This article contains spoilers forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.Celebrimbor is a central character inThe Lord of the Ringslore, but he died before the events of Peter Jackson’sLord of the RingsandHobbitmovies, so he didn’t make an appearance. However, he does feature in Amazon Prime Video’sThe 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 situateThe Lord of the Ringsin, 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. WhileThe Lord of the Ringswas set in the Third Age, Celebrimbor’s story took place much earlier on inThe Lord of the Ringstimeline. 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” inUnfinished Tales, confirming Fëanor as one ofthe most powerfulLord of the Ringscharacters. Celebrimbor was born into the house of the Noldor, a group of Elves who excelled in craft and lore. Butit 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 likeUnfinished TalesandThe History of Middle-earthbook series, which includesThe Peoples of Middle-earth.
Indeed, the Noldor were cursed with pride, more so than other Elvish houses.The Peoples of Middle-earthsuggested thatCelebrimbor was born in Amanduring 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 ofElf Finrod Felagund, Galadriel’s brother. As Finrod said inThe 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 ofthe 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.
Before time
33,537
10,061
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen
4,902
3,441
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 pitchand helped him forge the rings.Sauron’s overarching planwas 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 were20 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” (viaThe 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.
Sapphire
Elrond
The Elves would have loved to have kept theirThree Elven-ringssecret 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 theRings 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 lifein 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.
Galadriel’s Replacement Is The Character The Rings Of Power Always Needed
One character in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally getting their time to shine, and it is paying dividends for the show.
Sauron gathering all the rings into his hands had come at the price ofCelebrimbor’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 inThe Silmarillionprovided no further detail, but Tolkien worked on a story just before he died that specified thatCelebrimbor had died pierced by Orc arrowsand was carried into war by Sauron as a banner. Suffice to say, Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship went sour inThe 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 throughoutThe Lord of the Rings. Celebrimbor’s work in forging the Rings of Power was legend, and not all bad.Celebrimbor’s Dwarf-ringsoccupied 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. Butthe 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 inThe Fellowship of the Ring, as he told his story. Also,Eregion’s relationship with the Dwarves was one of the strongestin Middle-earth’s history under Celebrimbor’s leadership, leading tothe 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. InThe 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’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerincluded Celebrimbor as a supporting character in season 1 and as a main character in season 2, adding original material around him.The Rings of Powerwas 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. InLord 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.InRings of Power, Celebrimbor realized Annatar was deceiving him mentally when he noticed a glitchin Sauron’s illusion. Confronted by Celebrimbor, Sauron revealed himself gladly.
The show was gruesomely faithful to Celebrimbor’sThe Lord of the Ringsdeath.
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. InThe Silmarillion, Sauron gathered the Seven and the Nine at this point and then dealt them out. InUnfinished 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’sThe Lord of the Ringsdeath.
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.
