The One Ring

One Ring
Artist's unofficial representation of the One Ring
Plot element from the The Lord of the Rings franchise
First appearance	The Hobbit (1937)
Created by	J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre	Fantasy
In-story information
Type	Magical ring
Function	Invisibility Control over other Rings of Power
Specific traits and abilities	Plain gold ring; glowing inscription appears when ring is placed in flames
Affiliation	Sauron Isildur Gollum Bilbo Baggins Frodo Baggins Samwise Gamgee Celebrimbor

The One Ring is an artefact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit (1937), as a magic ring of invisibility. In the sequel, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien ascribes to the Ring a darker character, with malevolent power going far beyond conferring invisibility: it was created by Sauron the Dark Lord as part of his design to win domination over Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings concerns the quest to destroy the Ring to keep Sauron from fulfilling his design.

In The Lord of the Rings and the posthumously published The Silmarillion, Tolkien provides a detailed internal development from the forging of the Ring to its destruction. In the fictional context of Middle-earth, these events take place during several thousand years in the Second and Third Age of Arda.

The One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron during the Second Age to gain dominion over the free peoples of Middle-earth. In disguise as Annatar, or "Lord of Gifts", he aided the Elven smiths of Eregion and their leader Celebrimbor in the making of the Rings of Power. He then forged the One Ring himself in the fires of Mount Doom.

Sauron intended it to be the most powerful of all Rings, able to rule and control those who wore the others. Since the other Rings were themselves powerful, Sauron was obliged to place much of his own power into the One to achieve his purpose.

Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron's power. On the one hand, as long as Sauron had the Ring, he could control the power of all the other Rings, and thus he was significantly more powerful after its creation than before; and putting such a great portion of his own power into the Ring ensured Sauron's continued existence so long as the Ring existed. On the other hand, by binding his power within the Ring, Sauron became dependent on it—without it his power was significantly diminished.