Ring Legends of Tolkien

by David Day

  Those who possessed the secret of the smith conquered and often exterminated those who did not. The Iron Age transformed nations of timid shepherds and farmers into ferocious warriors capable of catastrophic feats of destruction on their once-powerful, and now-subjugated, neighbours. The hero who won the smith’s – or the alchemist’s –“ring” in the form of the secret of iron-smelting literally saved his nation.

  The arts of the smith and the occult sciences are overlapping techniques handed down as trade secrets with their own rites and rituals. The mysteries of initiation rites and the secret language of the rituals of the trade became symbols in mythic tales.

  It is not commonly recognized how profound an impact the rituals and rites of metallurgy have had on myth. However, it is not so much the techniques of metallurgy that are conveyed in these myths, but the secret rituals of initiation into those cults and the spiritual rites practiced within the guild, which evolve into the symbols of myth. The symbolic language of the ring quest, at its most profound, is concerned with the “spiritual” consequences of the Bronze and Iron Ages, which changed forever the human condition and perception of the world. Mircea Eliade emphasizes this point: “Before changing the face of the world, the Iron Age engendered a large number of rites, myths and symbols which have reverberated throughout the spiritual history of humanity.”

  If one looks at the ring quest myths of most cultures, there are certain constants for the hero in his pursuit of the ring: the magician, the smith, the warrior, the sword, the dwarf, the maiden, the treasure and the dragon. These all relate originally to the rites and processes of metallurgy, and later to the symbolic “secret language” of the alchemist’s ring.

  In The Lord of the Rings we have all the elements of the ring quest, and yet something wholly original in Tolkien’s own War of the Ring.

  PART

  TWO

  NORSE MYTHOLOGY

  No people in history were as obsessed with the power of the ring as the Vikings. The ring was wealth, honour, fame and destiny to these warrior people. Under its sign they charted unknown seas, waged barbarous wars, sacrificed man and beast, pledged their faith, made great gifts of it, and, finally, died for it. Their gods were ring lords of the heavens, and their kings were ring lords of the earth.

  In the ring quest myths of the Vikings, that ferocious warrior culture of Norsemen, we see one of the primary sources of inspiration for Tolkien’s fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings. Although the symbol of the ring was widespread and prominent in many far more ancient cultures, it was the Norsemen who brought the ring quest to its fullest expression, and to the very heart of their cultural identity. Virtually all subsequent ring quest tales in myth and fiction are deeply indebted to the Norse myths. The Lord of the Rings, although striking in its originality and innovation, is no exception.

  NORSE RING-GIVERS AND RING-HOARDS

  Among the Vikings, the gold ring was a form of currency, a gift of honour, and sometimes an heirloom of heroes and kings. (Such a ring belongs to the Swedish royal house, the Swedish kings’ ring known as Svíagríss.) At other times, when great heroes or kings fell, and it was thought none other would be worthy of the honour of the ring lord, the ring-hoard (the treasury of a nation or people, often made up of rings of gold) was buried with its master.

  So, in barrow and cave, in mere and grave, upon burial ship sunk beneath the sea, the rings slept with their ring lords. Afterward, tales were told of dead men’s curses and supernatural guardians. In Norse myth and in Tolkien’s tales, guardians of treasures and ring-hoards take many forms: damned spirits, serpents, dragons, giants, dwarfs, barrow-wights and demon monsters.

  POWER, FAME AND DESTINY

  The rings of Norse mythology – like Tolkien’s – were commonly magical rings forged by elves. These gold rings were tokens of both power and eternal fame. They were also symbolic of the highest power: destiny, the cycle of doom. Indeed, the Domhring, the Ring of Doom – the ring of monolithic stones that stood before the Temple of Thor – was perhaps the most dreaded symbol of the violent law of the Vikings. (In Tolkien, an identically named “Ring of Doom” stands outside the gates of Valmar, the city of the Valar.) In the centre of this ring of stones was the thunder god’s pillar, the Thorstein. The histories tell us of its use. In the 9th century, the Irish king Maelgula Mac Dungail was made captive in the Viking enclave of Dublin. He was taken to the Ring of Doom and his back was broken upon the Thorstein. Of another such ring in Iceland, a scribe in the Christian 12th century wrote that bloodstains could still be seen upon the central stone.

