redirects here. ...

Sauron's power had now recovered to the point that he was able to extend his will over Middle-earth. The Eye of Sauron, as his attention and force of will was perceived, became a symbol of oppression and fear. Following his expulsion from Dol Guldur, he returned to Mordor in 2942, publicly declared himself nine years later, and started raising Barad-dûr anew. In preparation for a final war against Men and Elves, he bred immense armies of Orcs, augmenting them with Men from the East and South who (through their leaders) were in his service. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sauron. ...

The three volumes of The Lord of the Rings tell the story of Sauron’s last attempt at achieving world dominion, as the Third Age reached its climax in the years 3018 and 3019. This article is about the novel. ...

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf deduced that the Ring of Power that Bilbo had found in Gollum’s cave was indeed Sauron’s lost Master-ring. He informed Frodo about the true nature of the sinister heirloom Bilbo had left for him, and its terrible potential if Sauron should ever regain it: "The Enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defences, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring... So he is seeking it, seeking it, and all his thought is bent on it."^[46]

Gandalf went for advice to Saruman the White, leader of the White Council, but discovered that Saruman had been corrupted by his long studies of Sauron. Using the palantír in the tower of Orthanc, Saruman was now in communication with the Dark Lord and acted as his ally, though he also secretly hoped to gain the Ring for himself and use its power to supplant Sauron. In either case, Saruman had totally betrayed the original mission of the Wizards, as defined by the Valar who sent them. Gandalf was held captive atop Orthanc for a time, but soon escaped with the help of one of the giant Eagles of Manwë. Saruman is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the White Council is a group of Elves and Wizards of Middle-earth, formed in 2463 T.A. to contest the growing power of Dol Guldur, at the request of Galadriel. ... Location of Orthanc and Isengard in Middle-earth marked in red In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Orthanc is the black tower of Isengard. ... Manwë Súlimo is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ...

Having seized and tortured Gollum, Sauron learned that the Ring had been found by a Hobbit named "Baggins." Sauron sent the Nazgûl to the Shire, Bilbo's home, but Bilbo had left years earlier. The current possessor of the Ring, Frodo, was likewise on his way out of the Shire (on Gandalf's advice). The Nine Nazgûl pursued Frodo and his companions and nearly killed Frodo, but were defeated near Rivendell. Bilbo Baggins (2890 Third Age - ? Fourth Age) is an important character in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, the Nazgûl (from Black Speech Nazg (ring) and Gûl (wraith, spirit); Ringwraiths, sometimes written Ring-wraiths), also known as the Nine Riders or Black or Dark Riders (or simply the Nine), are evil servants of Sauron. ... The fields of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. ... Location of Rivendell in Middle-earth marked in red Rivendell (Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

In Rivendell, Elrond convened a high council of the peoples of Middle-earth to decide how to handle the crisis. The council determined that the Ring must be destroyed where it was forged, since it was utterly impervious to any other flame than the volcanic fires at its place of making. Frodo and his friend Sam (Samwise Gamgee) joined the Fellowship of the Ring, accepting the council's mission to cast it into the volcano. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner[2] or Samwise the Brave and commonly known as Sam, is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... Spoiler warning: The Fellowship of the Ring, as described in the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, which bears the same name, is a union of 9 representatives from each of the free peoples in Middle-earth, the number chosen to match the 9 Ringwraiths. ...

Such a desperate quest would require them to penetrate Mordor itself and make it all the way to the Mountain right under Sauron’s nose, but otherwise the only conceivable way of defeating Sauron would be to actually use the power of the Ring against its maker. Then the one using the Ring would inevitably become infected by its evil and soon emerge as a new Dark Lord, as bad as Sauron or worse. This was a viable option only to a person like Saruman, who had already lost his moral compass.

To the extent the Elves went along with the plan, they were deliberately bringing about the end of the Elvish age, which had been artificially prolonged and maintained by the power of the Elven-rings. It was widely expected that these Rings would stop functioning if Sauron's Ring should ever be destroyed, since the Dark Lord had made sure that all the lesser Rings were wholly bound up with the power of his own Master-ring. The dilemma of the Elves can be perceived in Galadriel's words to Frodo when the Fellowship came to her realm in Lothlórien: "Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom? For if you fail [to destroy the Ring], then we are laid bare to the Enemy [when Sauron recovers it]. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away [because the Elven-rings can no longer hold back time]." Galadriel is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. ...

In The Two Towers, Saruman used his own army on Sauron's behalf and invaded Rohan. Gandalf, Théoden King of Rohan and the Ents, led by Treebeard, finally defeated Saruman's forces. His stronghold at Isengard was overthrown and Saruman left trapped within the Tower of Orthanc. Thus, one of Sauron's most powerful allies was neutralized. The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. ... For other uses, see Rohan (disambiguation). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, Théoden was the seventeenth King of Rohan, and last of the Second Line. ... For other uses, see Rohan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see ENT. Ents are a fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth. ... Treebeard or (Sindarin) Fangorn is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth. ... Location of Isengard in Middle-earth marked in red In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard, a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. ... Location of Orthanc and Isengard in Middle-earth marked in red In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Orthanc is the black tower of Isengard. ...

