Messed up origins has literally drawn me so much into the fantasy world that the real world has faded Thx Jon

fun fact you didn't ask for- the only way the rings in lotr can affect different characters is by manipulating their already existent desire for power. basically the more someone already wanted power the more a ring would affect them. there were a few characters that the rings barely affected because they never desired power. the one character that wasn't affected at all was tom bombadil, who was kind of a symbol for tolkien (you should totally do a video about him). the amount of lore in this series is absolutely insane

There is a slight misunderstanding of the Elven Rings. They were NOT created by Sauron and he never touched them. They were purely created by the Elves to sustain and protect their lands from the ravages of time and corruption laid into the fabric of Middle Earth by Sauron's predecessor, Morgoth. They were never meant as weapons of war, but Sauron's knowledge of ring craft was used to make them, which rendered them vulnerable to his influence. After his defeat in the Second Age, the Elf Rings were responsible for maintaining Rivendell and Lorien. Gandalf was also a ring bearer, carrying Narya, the ring of Fire as a means of encouraging hope and rallying free folk to resist the advances of evil in the world

There's also the ring of Solomon, with which he was said to control demons, he forced them to build the temple which bore his name.

Hey Jon you forgot the Greater Shcwartz and the Lesser Schwartz, rings that not only give there wearer the ability to use the schwartz to move objects telepathically but also act at lightsabors that sometimes get tangled.

The One-handed girl a Swahili fairy tale From Andrew Lang. The ring gave her food at desperate times. She didn't get greedy or corrupt. Please read her story! Its a favorite of mine!

Fun Fact about Amethyst: in Hebrew the gem's name is Akhlama (אחלמה), similar to the word Recovery - Hakhlama (החלמה)

Considering how much of Tolkien's world was directely inspired by Norse mythology I would be willing to almost guarantee that Andvari's ring was a direct inspiration for the one ring in lotr

There is a story with a magic ring that I know where the ring makes you a better person instead of a worse one. A good king rescued a rabbit from the hunting hounds one day. The rabbit turns out to be a fairy who was testing the king's goodness. She offers to grant him one wish. The good king wishes that his son will grow up to be a good and just king. That is beyond the fairy's magic, but she promises to do her best to nudge him in that direction. When the good king died, the fairy appeared before the young new king and gave him a ring. That ring caused the wearer to feel a prick on their finger every time they did an evil deed- the worse the deed the more painful the prick. The boy gets pricked quite a bit in the beginning. He learns that some of the things he thought were harmless, such as kicking a dog, are wicked. He starts to become a better person, until that is, he falls in with some very bad friends. These very bad friends peer pressure him into doing things that make the ring constantly prick him. So he takes the ring off and throws it away. He gradually gets more and more wicked, until he is monstrous. He tries to force a princess to marry him by threatening to kill her otherwise, and this is the last straw for the fairy. The fairy turns the young king into a chimeric monster that reflects who he has become - part lion, part wolf, part bull, and part snake. The king's steward takes charge while the king is away, and the monster is put in a menagerie. The monster regrets his past actions and behaves with gentleness. When he saves the life of the animal caretaker, he is transformed. He is turned from a monster into a dog. As a dog, he is mostly treated as a pet but not given enough to eat. Even though he is hungry, he starts giving his meals to a poor child who has nothing to eat. This kindness causes him to turn from a dog into a dove. While in that form he saves the princess and regains his human form. At the end of the story, the fairy gives him the ring once again. But he ruled so well and so wisely after that, that the ring hardly ever pricked him. I got this one out of Andrew Lang's colorful fairy books. If I manage to find the title of the story I'll edit that in.

I think the reason for Tolkien not changing the ring into something else is the same reason he made Frodo related to Bilbo, he wanted to connect Lord of the rings to The Hobbit and make them both one epic story. One of ways to do that is make sure some of the main parts of both stories are the same or closely related, in this case the Ring is atleast somewhat central to both and arguably the main characters in both are relatives.

I love how the actual simple answer is that Tolkien took the magic invisible ring idea from existing germanic and nordic folklore like he did with a lot of LOTR (elves, dwarves etc) but Jon decides to give us the entire history of rings haha

The really cool thing about carving the mammoth tusks into rings is that they can be strung on a cord or threaded onto a thinner stick and carried in a hide bag or a reed basket, so you aren't limited by the amount of space on your fingers. Really good idea, tbh.

