What does the inscription on the One Ring really mean?

Warning: This article contains some conjecture but mostly questions; many questions, and no conclusion.

The Three Elven Rings were not made by Sauron. But the inscription on the One Ring was somehow related to the power of him. What is clear is that when Sauron put on the One Ring, and the Elves understood the trap, probably the best story of JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth began. However, isn’t the Ring Poem inaccurate? We know that it is a verse “long known in Elvish lore,” as Gandalf explains to Frodo in The Shadow of the Past. Was it written by the Elves? Was it written by Sauron? (see: What did Sauron really look like?)

The evil inscription on the Ring describes the actions and purposes of the Lord of the Rings, but he only gave the Seven and the Nine, not the Three, which were exceptional. He had power over them because they were forged with the same techniques, but Sauron had not originally planned them. They were made independently and we can imagine they took him by surprise. Isn’t it strange, then, that the Poem “long known in Elvish tradition” places the Three on the same level, as if the purpose of the One Ring had been from the beginning to “rule them all”? (see: Sauronian: analysis of the Black Tongue of Mordor)

Everything seems to indicate that the inscription on the One Ring was made by Sauron, but the Poem was created separately:

This is the Poem of the Ring, but the inscription on the Ring is much shorter:

Gandalf mentions Sauron’s forging of the Ring and the inscription as heard: “Out of the Black Years come the words which the smiths of Eregion heard and knew they had been betrayed.” These words, Gandalf continues, are: One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them, one Ring to draw them all and bind them in darkness.

At this point the Inscription exists, but we can deduce that the rest of the Poem did not yet exist, as the Seven and Nine were only given out after the One Ring was forged.

As soon as Sauron put the One Ring on his finger, the Elves noticed him, and understood the plan. Then an open war began. Sauron demanded that the Three be given to him, since the Elven smiths could not have made them without his knowledge and advice. Sauron gathered all the remaining Rings of Power and distributed them: Seven to Dwarves, Nine to Men, according to Gandalf, “those most willing to his will.”

Given that timeline, it is obvious that the rest of the Ring Poem was written at a later date. By whom, Tolkien is not revealed. The fact that the Poem is “long known in Elven tradition” does not mean that it was written by an Elf, but only that they knew it. Since the Elves who were at the forging of the Ring still lived in Middle-earth (Cirdan, Celeborn, Galadriel, Elrond, and potentially others), the suspicion would be that they would know who wrote the Poem if it had been composed by an Elf. This person is not revealed, but we can connect the dots (see: Who was Mouth of Sauron really?)

Whoever wrote the Poem would have to be aware of the tradition of the Ring, that is, know or have themselves heard the verse that terrified the blacksmiths of Ergion. Furthermore, he should know the existence of the Three, the Seven, and the Nine, as well as their purpose. That limits the search to an Elf, one of the Istari, Sauron, or one of his close lieutenants, if any of them were inclined to write poetry in his spare time, which seems unlikely. Regarding the orcs, I would exclude any poetic inclination.

It is interesting to mention that the Dwarves have their version of the Ring Poem but the verse says “in THEIR stone halls”, not “in OURS”, which naturally excludes them as possible authors.

Now, we know that the Ring Inscription was made by Sauron. We also know that these words in the Black Tongue of Mordor are physically painful for any Elf who hears them (as well as any other word in that language). The Inscription uses Elvish letters because all the forms of writing that Tolkien describes at the time were invented by the Elves.

That is to say, the Ring Inscription in the Black Language predates the Poem, since it narrates what happened first, chronologically: when Sauron deceived the Elves. It was obviously not made by the Elves, who hate that language, and would never speak or write it voluntarily. Let’s remember everyone’s reaction when Gandalf utters it during the Council of Elrond. The Poem of the Ring, then, is a later addition, it must necessarily be, since it describes Sauron’s betrayal, implying that the One Ring was already made, and so was the Inscription on it.

Tolkien, as in all other aspects of his work, is extremely rigorous here. The Poem describes Sauron’s betrayal, which means that the One Ring rules them all, but that does not mean that the Elves knew from the beginning that this would happen. It also does not imply that Sauron made the Three Rings, only that they were “for the Elven kings”, which is true, since they made them themselves.

