Welcome back to my series examining how J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings differs from its film adaptations. Have you ever wondered why the One Ring wasn’t found in the Anduin river for two-and-a-half thousand years? And why does Faramir not immediately guess that it’s the One Ring, anyway?
And, I mean, wouldn’t every power-hungry person be scouring Middle-earth for such a powerful weapon? In the movie, we just have to accept that no one found it till Déagol fell into the river. In the book, there’s a perfectly logical explanation for this, and that’s what I’ll be talking about today.
In the Films
In the film adaptation of The Two Towers, Denethor tells his son Boromir that “the weapon of the enemy” has been found, and Boromir immediately knows it’s the One Ring. This implies that everyone, or at least people in-the-know, are aware that Isildur kept the Ring for himself, which couldn’t be further from the way things are in the book.
The Least of Rings
When Glóin the dwarf recounted the recent events in Erebor and Dale at the council of Elrond, he described the request of Sauron’s messenger:
“As a small token only of your friendship Sauron asks this,” he said: “that you should find this thief,” such was his word, “and get from him, willing or no, a little ring, the least of rings, that once he stole. It is but a trifle that Sauron fancies, and an earnest of your good will.”
Glóin, The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅱ, Chapter Ⅱ)
If we assume everyone knows the Ring survived, why then did none of the dwarves of Erebor figure out that the messenger was referring to the One Ring? The answer to this question is surprisingly simple…
Long-Forgotten
In the book, Boromir’s first line of dialogue comes when Elrond recounts the story of how Isildur claimed the One Ring for himself:
At this the stranger, Boromir, broke in. ’So that is what became of the Ring!’ he cried. ‘If ever such a tale was told in the South, it has long been forgotten. I have heard of the Great Ring of him that we do not name; but we believed that it perished from the world in the ruin of his first realm. Isildur took it! That is tidings indeed.’
Boromir, The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅱ, Chapter Ⅱ)
As it happens, both Boromir and Faramir began to have a prophetic dream, which spoke of “Isildur’s Bane” and told them to go to Imladris. It’s implied that Denethor probably knows about the Ring, but in the book, very few people know that Isildur didn’t destroy it.
Three Men Only
In fact, Elrond said this in response to Boromir:
‘Isildur took it, as should not have been. It should have been cast into Orodruin’s fire nigh at hand where it was made. But few marked what Isildur did. He alone stood by his father in that last mortal contest; and by Gil-galad only Círdan stood, and I. But Isildur would not listen to our council.’
Elrond, The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅱ, Chapter Ⅱ)
And shortly thereafter:
‘Only to the North did these tidings come, and only to a few. Small wonder it is that you have not heard them, Boromir. From the ruin of the Gladden fields, where Isildur perished, three men only came ever back over the mountains after long wandering.’
Elrond, The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅱ, Chapter Ⅱ)
If you’ve only seen the films, you may have wondered about some of the questions I asked at the beginning. Hopefully this cleared some of those up.
Next time I’ll be looking at one of the biggest changes from book to film. See you then.
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