I think of the magic rings in C. S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. Those rings had the power to transport the wearer and all in contact with the wearer to another world.

Thanks for another amazing episode. It is interesting there was no mention of the Ring of Nibelungs - a magical golden ring that gives you power to rule the world, but it was cursed by it's creator to enslave it's bearers.

I realized the other day that I love the idea that the One Ring allows the wearer to become invisible. Sauron uses it for subjugation, but if it were to ever fall into other hands, it would not only corrupt them, compelling them to return the ring, but it would also grant them an ability to avoid capture when venturing to return it. And while all others cannot see the wearer when cloaked by its power, Sauron is made aware of their exact location.

.....The fact that I've been on LOTR and Hobbit obsession for the past month. Honestly, thanks for fueling it. One thing I thought of as I was watching is that, rings are very common place, and have been for a good century or so at least. A seemingly harmless circular band that you could find in stores, on peoples hands, even on the streets in some cases, has the power to both corrupt and give you untold power. Like seriously, a band of metal, that can literally give you power over everything and anything. That's both scary and weirdly tempting.

I'm retraining as a jeweller and have loved your channel for ages, so this was peak "right up my alley" content. I've wanted to do a LOTR inspired collection to so this was a lot of fun.

Wagner's entire Ring Cycle is centered on Andvari's Ring.

A ring can become Horcrux due to the endless nature which is a space for the fragment of the spirit to continuously move in it. In my African culture, we don't accept to wear someone's ring or clothes because some people are strongly attached to their possessions which transfers a fragment of their energy/spirit into it, and like the ring of power it can have negative effects if worn.

This episode is a bit personal for me. While I am a fan of LOTR I myself make rings as a hobby and have looked into the history of them for inspiration.

Originally the Lord of the rings instead of the Ring it was supposed to be the arkenstone. It was a friend that told him to make it the ring and he based it on an actual ring called the Ring of Silvianus.

I'm so happy knowing folklore that inspired one of my favorite book series! I have grown up with LOTR and I always wondered that same question about why rings in terms of plot device.

I love learning about the history/origins of things, like I had no idea rings were used in the Paleolithic Era as currency. It makes sense, as they couldn't really afford to carry a lot of objects on their person. Thanks man, awesome video 👍💍

Really like hearing the history of jewellery and how it's been represented in folklore. And what different cultures believed about gemstones

In Italian epic poetry there's Angelica's ring. It dispel any magic if worn on the finger and makes you invisibile if kept in the left size of the mouth. It's never use for evil

I love the magic rings from The Magician's Nephew though: yellow rings that take you to the In-Between Place and green rings that send you into one of the universes you jump into. The risk, of course, is what awaits them in those many universes.

I would love to see more JRR Tolkien lore.

i remember hearing a legend of a ring that would make copies of it's self for 9 nights, all numbering up to 9. each an exact copy in every way. over the remaining nights, each ring would make 9 copies in on themselves along with the original.

Thanks for posting a video even though you aren’t feeling well. Get better soon.

Its been a very long time since I read this book but if I'm remembering correctly I think The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis has magical rings that don't corrupt the children.

Also a ring is much more practical as a "visible" plot device whilst still remaining a unique story

It's been AGES and that intro music STILL makes happy and bob my head to it lol please never change it Solo~

Since he was catholic, i think it might also have influence of the ring of king solomon, that was a ring given to him by God Himself, with the power to command god and evil spirits, it results in a legend that, if i'm not mistaken, solomon started to summon demons to enslave them and to buit temples to God, as a way to punish (or redeem) them. In the end he had too much demons serving him, and they manage to release themselves from the control of the ring, destroying his city... Something like that

I wish more people mentioned Nubia & it’s rings.

Awesome video. It would make sense that Lord Elrond would possess Vilya (which you didn't mention, fyi) as, matching the ring's speculated powers, Elrond is a master healer.

I have to point out that it was Gollum who destroyed the ring but he died happy. I'm pretty sure that was in the books and it was definitely in the movie. Gandalf told Frodo something along the lines that it was kindness that had Bilbo not kill Gollum, so Bilbo had a hand in saving Middle Earth as well. Frodo did help as well. All 3 hobbits helped.

Hey Solo! Could you do an episode on Prince of Egypt? I just would like to see the ten plagues on this channel.