Everything points to the Elves as authors of the Poem of the Ring. After all, the poem itself is a kind of regression from the heavens into darkness and shadow. It is not a triumphant poem, as it undoubtedly would be from Sauron’s point of view, satisfied that his plan is working, but rather a lament, even a lament that uses the words of the enemy.

Now, both the Inscription and the Poem coincide in “ruling them all.” Who are you referring to? Perhaps to the other Rings of Power, to their bearers?

Probably both. After all, rings don’t make decisions, they don’t give orders. The bearers do so, and through control of the rings Sauron could influence his decisions, and even control them as in the case of the Spectres. But, in this at least, Sauron’s plan seems somewhat meager. He never controlled the Three, and the Dwarves showed notable resistance to the Seven. From “ruling them all” Sauron had to settle for ruling the Nine.

There is some inherent ambiguity in the topic, I think intentional. After all, Galadriel, Elrond, and Gandalf are bearers of the Three Rings, and the One seems to have no power or influence over them. Or is it necessary to use them openly to be affected by the One? In that case, we can assume that, before Gandalf discovered that Sauron had returned, both he and Galadriel used their respective Rings at some point, perhaps when the One was in Gollum’s possession, and were evidently unaffected. At the very least, they would have sensed that the One was active and in someone’s possession (see: Gollum and Renfield: vampirism in The Lord of the Rings).

By controlling the Three, the Seven, and the Nine, Sauron hoped to seduce the great rulers of Middle-earth to evil. Now, is the One Ring Inscription a planned feature? That is, did Sauron want the Ring to display it in certain circumstances, for example, when heating it, as a kind of remote command that is activated and synchronized with the other Rings? (see: Gandalf and Clarke’s third law: magic as an advanced form of technology)

Apparently, the marks were made intentionally. At the Council of Elrond, Gandalf recounts his journey to Isengard, and comments on what he learned from Saruman: “The Nine, the Seven, and the Three,” he says, “each had his own gem.” Not so the One. He was round and unadorned, as if he were one of the lesser rings; but his creator put marks on him that the wise, perhaps, could still see and read.” Furthermore, Isildur writes:

It was hot when I first took it, and my hand burned, so much so that I doubt if I will ever be free of the pain again. However, even as I write, she cools and seems to shrink, although she loses neither her beauty nor her shape. The writing on it, which at first was as clear as a red flame, fades and is now barely readable. The Ring misses, perhaps, the warmth of Sauron’s hand, which was black and yet burned like fire. Perhaps if gold warmed again, writing would be renewed.

This seems to prove that Sauron intentionally made the Inscribed Ring. If anything, the warmth of his hand activated it somehow. Saruman mentions that “his maker of him put marks upon him,” which proves that Sauron placed them there, although his function is unclear, beyond affirming his intentions for power. The real question is, why would Sauron intentionally create the Inscription on the Ring when, in reality, at the time this was done it would be better to keep the plan of domination from him a secret?

Furthermore, if the Inscription was made voluntarily by Sauron, why use elvish characters? On the other hand, if the Inscription was not deliberate, if it somehow occurred magically when Sauron spoke the words aloud in the Black Tongue of Mordor, why were they inscribed in Elvish?

We know that the Black Language does not have a written variant, or at least Tolkien does not refer to it, but surely Sauron would have turned to any other language, and not the Elvish, to mark his greatest creation. Just as the Elves feel pain when hearing the speech of Mordor, it is likely that Elvish, in any variant, also hurt Sauron’s ears. However, to understand that choice we must first understand how Sauron thinks.

Morgoth, and to some extent Sauron as well, were motivated by hatred and jealousy towards Illúvatar. The Elves were long Illúvatar’s favorite creation, so Morgoth made Fëanor his primary target. As the most notable Elf of his time, the fall of Fëanor was a great victory. So it is likely that Sauron chose the Tengwar, a creation of Fëanor, to deliberately mark the Ring. After all, the One would be the downfall of the Elves, or so Sauron thought, and a good way to inflict extra damage on them was by using their beloved characters. Engraving the Ring with a creation of Fëanor is a very significant statement.

Perhaps we need to resort to a multiple answer for all this: Sauron put the marks on the Ring, but not intentionally, or at least that’s what Tolkien suggests. Those words…