  Yet the great pillared temple of the fierce, red-bearded thunder god housed another very different – but to Norse society infinitely more important – ring. Thor’s weapon was the hammer called Mjölnir, “Destroyer”, but Thor’s most valued gift to humankind was the altar ring that was housed in his temple. This was the Oath Ring of Thor, the emblem of good faith and fair dealing.

  On the sacred altar was a silver bowl, an anointing twig, and the Oath Ring itself. Whether of gold or silver, it had to weigh more than 20 ounces. Thor’s statue, mounted in his goat-drawn chariot, dominated the sanctuary while around the altar were grouped the 12 figures of his fellow gods, their eyes fixed upon the ring.

  When an oath was to be taken, an ox was brought in and slaughtered, and the hlaut, the sacred blood, was sprinkled on the ring. Then the man laid his hand upon the ring and, with Thor gazing down on him, faced the people and said aloud: “I am swearing an oath upon the Ring, a sacred oath; so help me Freyr, and Njörthr and Thor the Almighty…”

  For the Vikings, such an oath was legally binding, and when the world’s first democratic parliament, the Althing, was established in Iceland in 930, the temple priests brought out the Oath Rings to reinforce its law.

  Yet Thor was not the only ring lord among the gods, nor was the power of his ring supreme. The greatest power was in the ring on the hand of Odin, the magician and king of the gods. Odin was the Allfather, Lord of Victories, Wisdom, Poetry, Love and Sorcery. He was Master of the Nine Worlds of the Norse universe, and through the magical power of his ring he was, quite literally, “The Lord of the Rings”.

  But Odin was not always almighty, and his quests for power and for his magical ring were long and achieved at great cost. He travelled throughout the Nine Worlds on his quests and hid himself in many forms, but most often he appeared as an old man: a bearded wanderer with one eye. He wore a grey or blue cloak and a traveller’s broad-brimmed slouch hat. He carried only a staff and was the model for the wandering wizard and magicians from Merlin to Gandalf.

  NORSE COSMOLOGY AND TOLKIEN

  Before delving more fully into the myth of Odin’s ring, it is important to first take a look at an overview of Tolkien’s cosmology and compare it to that of Norse mythology. Although Tolkien’s world is profoundly different in many of its basic moral and philosophical perspectives from that of Viking mythology, similarities are numerous and significant.

  The most immediate parallel for anyone even mildly familiar with Norse myth is that the world of mortal men in both Norse myth and Tolkien’s world have the same name: the Norse “Midgard” literally translates to “Middle-earth”.

  The immortal gods of the Norsemen are made up of two races: the Æsir and the Vanir, while Tolkien’s “gods” (we should properly call them entities or spirits) are originally called the Ainur, but become known as the Valar in their earthly form. In both systems, the gods live in great halls or palaces in a world apart from mortal lands. The Æsir live in Asgard, which can be reached only by crossing the Rainbow Bridge on the flying horses of the Valkyries. Tolkien’s Valar live in Aman, which, after the reshaping of Arda at the end of the Second Age, can be reached only by crossing the “Straight Road” in the flying ships of the Elves.

  Mahanaxar the “Ring of Doom” – the sacred circle of standing stones before the gates of Valmar, the city of the Valarian “gods” of Arda

  NINE WORLDS

  Norse
cosmology was rather more complex than Tolkien’s in its elemental structure. Asgard and Midgard were just two of its nine “worlds”. However, Tolkien’s “worlds” are far more cosmopolitan and most of the inhabitants of the nine Norse worlds are recognizable within his two.

  Besides the worlds of Midgard and Asgard, Norse myths tell of the worlds called Alfheim and Swartalfheim: the realms of the light elves and the dark elves. These were parallel to Tolkien’s Elves, who are divided into two great races: the Eldar, who are (for the most part) Light Elves, and the Avari, who are Dark Elves.

  The dwarfs of Viking mythology were also given their own world. This was a dark underground world of caves and caverns called Nidavellir, which was found beneath Midgard, where the dwarfs constantly worked their mines. These dwarfs share many of the characteristics of Tolkien’s Dwarves, although in Tolkien both Dwarves and Elves are more highly defined and individual, and their genealogies are far more complex.