During Saruman's confrontation with Gandalf, the palantír of Orthanc fell into the hands of the Fellowship. Gandalf handed it over to Aragorn, a direct descendant of Isildur and Elendil and hence the rightful owner of the Stone. In The Return of the King, Aragorn used it to show himself to Sauron (who still controlled another Seeing Stone, the one captured from Minas Ithil centuries earlier). Aragorn was leading Sauron to think that he, a pretender to the throne of Gondor, now had the Ring and was preparing to turn its power against its maker. The Dark Lord was troubled by this revelation, and therefore attacked sooner than he had planned by sending an army to overthrow Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. (See Battle of the Pelennor Fields.) A palantír is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ... Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... This article is about the book. ... Minas Tirith (IPA: ), originally named Minas Anor, is a heavily fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth writings, which was the capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age. ... Combatants Gondor, Rohan, Dúnedain of the North Mordor, Harad, Rhûn, Khand, Umbar Participants Gandalf, Éomer, Éowyn, Aragorn, Imrahil, Merry, Denethor†, Théoden† Witch-king of Angmar†, Nazgûl, Gothmog† War of the Ring 1st Fords of Isen - 2nd Fords of Isen - Isengard - Hornburg - Lothlórien - Mirkwood - Osgiliath - Pelennor...

Immediately after the huge army left Mordor through the pass of Cirith Ungol, Frodo and Sam attempted to enter the Black Land the same way. They had been met by Gollum, whom Sauron had earlier released from captivity while letting him think that he escaped by accident (apparently Sauron hoped that Gollum would somehow lead him to the Ring). For a while, Gollum had acted as a guide for Frodo and Sam. However, he finally betrayed them to Shelob – a monstrous spider-like creature that Sauron regarded almost as a pet of sorts, using her to guard the pass. (Gollum was in no way trying to help Sauron, but since the gargantuan spider would have no interest in the Ring, Gollum hoped to recover it from Frodo's remains when Shelob had finished her meal.) Shelob is a character from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional works of Middle-earth. ...

In the end, Sam drove off both Gollum and Shelob, but not before the monster had bit Frodo and he appeared to have died from her venom. The Orcs found Frodo’s body and stripped him of his gear, but Sam (thinking his master dead) had already secured the Ring. Frodo regained consciousness and was freed by Sam, and the two started the grueling journey across the plains of Mordor towards Mount Doom. At their closest approach to Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower was still about 30 miles away, and yet the horror of Sauron’s presence was almost like a physical sensation – a “threat that beat upon them as they went: the dreadful menace of the Power that waited, brooding in deep thought and sleepless malice behind the dark veil about its Throne”.^[47]

The Orcs had sent Frodo’s gear to Barad-dûr, and apparently it was brought to Sauron’s own attention: His spokesperson (the Mouth of Sauron) would later taunt the Captains of the West by displaying Frodo’s equipment, letting them think the Hobbit had been captured. However, Sauron apparently dismissed the incident in Cirith Ungol as a foolhardy attempt to spy out the borders of Mordor. It literally never occurred to Sauron that his enemies were attempting to send the Ring into Mordor to unmake it at Mount Doom. Rather he took it completely for granted that they would try to access and use its power. Sauron regarded all his opponents, even up to Manwë Lord of the Valar, simply as rivals for world dominion and just as cynical as himself: “His cynicism, which (sincerely) regarded the motives of Manwë as precisely the same as his own, seemed fully justified in Saruman. Gandalf he did not understand."^[48] Exploiting this blindspot in Sauron's psychology had been Gandalf's strategy all along: "Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse [power], that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it. If we seek this, we shall put him out of reckoning."^[49] In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Mouth of Sauron was the name given to the Dark Lord Saurons servant and emissary. ...

Although the army Sauron sent against Minas Tirith was defeated and the Chief Nazgûl destroyed, the Dark Lord still had sufficient armies in Mordor to recover his strength and, over the long term, win the war. Gandalf urged the captains of the West to march on Mordor to divert Sauron’s attention long enough to allow Frodo to complete his mission. If the Dark Lord saw Aragorn attempting to attack Mordor with an obviously inferior force, he would hopefully conclude that the Ring was giving Aragorn delusions of grandeur:

“We must march out to meet him at once. We must make ourselves the bait, though his jaws should close on us. He will take the bait, in hope and in greed, for he will think that in such rashness he sees the pride of the new Ringlord.”^[50]

Failure on the part of Frodo would return the Ring to Sauron, and with its power he would swiftly achieve dominion over all life on Middle-earth, so a "suicide" mission would be justified if only Frodo succeeded in the end.

Aragorn marched on the Black Gate of Mordor with seven thousand men. After a brief encounter with the Mouth of Sauron, the battle was joined and went very poorly for the outnumbered Gondor/Rohan armies. Now convinced that Aragorn had the Ring, Sauron apparently reacted just as Gandalf had thought he would: “I will crush him, and what he has taken in his insolence shall be mine again for ever.”^[51]

Even as the Captains of the West were about to be utterly defeated by the superior might of Sauron's grand armies, Frodo reached his goal, entering the fiery interior of Mount Doom. However, his will failed at the last moment. Unable to resist the growing power of the Ring, he put it on his finger and claimed it for his own.

