This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.Celebrimbor is a central character in The Lord of the Rings lore, but he died before the events of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, so he didn’t make an appearance. However, he does feature in Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Celebrimbor was name-dropped in J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings, but little detail was provided. This was a part of Tolkien’s writing style – he developed a whole mythological universe to situate The Lord of the Rings in, effecting a realistic medieval-style age.
The age in question was the Third Age – Tolkien created this age to reflect modern-day eras such as ancient history, the medieval period, and the modern era. While The Lord of the Rings was set in the Third Age, Celebrimbor’s story took place much earlier on in The Lord of the Rings timeline. Lasting 3,021 years and ending with Frodo and Bilbo leaving Middle-earth, the Third Age was preceded by the Second Age. It was in this age that Celebrimbor blossomed from a Noldor Elf with high prospects to one of the most famous Elves in Middle-earth.
Celebrimbor’s History Before The Rings Of Power Explained
Celebrimbor Was A Noldor Elf
Celebrimbor was raised by his father, Curufin, who was the son of the inimitable Fëanor. Galadriel was described as “greatest of the Noldor, except Fëanor maybe” in Unfinished Tales, confirming Fëanor as one of the most powerful Lord of the Rings characters. Celebrimbor was born into the house of the Noldor, a group of Elves who excelled in craft and lore. But it wasn’t all good press for the Noldor, with Fëanor leading a bloody massacre just so that he could board ships to go and retrieve stolen gemstones. Granted, they were the earth-shattering Silmarils, but that didn’t justify Fëanor’s actions.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s son, Christopher, edited and published much of Tolkien’s legendarium posthumously across works like
Unfinished Tales
and
The History of Middle-earth
book series, which includes
The Peoples of Middle-earth.
Indeed, the Noldor were cursed with pride, more so than other Elvish houses. The Peoples of Middle-earth suggested that Celebrimbor was born in Aman during the Years of the Trees and followed Fëanor across the sea to Middle-earth. Celebrimbor came to reside with his father in Nargothrond, the stronghold of Elf Finrod Felagund, Galadriel’s brother. As Finrod said in The Silmarillion, “Celegorm and Curufin are dwelling in my halls… they have won a strong power in the realm, and lead many of their own people.” Celebrimbor moved to Eregion, where he became Lord and master smith of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain.
Celebrimbor Constructed The Rings Of Power With Sauron’s Help
Celebrimbor Was The Greatest Elvish Smith Of His Time
Celebrimbor ruled Eregion in peace until the year 1200 of the Second Age of Middle-earth, when “Sauron [endeavored] to seduce the Eldar” and “the smiths of Eregion [were] won over.” Sauron was on the rise, following his recovery after the total devastation of the War of Wrath, and he visited Eregion in a fair form. He called this disguise Annatar and used it to persuade the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the People of the Jewel-smiths, to forge Rings of Power. These were the medieval fantasy versions of high-tech weapons of mass destruction, engineered by Sauron from the ground up to control wearers.
|
Tolkienian Age |
Event Marking The Start |
Years |
Total Length In Solar Years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Before time |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
|
Days before Days |
The Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian Years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
Y.T. 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
First Age |
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen |
Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age |
The War of Wrath ended |
S.A. 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age |
The Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
T.A. 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
Sauron would most likely have sold them in as more of a defensive or welfare-based piece of technology than an offensive one, seeing as his pitch to the Elves of Eregion was to raise the standard of the realm to that of Valinor. Celebrimbor and his team of smiths liked Sauron’s pitch and helped him forge the rings. Sauron’s overarching plan was to give the rings out to those with access to power across Middle-earth’s many races, then forge “One Ring to rule them all… and in the darkness bind them.” Thus, Sauron would rise to power in Morgoth’s stead.
Celebrimbor Made The Three Elven-Rings In Secret
Celebrimbor Forged Three Rings For Elves
There were 20 Rings of Power, but the Elven-rings were unique because “the hand of Sauron had never touched them.” Tolkien described them as “unsullied,” although “they also were subject to the One” (via The Silmarillion). Celebrimbor made these rings last, and they were the most powerful of the rings – “Narya, Nenya, and Vilya… the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire.” Narya, Nenya, and Vilya warded off the decays of time, prolonging life unnaturally. Sauron had never handled the Three, and nor could he ever find them.
|
Ring |
Title |
Gem |
Final Bearer |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Narya |
Ring of Fire |
Ruby |
Gandalf |
|
Nenya |
Ring of Water |
Adamant |
Galadriel |
|
Vilya |
Ring of Air |
Sapphire |
Elrond |
The Elves would have loved to have kept their Three Elven-rings secret from Sauron, but he “was aware of all that they did,” always a step ahead of them. When Sauron forged the One Ring, he was additionally able to see and control the thoughts of wearers of all Rings of Power, as well as whatever was done with the rings. But the Rings of Power also enabled their wearers a glimpse into Sauron’s mind. It was the moment of Sauron putting on the One Ring that triggered the War of the Elves and Sauron:
For in the day that Sauron first put on the One, Celebrimbor, maker of the Three, was aware of him, and from afar he heard him speak [the Ring-inscription], and so his evil purposes were revealed.