  It is notable that Tolkien took the names of most of his Dwarves directly from the text of Iceland’s 12th-century Prose Edda. The Edda gives an account of the creation of the dwarfs, then lists their names. All the Dwarves in The Hobbit appear on this list: Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Kíli, Fíli, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin and Glóin. Other names of Dwarfs which Tolkien found in the Prose Edda included Thráin, Thror, Dáin and Náin. The Edda also gives the name Durin to a mysterious creator of the dwarfs, which Tolkien uses for his first Dwarf king of “Durin’s Line”. Rather surprisingly, another of the Icelandic dwarfs is named Gandalf. Undoubtedly, however, it was the literal meaning of Gandalf – “sorcerer elf” – that appealed to Tolkien when choosing this name for his Wizard.

  The swan ships of the Elves sailing from the world of mortal Men over the “Straight Road” to Eldamar

  First of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves – King Durin the Deathless

  The Norsemen gave two worlds to their races of giants: Jötunheim and Muspelheim. Jötunheim was the home of the cave-dwelling rock and frost giants. In them we see the recognizable characteristics of the large, stupid and easily outwitted monsters that evolved into the trolls of Scandinavian fairy tales. In Tolkien, these became his similarly stupid Stone Trolls and Snow Trolls.

  In the world of Muspelheim, however, we find the far more formidable fire giants. Undoubtedly fire giants are personifications of volcanic subterranean powers. For once released from Muspelheim, fire giants were virtually unstoppable. In Ragnarök, the final battle of gods and giants at the end of time, they played a major part in the destruction of the world. In Tolkien, we see something of these terrible titans in his creation of the Balrogs, the fiery “demons of might”.

  Another world was Vanaheim, the home of the second race of gods, the Vanir, a race of nature spirits of the earth and air who are also magicians capable of casting terrifying spells. In Norse myth these magician gods are not clearly defined as the dominant Æsir gods, but they seem to resemble Tolkien’s Valar in their early manifestations as elemental spirits or “forces of nature”.

  The deepest world of all was Niflheim, the dark and misty land of the dead. In this cold and poisoned land was the great walled citadel of Hel, the goddess of the dead. The gate of the fortress of Hel was guarded by Garm the Hound, and within were imprisoned the damned spirits of the dead. This is comparable in Tolkien’s Silmarillion to the cold and poisoned land of Angband (“iron fortress”), which is ruled by Morgoth, the spirit of darkness. The gate of the fortress of Angband was guarded by Carcharoth the Wolf, and within were imprisoned many Elves who were hideously tortured and transformed into a race of damned beings called Orcs. By the time of the War of the Ring, Morgoth’s disciple Sauron attempts to recreate Angband in his dark and evil land of Mordor.

  THE FINAL BATTLE

  Ultimately, Norse myth and Tolkien’s fiction both had cosmologies that share a stoic fatalism in their ultimate destiny. In Viking myth, the spirits of slain warriors are gathered in the Hall of Valhalla in Asgard, while, in Tolkien’s tales, the spirits of slain Elves inhabit the Halls of Mandos in Aman. Both remain there and await the time when they are called to participate in the cataclysms that will end their worlds. This is the great conflict of elemental forces that the Vikings called Ragnarök and Tolkien called the World’s End.

  Tolkien’s vision of his World’s End is deliberately veiled, but we see some comparisons between the Viking Ragnarök – when the rebel god Loki led the giants into battle against the gods – and Tolkien’s cataclysmic Great Battle in The Silmarillion. When Eönwë, the Herald of the Valar, blows his trumpet, the Valar go into battle against the rebel Vala Morgoth and his monstrous servants at the end of the First Age of Sun. The Viking Ragnarök was a battle between the gods and the Giants, which similarly commenced when Heimdall, the Herald of the Gods, blew his horn. Ragnarök ended with the destruction of all the Nine Worlds. Tolkien’s Great Battle results in the total destruction of Morgoth and his evil kingdom of Angband, but it also tragically causes the beautiful Elvish realms of Beleriand to sink beneath the sea.