Sauron was instantly aware of him, and his gaze turned immediately to the Door in the Mountain. The fatal fallacy of Sauron’s entire way of thinking exploded into the Dark Lord’s face:

“The magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.”^[52]

Despite his shock, Sauron responded swiftly to the threat he suddenly faced. Instantly recalling his remaining Nazgûl from the ongoing battle, he commanded them to hasten to Mount Doom in a desperate attempt to secure the Ring. Even riding their monstrous winged steeds, they were not to arrive in time: Gollum viciously attacked Frodo and bit the Ring from his finger. Ecstatic to finally recover his long-lost “Precious”, Gollum teetered on the edge of the abyss, then lost his footing and fell with the Ring into the fire.

With “a roar and a great confusion of noise”, the One Ring perished along with all the power Sauron had invested in it – Gollum inadvertently achieving the Quest after Frodo’s failure. In the words of critic Paul H. Kocher: “The irony of evil is consummated by its doing the good which good could not do.”^[53]

At the Ring's destruction, Sauron's power was immediately broken and his form in Middle-earth was destroyed. His departing spirit towered above Mordor like a black cloud, but was blown away by a powerful wind from the West (the direction of the Blessed Realm and the Valar). His vast empires collapsed, his armies lost heart and dispersed, the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr crumbled and the Nazgûl were consumed in a hail of fire from the Mountain. Sauron himself was crippled for all time. Thus, on March 25th, Third Age 3019, the long reign of terror of the second Dark Lord finally came to its ruinous end.

Gandalf had predicted what the destruction of the Ring would mean to Sauron: "If it is destroyed, then he will fall, and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again. For he will lose the best part of the strength that was native to him in his beginning, and all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape. And so a great evil of this world will be removed."^[54]

Aftermath

With the destruction of the Ring, Frodo was restored to sanity, and he and Sam were rescued from Mount Doom. Aragorn was crowned King of Gondor and Arnor. He restored the ancient line of Númenórean kings, to that extent mending Sauron's corruption of the lost island realm of Númenor back in the Second Age.

As had been feared, all the lesser Rings of Power no longer worked once the Master-ring was gone. There was nothing more for the Elves in Middle-earth; they could no longer hold back time, and with the coronation of Aragorn the world moved into the Dominion of Men. The end of the Elvish age was the price that had to be paid for the downfall of Sauron. Galadriel, Elrond and many other great Elves took ship from the Grey Havens, sailing beyond the "Circles of the World" and going to the Blessed Realm by the grace of the Valar. Gandalf went on the same ship; after two millennia he had completed his mission as Sauron's adversary and returned home to Valinor. Frodo and Bilbo were also allowed to come. For their efforts and sufferings, the two Hobbits would be allowed to experience the Blessed Realm (unmarred by the evil of Morgoth and Sauron) before they fulfilled their destiny as mortals and moved beyond the world of Eä altogether. The Mithlond or the Grey Havens was a haven (seaport) on the Gulf of Lune in the northwest of J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional world of Middle-earth. ...

As for Sauron's own final state, Tolkien noted that he was said "to have fallen below the point of ever recovering, though he had previously recovered. What is probably meant is that a 'wicked' spirit becomes fixed in a certain desire or ambition, and if it cannot repent then this desire becomes virtually its whole being. But the desire may be wholly beyond the weakness it has fallen to, and it will then be unable to withdraw its attention from the unobtainable desire, even to attend to itself. It will then remain for ever in impotent desire or memory of desire."^[55] Thus Sauron was "damned" in the sense that he was "reduced to impotence, infinitely recessive."^[56]

Defeating Sauron was not the final victory over "evil" as such. Even before Sauron's downfall, Gandalf told the captains of the West: "Other evils there are that may come, for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary." While Sauron in the Third Age surely perceived himself as his own master, he was ultimately serving the principle of evil itself, as introduced by Melkor before the world was even created. Though other "power-points" of evil were bound to arise in a world that was fundamentally marred, Sauron was indeed "the last of those in 'mythological' personalized (but non-human) form."^[57]

If any personal demon is ever to seek world dominion once again, it will happen in an eschatological perspective and involve Morgoth himself. It is foreseen that the spirit of Melkor-Morgoth will eventually recover and grow and take shape again. "It would do this (even if Sauron could not) because of its relative greatness."^[23] The "Second Prophecy of Mandos" predicts that Morgoth will return "when the world is old".^[22] At the Dagor Dagorath or “Battle of Battles”, Morgoth is destined to die at the hands of Túrin Turambar, but of another arising of Sauron, no prophecies foretell. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about The Silmarillion follow. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ... In The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, Túrin Turambar was a Man of Middle-earth, who became a tragic hero (or anti-hero) of the First Age in the tale called Narn i Chîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin). Unpublished drafts of...

Names and titles

In some of Tolkien's notes, it is said that Sauron's original name was Mairon or "the admirable", "but this was altered after he was suborned by Melkor. But he continued to call himself Mairon the Admirable, or Tar-mairon 'King Excellent', until after the downfall of Númenor."^[58]

The name Sauron (from an earlier form Þauron) originates from the adjective saura "foul, putrid" in Tolkien's invented language Quenya, and can be translated as the Abhorred or the Abomination. In Sindarin (another Elf-language created by Tolkien) he is called Gorthaur, the Abhorred Dread or the Dread Abomination. He is also called the Nameless Enemy. The Dúnedain (the descendants of Isildur) call him Sauron the Deceiver due to his role in the Downfall of Númenor and the forging of the Rings of Power. In the Númenórean (Adûnaic) tongue he was also known as Zigûr, The Wizard. Quenya is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi) the ones who speak. The first-found children of Ilúvatar, in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the Dúnedain (singular: Dúnadan) were a fictional race of Men descended from the Númenóreans that survived the fall of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Adûnaic (language of the west) was the language of the Men of Númenor during the Second Age. ...

His two most common titles, the Dark Lord of Mordor and the Lord of the Rings, appear only a few times in The Lord of the Rings. His other titles or variants thereof include Base Master of Treachery, the Dark Lord, the Dark Power, Lord of Barad-dûr, the Red Eye, the Ring-maker, and the Sorcerer.

In the First Age (as detailed in The Silmarillion) he was called the Lord of Werewolves of Tol-in-Gaurhoth. In the Second Age he assumed the name Annatar, which means Lord of Gifts, and "Aulendil" meaning friend of Aulë, as well as Artano, meaning High-Smith, with which he assumed a new identity and tricked the Elves into working with him to create the Rings. In the Third Age he was briefly known as the Necromancer of Dol Guldur because his true identity was still unknown. This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, werewolves were servants of Morgoth, bred from wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen lesser Maiar or fëar of Orcs). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Tol-in-Gaurhoth or Isle of Werewolves was a fortress held by Sauron in the First Age. ...

According to Russian historian Alexandr Nemirovsky, it is likely that the name Sauron is meaningful in the language of Mordoth and Hurrian language. He etymologized the name from the hurrian word Sau-ra-n(ne), meaning "possessing the weapon" or "armed".^[59] Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians (Khurrites), a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, and was likely spoken at least initially in Hurrian settlements in...

Appearance

Nowhere does Tolkien provide a detailed description of Sauron's appearance during any of his incarnations.

According to The Silmarillion, Sauron was initially able to change his appearance at will. In the beginning he would have assumed a beautiful form, but after switching his allegiance to Morgoth, he apparently took a far more sinister shape. In the First Age, Gorlim was at one point brought into "the dreadful presence of Sauron", but the only concrete hint about his appearance is a reference to his daunting eyes.^[60] The main part of this article relates to the last versions of Middle-earths history, and as such may controvert parts of The Silmarillion. ...

As part of a plan to destroy Huan, Sauron took the form of the greatest werewolf in Middle-earth's history till then. When the plan backfired, he assumed a serpent-like form, and finally changed back "from monster to his own accustomed form".^[61] The implication is that his "accustomed form" was not, at least, overtly monstrous. It is understood to have been humanoid. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Huan was a great Hound. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, werewolves were servants of Morgoth, bred from wolves and inhabited by dreadful spirits (fallen lesser Maiar or fëar of Orcs). ...

Sauron took a beautiful appearance once again at the end of the First Age in an effort to charm Eönwë, near the beginning of the Second Age when appearing as Annatar to the Elves, and again near the end of the Second Age when corrupting the men of Númenor. In Tolkiens fictional world, Eönwë was the banner-bearer and the herald of Manwë, and Chief of the Maiar along with Ilmarë. Eönwë was referred to as the greatest of arms in Arda, meaning that he was the best with weapons, though not necessarily the most powerful. ... Númenor is a fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth and is intended to be his version of Atlantis. ...

One version of the story describes, in general terms, the impression Sauron made on the Númenóreans: He appeared "as a man, or one in man's shape, but greater than any even of the race of Númenor in stature... And it seemed to men that Sauron was great, though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil."^[62]

Like Morgoth, Sauron eventually lost the ability to change his physical form (his hröa). After the destruction of his fair form in the fall of Númenor, Sauron was unable to take a pleasing appearance or veil his power again. Thereafter, at the end of the Second Age and again in the Third, he always took the shape of a terrible dark lord. His first incarnation after the Downfall of Númenor was extremely hideous, "an image of malice and hatred made visible".^[63] Isildur recorded that Sauron's hand "was black, and yet burned like fire..." Gil-galad perished from Sauron's heat. In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for soul (or spirit) and body. The plural form of fëa is fëar (pronounced []) and the plural form of hröa is hröar (pronounced []). The Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men) are... Númenor is a fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth and is intended to be his version of Atlantis. ...