Celebrimbor Died During The Destruction Of Eregion
Celebrimbor Was Killed In A Siege
Celebrimbor lost his life in the fighting that followed the creation of the One Ring. Putting on the One Ring blew Sauron’s cover, and realizing that they had been dealing with Morgoth’s second in command, the Elves took off their rings and turned against Sauron. Naturally, Sauron was furious with this development and demanded all the rings from the Elves and naturally, they fled. Sauron went to war with the Elves for the rings, but the Elves managed to hide the Three. Sauron “gathered into his hands all the remaining Rings of Power, and… dealt them out” accordingly.
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Sauron gathering all the rings into his hands had come at the price of Celebrimbor’s life. From the time of the Elves’ fleeing, “war never ceased between Sauron and the Elves; and Eregion was laid waste, and Celebrimbor slain.” This report in The Silmarillion provided no further detail, but Tolkien worked on a story just before he died that specified that Celebrimbor had died pierced by Orc arrows and was carried into war by Sauron as a banner. Suffice to say, Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship went sour in The Lord of the Rings, but the smith’s work became legend.
How Celebrimbor’s Legacy Influences The Lord Of The Rings
Celebrimbor Is Referenced In The Lord of The Rings
Celebrimbor’s Second Age work had a huge impact on Middle-earth, and his influence could be felt throughout The Lord of the Rings. Celebrimbor’s work in forging the Rings of Power was legend, and not all bad. Celebrimbor’s Dwarf-rings occupied an ambivalent middle ground, neither serving the Dwarves nor Sauron particularly well, in the end. The Rings of Men obviously led to the unfortunate Ringwraiths. But the three Elven-rings kept Gandalf safe along with the whole of Lothlórien and Rivendell, with Nenya falling to Galadriel, Vilya falling to Elrond, and Narya falling to Gandalf.
Elrond made it clear that Celebrimbor and his rings were sanctified in Eldar lore in The Fellowship of the Ring, as he told his story. Also, Eregion’s relationship with the Dwarves was one of the strongest in Middle-earth’s history under Celebrimbor’s leadership, leading to the Door of Durin. Dwarf Narvi made the door, while Celebrimbor inscribed it in Elvish using ithildin. Both Narvi and Celebrimbor had their signature on the door, which characters were reading all the way into the Third Age and beyond. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf deciphered Celebrimbor’s riddle, in ithildin, to open the door.
How The Rings Of Power Changes Celebrimbor’s Story
The Rings Of Power Added Material For Celebrimbor
Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power included Celebrimbor as a supporting character in season 1 and as a main character in season 2, adding original material around him. The Rings of Power was reasonably faithful to the books as far as Celebrimbor went. As per the books, Celebrimbor was Lord of Eregion and master smith in the show. He was also approached by Annatar to forge the Rings of Power, who developed an intricate, bizarre, and disturbing relationship with him.
Annatar manipulated Celebrimbor masterfully, while Celebrimbor fell under his spell and pushed back in turn. In Lord of the Rings, it was only when Sauron had forged the One Ring and put it on that Celebrimbor realized that Annatar was Sauron, hearing Sauron utter the ring’s inscription telepathically. In Rings of Power, Celebrimbor realized Annatar was deceiving him mentally when he noticed a glitch in Sauron’s illusion. Confronted by Celebrimbor, Sauron revealed himself gladly.
The show was gruesomely faithful to Celebrimbor’s
The Lord of the Rings
death.
In the show, the three Elven-rings were already safely with their owners at this point, which was canonical, but the Dwarf-rings had already been dealt out, which was not. In The Silmarillion, Sauron gathered the Seven and the Nine at this point and then dealt them out. In Unfinished Tales, Sauron found the Nine in the forge and tortured Celebrimbor to find out where the Seven were. In the show, Sauron tortured Celebrimbor to find out where the Nine were, but Celebrimbor had sent them away with Galadriel. The show was gruesomely faithful to Celebrimbor’s The Lord of the Rings death.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
- Created by
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Cast
- Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt
