tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post7598874904882888174..comments2023-11-07T06:20:12.181-08:00Comments on Tolkien: Medieval and Modern: Agency and Authenticity of Tolkien's Jewels"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-45866106546918180542014-06-03T23:14:14.047-07:002014-06-03T23:14:14.047-07:00While the investigation of the “will” of the Ring ...While the investigation of the “will” of the Ring and the Elven Rings of Power is interesting, I think it misses the mark slightly. I don’t think the Ring “wills” its way off of fingers or into the clutches of beings. Instead, I think it acts much like water flowing down a hill does. Water always seeks the path of least resistance to lowest ground, and the One Ring seeks the path of least resistance to exercising its power, to being wielded. There are two reasons why this doesn’t give the Ring a “will”. First, the aforementioned seeking is just a quality of the Ring. The Ring is incapable of being lost, not because it wants to be found, but because it was made to be used. Second, the Ring does not “will” to be evil. Rather, its purpose causes the user of the Ring to turn to evil. This is because the purpose of the One Ring is to control. Control in and of itself is not evil. Tilling and weeding a garden is an act of control. Raising children requires some measure of control. However, any users of the One Ring parallel a Fall, not the Christian Fall, where Man’s Fall is in search of knowledge or power, but the Fall of Sauron, who fell because he wanted to impose too much order upon Middle Earth.<br /><br />-- Peter Alexieff<br />(Despite my disagreements, I found the post very interesting!)"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-70424292456479769872014-05-29T13:06:45.522-07:002014-05-29T13:06:45.522-07:00I love this meditation on the nature of corruptibl...I love this meditation on the nature of corruptible vs. incorruptible as a sign of authentic vs. inauthentic! I particualrly like the microcosm/macrocosm view of evil and corrupted will that you posit here, and find it a plausible reading—gems are living things and have equal possibility of enacting the narrative of the Fall! <br /><br />Professor Fulton Brown's question puts me in mind of the tradition of “poison rings,” which were allegedly hinged compartments on rings that could store powdered substances to slip into someone's drink (Here's one that caused a stir last summer, though this one is gem-less: http://www.archaeology.org/news/1229-130820-bulgaria-medieval-poison-ring). There is a debate and confusion amongst archeologists as to whether or not these are actually used to deliver poisons surreptitiously, because they look so similar to rings that are thought to contain relics (http://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/highlights/thame-hoard.html). This is exactly the ambiguity at work here! <br /><br />--Jenna"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-88636110629161127082014-05-17T10:01:36.940-07:002014-05-17T10:01:36.940-07:00Very nice reflection on how to think about the One...Very nice reflection on how to think about the One Ring as possibly an "inauthentic" jewel--or relic. You make me wonder now whether this kind of tension is present in medieval thinking about gemstones, which could also be employed in black magic as well as for decorating reliquaries. RLFB"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.com