Eye of Sauron

Throughout The Lord of the Rings, "the Eye" (the Red Eye, the Evil Eye) is the image most often associated with Sauron. Sauron's Orcs bore the symbol of the Eye on their helmets and shields, and referred to him as the "Eye" because he did not allow his name to be written or spoken, according to Aragorn^[64] (a notable exception to this rule was the Mouth of Sauron). Also, the Lord of the Nazgûl threatened Éowyn with torture before the "Lidless Eye"^[65] at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Mouth of Sauron was the name given to the Dark Lord Saurons servant and emissary. ... Name Witch-king of Angmar Alias Black Captain, Dwimmerlaik, Lord of Morgul, Lord of the Nine Riders, Captain of Despair, Chieftain of the Ringwraiths, Lord of Minas Morgul, Sorcerer Title Lord of the Nazgûl Race Men Culture Nazgûl Gender male Realm   Mordor  (Minas Morgul) Lifespan 2250 S.A... Éowyn (T.A. 2995–F.A. ?), a shieldmaiden of Rohan, is a character in J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy universe of Middle-earth who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. ... Combatants Gondor, Rohan, Dúnedain of the North Mordor, Harad, Rhûn, Khand, Umbar Participants Gandalf, Éomer, Éowyn, Aragorn, Imrahil, Merry, Denethor†, Théoden† Witch-king of Angmar†, Nazgûl, Gothmog† War of the Ring 1st Fords of Isen - 2nd Fords of Isen - Isengard - Hornburg - Lothlórien - Mirkwood - Osgiliath - Pelennor...

In the Mirror of Galadriel, Frodo had an actual vision of this Eye: Galadriel is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. ...

"The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat's, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing."^[66]

On a later occasion, Tolkien writes as if Frodo and Sam really glimpse the Eye directly, not in any kind of vision. The mists surrounding Barad-dûr are briefly withdrawn, and:

"one moment only it stared out...as from some great window immeasurably high there stabbed northward a flame of red, the flicker of a piercing Eye... The Eye was not turned on them, it was gazing north...but Frodo at that dreadful glimpse fell as one stricken mortally."^[67]

There are many other instances where Sauron is referred to as the "Eye". Some readers take this to mean the Eye was Sauron's physical form in the Third Age. This interpretation appears in film adaptations (see below) and in David Day's Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (1996). For other uses, see The Third Age. ... David Days Book Tolkiens Ring is a book written by David Day about the origins of Tolkiens Lord of the Rings story and the origins of Middle Earth in general. ...

Another interpretation questions the physical existence of the Eye, but sees it as a metaphysical reflection of Sauron's piercing will. In The Two Towers, Tolkien writes: Plato (Left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of reality, being, and the world. ... The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. ...

"The Eye: that horrible growing sense of a hostile will that strove with great power to pierce all shadows of cloud, and earth, and flesh, and to see you: to pin you under its deadly gaze, naked, immovable."^[68]

From various quotes is clear that Tolkien cannot have intended the Eye as such to be Sauron's complete or sole manifestation; the Dark Lord's spirit did inhabit some kind of body.

Gollum (who has been previously been tortured by Sauron in person) tells Frodo that Sauron has, at least, a "Black Hand" with four fingers.^[69] The missing finger is a sustained injury from when Isildur cut off the Ring; apparently Sauron then lost part of his basic template for a humanoid form, so that the finger was still missing when he materialized a new body centuries later. (Another instance of Sauron's injuries being sustained from one form to another is found in the tale of his battle with Lúthien and Huan, in which an injury to his throat is maintained even after transformation.) In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, Isildur was a Dúnadan of Númenor, elder son of Elendil. ... Lúthien Tinúviel is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Huan was a great Hound. ...

In the third volume, The Return of the King, the heralds of the Army of the West call Sauron out before the Battle of the Morannon, telling him to "come forth", which would seem redundant if he did not have a body.^[70] This article is about the book. ... Combatants Gondor, Rohan, Arnor (Rangers of the North), Eagles Mordor, Harad, Rhûn Participants Gandalf, Imrahil, Éomer, Aragorn, Gwaihir, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin Sauron†, Mouth of Sauron, Khamûl† In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the Battle of the Morannon or Battle of the Black Gate is a fictional event...

In one of his letters Tolkien does state that Sauron had a physical form in the Third Age: The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ...

"...in a tale which allows the incarnation of great spirits in a physical and destructible form their power must be far greater when actually physically present. ... Sauron should be thought of as very terrible. The form that he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic."^[71]

Tolkien writes in The Silmarillion that "the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure" even before his body was lost in the War of the Last Alliance.^[72] This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Last Alliance of Elves and Men is an episode in J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ...

J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator includes a drawing of Sauron by Tolkien himself. Tolkien depicted Sauron as a literally black humanoid.^[73] J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator is a collection of paintings (mostly watercolour) and drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien for his stories, published posthumously in 1995. ... This article is about the color. ...

The sum of the textual evidence allows for different interpretations: the Eye is part of the physical body, or the Eye is a mental or psychic manifestation (of Sauron's will, thought, power or presence) coexisting with the physical body. The Eye cannot be purely metaphorical, as Frodo's encounter with it in the Mirror shows.

Those who favor the mental/psychic interpretation have appealed to a similar comment about the first Dark Lord Morgoth, Sauron's mentor: Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ...

"...Morgoth held the Orcs in dire thraldom; for in their corruption they had lost almost all possibility of resisting the domination of his will. So great indeed did its pressure upon them... if he turned his thought towards them, they were conscious of his 'eye' wherever they might be."^[74]

Here "eye" (in quotes) represents Morgoth's attention. Plainly Sauron's Eye can likewise stand for Sauron's attention, whether or not there is also a physical reality to the Eye. Thus, when Sauron ponders what to do after Aragorn showed himself to him in the palantír, it is said that "the Dark Power was deep in thought, and the Eye turned inward."^[75] In other words, Sauron was introspective.