I love this, i didn't know that rings, mere jewelry had such a dense origin. Does that mean that this might possibly be the origin for all Lantern Corps? Particularly the Green Lanterns because they are all good, it doesn't corrupt it's wearer but provides them with the power to protect people unlike the Yellow or Red Lantern Corps.

This is one of my favorite episodes, and it barely even has any mythology in it! But I think it was a big miss you didn't talk about Solomon's ring. A ring is the perfect choice - it can't be knokced off like the crown, it can't be ripped off of your neck like a necklace, it's hard to steal, it's comfortable to wear, you have no need to take it off, whether you're sleeping, bathing, having sex, or whatever, it's so small and simple! The legend of Gyges is cool and all, but I wonder, if the ring belonged to a giant, how did it fit the man? Maybe shrinking was one of the ring's magical powers? Gypsies have a legend about a dwarf trapped underground. If you release him, he will give you his magic glowing ring, that makes gold, when you turn it.

Your over-delivery of the "...ring to them" line reminds me of Gandalf's line in the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit.

How about each of the different lantern rings from the green lantern comic books. I'm pretty sure that ring from the Aladin book was used as inspiration for the green lantern ring.

Thank you for another great video. Hoping for your speedy return to health!

So nice to see you're still making videos.

We read a book in school names 'Nathan the wise one' (german book i think) and there is a folklore told about 3 rings and 3 brothers. And only one has the true power of getting ppl under control.

Yo!! This breakdown is So DOPE!!! 💯💯 I LOVE the Nasgul🥰💯

I adore your channel and the entirety of Tolkien's fantasy world. Please do more videos about his works!

As soon as I saw you post this I knew I had to give a like. The show is ok never seen it, bit I gave you a like because of LOTR and because of your content!

another great video dude!! Much love

Would be very interesting if you had Jordan B. Peterson as a guest on your podcast talking about a topic like this. Loved the video btw!

Happy Hobbit day this is perfect! I love it so much!!!

Here's a magical ring that didn't corrupt: In Piers Anthony's book _Wielding a Red Sword,_ Mars wore a snake ring that curled around his finger. The snake could answer yes/no questions including predictions: One squeeze = yes, 2 squeezes = no, and 3 squeezes = I don't know or does not apply. Mars doors not get corrupted with it and neither does Luna, a traveling companion he gives it to.

He may have denied this as well, but I had thought Tolkien chose a ring because he was taking inspiration from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen?

Frodo failed but the quest succeeded but Frodo also redeemed himself a few times after

With their powers combined here comes captain planet!

To answer your question about rings not corrupting the bearer certain lantern rings such as green, blue, pink, and purple. The other example I can think of is Captain Planet 🤣

I love that you used a Mayan ring as the example for the oldest ring.

This was an excellent video!

Awesome video dude!

You should do The Messed Up Origins Of The Wind And The Willows.

Odin was given a ring, from Loki, that just copied itself every 7 days. After that brief mention, it's not brought up again. Easily missed in the tale though, since it's more about Loki replacing Thor's hammer and then getting his mouth sewn shut than about the other gifts Loki brought home.

Since I know you love Greek mythology, I think you’d love to make a video about the hydra, but did you know that the story of Hercules & the hydra have a similar myth in Japan ? It’s the orochi legend, look it up

Absolutely a great video!! Loved it

This is giving me good ideas for my DND. I have a new player who made a character that goes off on his own and trys to convert all the towns to his family houses rule. He never goes with the party and never goes with the quests unless he gets part of the town with it. Maybe instead of slowing him down I can give him a ring of power that forces people to obey him. Maybe he'll use it too much and king's will send hero's to vanquish this brainwashing demon.

Great Job, very interesting etymology on rings.

Huh. No mention of the magic rings from The magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. They transported the wearer to The Wood Between The Worlds and from there to other universes. It's how all the Narnian adventures first started.

I was thinking that it would be partly based off of the ring in Norse mythology that makes 8 rings every nine days, considering how much inspiration Tolkien took from norse mythology.

I think rings are convenient. They are small and easy to slip on. They are easier to hide and often get lost in places that are harder to get to. Think of how many times someone lost their wedding rings, when they did the dishes or took a shower. In the movie Legend, didn't Lily throw a ring in the pond, after she challenged Jack, that she would marry him if he could retrieve it? Aren't there stories where fish swallowed rings or carrying rings in their mouths? Rings just have a knack for getting lost or found. Amulets are clunky and they snag on things. They are not as easy to hide. Someone could yank on it and possibly choke you with it. Lord of the Amulets doesn't have the same ring as Lord of the Rings.