  Norse Gods in contention with the Giants and monstrous elemental forces for domination over the Nine Worlds

  Battle of the great wolf Carcharoth and Beren Erchamion at the Gates of Angband

  Some tales in Tolkien’s writing directly echo episodes in that cataclysm of Ragnarök. In the Quest of the Silmaril, the hero Beren attempts to use the fiery Silmaril to drive back Carcharoth, the Giant Wolf of Angband. However, the beast bites off Beren’s hand at the wrist and swallows both hand and the flaming jewel. Carcharoth, the Red Maw, is filled with horrific pain as the jewel sears his accursed flesh and consumes his evil soul from within. The great beast is like a raging meteor loose in the land, full of pain and wrathful power until at last he is slain.

  In Tolkien’s tale, Carcharoth is comparable to the Norse myth of Fenrir, the Giant Wolf who bit off the hand of Tyr, the heroic son of Odin. Fenrir was the monstrous offspring of the evil rebel god Loki and, like Carcharoth, was the largest and most powerful wolf in the spheres of the world. During Ragnarök, Fenrir devoured the sun, which burned and consumed him from within but filled him with wrathful power until at last he was slain.

  DESTRUCTION AND RENEWAL

  In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog of Moria mirrors another duel in Ragnarök. In the giant Balrog of Moria, who fights the Wizard Gandalf with a sword of flame on the stone bridge of Khazad-dûm, we have a diminished version of Surt, the fire giant, who fights the god Freyr with a sword of flame on the Rainbow Bridge of Bifrost. Both duels end in disaster when the bridges collapse beneath them, and both the combatants hurtle down in a rage of flame.

  Although both Tolkien and the Norsemen share a cataclysmic vision of the end of their cosmologies, this vision is not without hope. Out of these conflicts, both promise that this ending is also a transition: a newer, better and more peaceful world is to be reborn from the violent old one.

  Tolkien’s inspiration is drawn from a far wider range of sources than this brief comparison of cosmologies suggests. However, the influence of Norse myth in the shaping of Tolkien’s world is undeniable. This becomes even more evident when we examine ring myths of that civilization, and especially those myths that relate to the king of the Viking gods, Odin.

  PART

  THREE

  GOD OF THE RING

  Odin was the supreme god of the Viking culture. He was a god, poet, sorcerer, warrior, trickster, transformer, necromancer, mystic, shaman and king. Odin is also the single most important figure in any nation’s mythology as a source of inspiration for Tolkien in his creation of The Lord of the Rings. In Odin’s character we can see both of Tolkien’s great magicians: Gandalf the Grey and Sauron the Ring Lord. In Odin we find one of the most complex and ambivalent figures in mythology. He is like a force of nature that is totally uninhibited by moral notions of good and evil. In his actions and deeds, he is not concerned with the morals of humans, but with the acquisition and
use of power.

  GOOD AND EVIL

  This is a fundamental difference between the Norse Midgard and Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The Norse mythic world is essentially amoral, while Tolkien’s world is consumed by the great struggle between the forces of good and evil. Consequently, the attributes of the Norse world’s greatest wizard, Odin, are necessarily split in two in Tolkien’s morality tale: the “good” aspects of Odin are found in the Wizard Gandalf, and the “bad” aspects are found in the Necromancer Sauron.

  The entire epic tale of The Lord of the Rings is primarily about the struggle for control of the world by these conflicting powers as embodied in this duel between the Wizard and Necromancer. And Tolkien’s single great message – entirely inexplicable to the philosophy and aspirations of the Norsemen – is that “power corrupts”. Tolkien’s ring quest tale is about the corruption implicit in a quest for pure power, and how the pursuit of power is in itself evil. We soon learn that even when that power (as embodied in the ultimate power of the One Ring) is pursued for reasons that appear essentially “good” it will necessarily corrupt the quester. We see this in Saruman, who was originally a “good” Wizard but who demonstrates the classic moral error of believing that “the end justifies the means”. In his attempt to overthrow the forces of the “evil” Sauron, Saruman gathers forces that in themselves are just as evil, and is himself corrupted by this desire for power. Unwittingly, Saruman becomes a mirror image and ally of the evil being he initially wished to overcome.