Arguments in favor of the physical reality of the Eye (regardless of a physical body) would primarily focus on the fact that Frodo and Sam had a "dreadful glimpse" of it with their own physical eyes (though this may only mean the Eye exists in their senses and minds). Also, the same chapter of the novel^[67] refers to "the Window of the Eye" in Barad-dûr, facing Mount Doom. When Sauron finally perceived Frodo on that mountain, "his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain" towards Mount Doom (though Tolkien may here be using "the Eye" to refer to Sauron himself, as in other passages).

In the draft text of the climatic moments of The Lord of the Rings, "the Eye" stands for Sauron's very person, with emotions and thoughts:

"The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him [Frodo], the Eye piercing all shadows... Its wrath blazed like a sudden flame and its fear was like a great black smoke, for it knew its deadly peril, the thread upon which hung its doom... [I]ts thought was now bent with all its overwhelming force upon the Mountain..."^[76]

Christopher Tolkien comments: "The passage is notable in showing the degree to which my father had come to identify the Eye of Barad-dûr with the mind and will of Sauron, so that he could speak of 'its wrath, its fear, its thought'. In the second text...he shifted from 'its' to 'his' as he wrote out the passage anew."^[76] Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ...

The exact nature of the Eye, and its relationship to the never-seen body used by Sauron, remains a matter of debate among Tolkienists.^[77][78] Tolkien never elaborated further on these matters. Indeed he may intentionally have left many aspects of the Sauron character vague and mysterious.

So far, all adaptations of the story in visual media go with the interpretation that the Eye really exists physically. Obviously the Eye of Fire is visually effective, whereas the references to Sauron's never-seen body are so few that even readers of the novel often overlook them.

Concept and creation

Since the earliest versions of The Silmarillion legendarium as detailed in the History of Middle-earth series, Sauron undergoes many changes. The prototype of this character was Tevildo, Prince of Cats, who played the role later taken by Sauron in the earliest version of the story of Beren and Lúthien in The Book of Lost Tales. Tevildo was later replaced by Thû, the Necromancer. The name was then changed to Gorthû, Sûr, and finally to Sauron. Gorthû, in the form Gorthaur remained in The Silmarillion. The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983-1996, that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. ... Beren is a fictional character, from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy-world Middle-earth. ... Lúthien Tinúviel is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Book of Lost Tales is the title of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

Prior to the publication of The Silmarillion (1977), Sauron's origins and true identity were unclear to those without full access to Tolkien's notes. In early editions of Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, Sauron is described as "probably of the Eldar elves." Yet there were other critics who essentially hit the mark. As early as 1967, W. H. Auden conjectured that Sauron might have been a Vala^[79], long before it became known that Tolkien had indeed described him as "a lesser member of the race of Valar" (see full quote above). Robert Foster can refer to: Robert Sanford Foster, Union general during the Civil War Robert Bob Foster, current Mayor of Long Beach, CA Robert Sidney Foster, former governor-general of Fiji Robert Foster, Jamaican track and field athlete Robert Foster, the Lord Chief Justice of England Robert Foster, the chief... The Complete Guide to Middle-earth is a reference book for the fictional universe of J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, compiled and edited by Robert Foster Originally published soon after the publication of The Silmarillion, it is generally recognised as excellent reference book on the subject. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth, the Elves are a sundered people. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. ... Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) IPA: ;[1], who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ...

Adaptations

Sauron forging the One Ring (from the 1978 animated film adaptation).

In film versions of The Lord of the Rings, Sauron has been portrayed as either a humanlike creature (as in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version, The Lord of the Rings) or a physical, disembodied Eye (as in the 1980 animated The Return of the King),^[80] or both. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (853x480, 93 KB) Summary Scene from the prologue from The Lord of the Rings (1978 film). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (853x480, 93 KB) Summary Scene from the prologue from The Lord of the Rings (1978 film). ... J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. ... Ralph Bakshi (October 29, 1938) is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films. ... J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. ... DVD cover The Return of the King is an animated adaptation of the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien which was released by Rankin/Bass as a TV special in 1980. ...

This last option is shown in the 2001-2003 film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Here, Sauron is shown to have a large, humanlike form during the forging of the Ring, then being "limited" to the disembodied Eye form throughout the rest of the storyline. This article is about the Peter Jackson films. ... For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ...

Though the 1978 animated film and the 2001 live-action film both contain a prologue featuring the forging of the Rings of Power, the War of the Elves and Sauron goes unmentioned and the films jump straight to the much later War of the Last Alliance. In both, Sauron does not have the form he wore as "Annatar" when he forges the One Ring, but rather the one reflecting his identity as Dark Lord, and he is defeated by Isildur alone. In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Elves and Sauron was a great war fought in the Second Age. ... Combatants Mordor and allies Lindon, Gondor, Arnor and allies Commanders Sauron Gil-galad and Elendil Strength The Hosts of Mordor: Many Orc-hosts. ...

Sauron (Sala Baker) as interpreted in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Eye of Sauron as portrayed in Lord of the Rings movie trilogy as Sauron's form in the Third Age.

Sauron as "Annatar" (unused imagery from Peter Jackson's Return of the King live-action film).