I like the clean cut look, Jon.

David Day has a fantastic book on the use of ring mythology in Tolkien stories

Trying to think of other stories with magic rings. Only one coming to mind is The Magician's Nephew from the Chronicles of Narnia

I ordered the Dragon eye journal and I'm so hype!!! Thank you for the discount code!💙🐲🐉

Frodo's journey was to take the ring to the elves, which he completed with out any issue. When he saw the fighting the ring was causing he volunteered to take it Mt.Doom to be destroyed. He got it to Mt.Doom, and it was destroyed. Sounds like mission accomplished to me. Lol

so if i understand correctly, in our day and age it would not be a ring but a dongle, with all your personal certificates. i would like to see a scifi-production of Lord of the Dongles and one Trojan to rule them all XD

I thought it was based on his experiences in WWI and the effects of war and power can make a man go insane with it.

Lord of the Rings is a reinterpretation of the ring cycle, with the rings of power being a stand-in for Andvari's cursed treasure, since the Danes used metal rings as money. It wasn't some ad-hoc decision, it was a reference to a myth that in turn referenced the real culture and history that myth came from. In the myth, Andvari's treasure was a stash of red gold. The cursed red gold coins in the Belgariad (another fantasy novel that was the standard before LotR) are also a reference to Andvari's cursed treasure. Smaug and Sméagol (three syllables, SMAY-ah-goal, Tolkien was very explicit about that in the text) are both unambiguously based on Fafnir.

Awesome video 👍

Love this!

Gollum wasn't "totally cool" with giving the ring to Bilbo as a prize. He didn't even know Bilbo had it in his pocket. Bilbo won on a technicality. It wasn't until Gollum went back across the lake to his island that he realized what had happened. He was definitely NOT totally cool with it.

Need a comedy 🎭 of “The Earrings of Power 💥

I’m surprised that he hasn’t talked about the ring of the green lantern!

And the game deltaren there's an item called the ice ring which makes the attacks of that character stronger but also leads to them killing one of their classmates with your help

The elves rings did not come from Sauron, the knowledge of the making came from him but he never touched the elvin rings

That we should place so much fear and doubt... into so small a thing. -Boromir, LOTR, Fellowship of the Ring. I think he said it best.

I grew up with the lord of the rings movies and games. I really enjoyed this messed up origins

Let's all take a moment to appreciate that there was more work and investigation put into the making of this video than Amazon put into writing their garbage series.

When Tom Hiddelson retires from playing Loki, this dude Jon should audition fr!

Lol, I watched this with my granny and when the video was over I said, well what did you think of all that, lol her reply was ( where is jesus in all of this ) 🤣

Rings are more discrete and less cumbersome than crowns or amulets. He was also alive during a time where royalty was dying off and going away.

Is the music in the bulk of the 2/3 od the video from Assassins Creed Black Flag?

He mentions that the rings corrupt people though that is the exact opposite for the three elven rings they don't corrupt galadriel gandalf or elron they give them power to fight against sauron not to physically challenge him but to create obstacles that can challenge him in the end

Elrond was said to be able to flood the river at Rivendell as he did to deter the Nazgul. This power may have come from or at least been enhanced by Vilya.

Rings exposed the heart of the wearer.

When did you get over a million subscribers? I could have sworn that I remembered you having like 200,000 at most. Congratulations dude lol.

Do you think the rings could also be based on the draupnir?

I want to say that Frodo lasted a lot longer than anyone would have

To be fair, even though Frodo was not strong enough to cast the ring into the fire of Mount Doom, the fact that Bilbo’s pity for Sméagol spared him meant that he was alive to take the ring from Frodo and, forgetting himself and leaping for joy, jumped in himself (in the book). So really, it was still the selfless actions of hobbits that saved the world from Sauron. Also, technically the elven rings were made by the elf Celebrimbor and were never touched by Sauron at all.

10:15 this sounds exactly like a possible origin story of Larfleeze from the Orange Lantern Corps. They were powered by greed.

Now I know how turquoise came to have the symbolic meaning “healing.”

I feel like the ring of King Solomon could have fit in this video somewhere

Actually Tolkien got the idea of the ring was thought to be from Beowulf