In Jackson's series, Sauron is originally portrayed as a towering "black knight" wielding a huge black mace (reminiscent of Tolkien's descriptions as well as conceptual artist John Howe's illustrations of Morgoth); in this form, he is portrayed by Sala Baker. This body is lost after Isildur cuts off his fingers with the hilt-shard of the sword Narsil. (In this version, the Dark Lord seems to be more or less unhurt until the moment he is deprived of his Ring; then his body swiftly disintegrates with explosive force.) After this defeat, he is thereafter portrayed as the Eye, which is presented as an actual physical manifestation. Sauron File links The following pages link to this file: Sauron Categories: Images with unknown source ... Sauron File links The following pages link to this file: Sauron Categories: Images with unknown source ... Sala Baker (born September 22, 1976) is an actor and stuntman from Wellington, New Zealand. ... The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a film, released on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, directed by Peter Jackson with a runtime of 178 minutes (2 hours, 58 minutes). ... Eye of Sauron File links The following pages link to this file: Sauron Eye of Sauron Categories: Images with unknown source ... Eye of Sauron File links The following pages link to this file: Sauron Eye of Sauron Categories: Images with unknown source ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sauron. ... This article is about the Peter Jackson films. ... Image File history File links Annatar. ... Image File history File links Annatar. ... For other uses, see Black Knight (disambiguation). ... John Howe 2003 John Howe (born August 21, 1957 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is a book illustrator, living in Neuchatel, Switzerland. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ... Sala Baker (born September 22, 1976) is an actor and stuntman from Wellington, New Zealand. ...

Later in the first film, Jackson lets Saruman remark that Sauron cannot yet take physical form, so the audience is apparently to assume that the flaming Eye of Sauron is his disembodied spirit. This Eye hovers above Barad-dûr. In the novel, Sauron was inside the tower, gazing out through "the Window of the Eye in [his] shadow-mantled fortress".^[67] Sauron's humanoid form appears one final time when Aragorn looks into the palantír in the extended edition of The Return of the King. Saruman is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. ...

In interviews, Jackson repeatedly refers to Sauron as "just a giant floating eyeball." In the novel, even if one interprets the text as saying that the Eye exists physically, it is never clear whether it is disembodied or not.

In the Jackson films, Sauron wears plate armour, as do many others, while Tolkien never explicitly mentions any use of plate armour in Middle-earth, though there are references to mail and scale armour. The author nowhere specifically discusses what kind of armour (or even clothing) Sauron may have worn during his physical incarnations.

According to Saruman in the first film, the Eye of Sauron "sees all" - though this appears to be contradicted in the third film. Here, the Eye of Sauron is shown scanning Mordor rather like a lighthouse, and can only observe one location at a time. The effect in Mordor is seen as a red beam that moves across the land, forever probing. The third movie version of Sauron's observational powers is more akin to the novel, as Gollum says at one point that Sauron can see everything, but he cannot see everything all at once. It also seems to be visible to Frodo (and to see him in turn) any time that he is wearing the Ring. Frodo redirects here. ...

Pippin has a brief and frightening encounter with the Eye, after gazing into the palantír of Orthanc. In the book, Pippin indicates that he somehow perceived Sauron, but it is not made clear exactly what he saw, whether the Eye or some other manifestation of the Dark Lord. Peregrin Took (T.A. 2990–F.A. 70), better known to his friends as Pippin, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth, a Hobbit, and one of Frodo Bagginss youngest but dearest friends. ...

Curiously, before the Battle of the Black Gate, Aragorn says a line from the book, "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" despite earlier references in the films that Sauron lacks a physical form. The Eye falls from Barad-dûr when it collapses after the Ring is destroyed, and is destroyed with both. Combatants Gondor, Rohan, Arnor (Rangers of the North), Eagles Mordor, Harad, Rhûn Participants Gandalf, Imrahil, Éomer, Aragorn, Gwaihir, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin Sauron†, Mouth of Sauron, Khamûl† In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, the Battle of the Morannon or Battle of the Black Gate is a fictional event...

In earlier versions of Jackson's script Sauron would indeed "come forth" at Aragorn's challenge, and do battle with him: The extra materials published together with the extended DVD version of the third movie indicate as much. Scenes of the fight were shot, but later this idea was discarded and was replaced by a scene (in the extended version) where Aragorn kills the "Mouth of Sauron" (a representative of Sauron) before fighting a Mordor troll. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Mouth of Sauron was the name given to the Dark Lord Saurons servant and emissary. ...

Sauron appears in merchandise of the Jackson films, including computer and video games. These include The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Lord of the Rings: Tactics and The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. He is also a playable character in the tabletop wargame The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game published by Games Workshop Ltd. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Categories: Computer and video game stubs | 2004 computer and video games | GameCube games | PlayStation 2 games | Xbox games ... Wargaming can be one of number of ways of exploring the effects of warfare without actual combat. ... The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (abbreviated as LotR SBG), often referred to by players as Lord of the Rings, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop (GW). ... For the unrelated defunct American company, see Game Designers Workshop. ...

Homages in other works

The Eye of Sauron was mentioned and homaged in The Stand, a post-apocalyptic novel written by Stephen King. The villain Randall Flagg possesses an astral body in the form of an "Eye" very akin to the Lidless Eye. The novel itself was conceived by King as a "fantasy epic like The Lord of the Rings, only with an American setting". ^[81] The Stand is a post-apocalyptic Horror/Science Fiction novel by Stephen King originally published in 1978. ... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by writer Stephen King. ... The astral body refers to the concept of a subtle body which exists alongside the physical body, as a vehicle of the soul or consciousness. ...

Now [Flagg] had joined with the night. He was eye of crow, eye of wolf, eye of weasel, eye of cat. He was the scorpion, the strutting trapdoor spider. He was a deadly poison arrow slipping endlessly through the desert air. ...Flying effortlessly, the world of earthbound things spread out below him like a clockface.^[82]

The Shadows, the primary antagonist in the hit television series Babylon 5, use an "Eye of Z'ha'dum" that has the ability to see across space. The exact mechanics and workings of the Eye are left somewhat vague, and its inner workings were only explored somewhat in the Technomage trilogy novels. The Eye is like a supercomputer which drives "the will" of the Shadows and also oversees the operation of Shadow technology (i.e. planetary defenses of Z'ha'dum), as well as acts as a long-range sensor of some sort. The Eye, like many elements of Babylon 5, was inspired by Tolkien. Like the Eye of Sauron, the Eye of Z'ha'dum also has a metaphysical form, as witnessed by Cmdr. Susan Ivanova when she was using the great machine to locate First Ones. However, unlike the Eye of Sauron which is only one eye, the Eye of Z'ha'dum (like those of the Shadows themselves) is comprised of fourteen eyes. The Shadows are an ancient alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ...

The Eye of Sauron appears as a visual reference in the Waking the Dead story Double Bind. Waking the Dead is a British television crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a team of CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist or pathologist. ...

Jackson's Eye of Sauron was parodied in an episode of Family Guy. In it, the Eye had lost its contact lens, hence its seemingly erratic movement. Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ...

In S.M. Stirling's "Emberverse" series, the Eye of Sauron is used as the emblem of one of the new polities arising in the wake of the "Change." Stephen Michael Stirling is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Stephen Michael Stirling is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. ...

In the novel Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, a character complains of repeatedly seeing a "Damn enormous fiery eye" while looking into a device which functions in a similar manner to a palantír. This article is about the violent social phenomenon. ... Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... A palantír is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ...

In the album 'Caress Of Steel' by Rush, Sauron is referenced in the song 'The Necromancer'.

In his Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz repeatedly characterizes Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo as "our Sauron." Multiple references appear throughout the novel. Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891–May 30, 1961) ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. ...

See also

• Akallabêth
• "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
• Morgoth

Akallabêth is the fourth part of the fictional work The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Morgoth Bauglir (originally known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. ...

References

Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... The War of the Jewels is the 11th volume of Christopher Tolkiens series The History of Middle-earth, analysing the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Ainulindalë (Quenya, Music of the Ainur or, more literally, Singing of the Holy) is the first section and chapter of The Silmarillion (an abridged and condensed collection of fictional legends presented as histories, written over some 60+ years by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously in 1977 by... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... The Peoples of Middle-earth is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Valaquenta (Quenya for Tale of the Valar) is the second section of The Silmarillion, a collection of fictional myths written by J. R. R. Tolkien and published in an abridged and condensed form by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... The War of the Jewels is the 11th volume of Christopher Tolkiens series The History of Middle-earth, analysing the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Valaquenta (Quenya for Tale of the Valar) is the second section of The Silmarillion, a collection of fictional myths written by J. R. R. Tolkien and published in an abridged and condensed form by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... ... The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... The History of The Lord of the Rings is a 4-volume work by Christopher Tolkien that documents the process of J. R. R. Tolkiens writing of his masterwork The Lord of the Rings (LotR). ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Parma Eldalamberon (Quenya The Book of Elven-tongues) is a journal of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship dedicated to the linguistics of J. R. R. Tolkiens Languages of Middle-Earth. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkiens works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher, with the assistance of fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the book. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the book. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Parma Eldalamberon (Quenya The Book of Elven-tongues) is a journal of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship dedicated to the linguistics of J. R. R. Tolkiens Languages of Middle-Earth. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... ... The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Akallabêth is the fourth part of the fictional work The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by Tolkiens biographer Humphrey Carpenter assisted by Christopher Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... This article is about the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Akallabêth is the fourth part of the fictional work The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... ... Wayne G. Hammond is a scholar known for his research and writings on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Christina Scull is a researcher and writer best known for her books about the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator is a collection of paintings (mostly watercolour) and drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien for his stories, published posthumously in 1995. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... Morgoths Ring is the 10th volume of Christopher Tolkiens 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the book. ... This article is about the novel. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Tolkien redirects here. ... Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born November 21, 1924) is best known as the third son of author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), and as the editor of much of his fathers posthumously published work. ... The History of The Lord of the Rings is a 4-volume work by Christopher Tolkien that documents the process of J. R. R. Tolkiens writing of his masterwork The Lord of the Rings (LotR). ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Sauron at the Internet Movie Database
• Sauron at the Tolkien Gateway

• Sauron at the Encyclopedia of Arda
• Sauron at The Thain's Book
• Sauron at the Ardapedia