In recent years, online stores and fan clubs offer to buy attributes that were used by the main characters from different films. Many buyers do not know what these or other items mean, what they mean. In this article, I would like to highlight the history of the Barahir ring from the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings and the cycle of novels by the English writer John Tolkien on Middle-earth.
Elves gift to faithful people
There were many legendary jewelry in Middle-earth, but readers and viewers only know the history of the rings of power and the One ring, which had the ability to subjugate the owners of other sacred objects.
For the first time we meet the ring of Barahir on the pages of Tolkien's book The Silmarillion. It did not possess magical properties, but only emphasized the status of the owner.
In the battle of the sudden flame, the head of the human house, Beora, Barahir, comes to the aid of the elven king Nargothrond. Elf King Finrod was in a difficult position during the battle. Enemies cut off his army, he could die. Barahir with a small detachment came to the aid of Finrod and saved the king from certain death, although he lost many of his people. Finrod as a token of gratitude, and in order to consolidate the friendship between the peoples, he gave Barahir a symbolic ring that passed from generation to generation.
The fate of the ring of Barahir
Barahir was killed by orcs. The leader of the orcs took Barahir's ring for himself with the aim of giving it to Sauron as evidence of the death of the leader of the people. But the orc did not have time to fulfill his mission, because he was killed by Barahir’s son, Beren.
The ring of Barahir became a relic of people and was kept by the lords of Numenor. When the state of the island of Numenor was threatened with death, Elendil sailed to Middle-earth and took the ring with him. Elendil formed two kingdoms: Gondor and Arnor. The lands of Arnor eventually divided into three parts, and the ring passed to the lords of the kingdom of Arthadine. When Arveduy, the last ruler of the kingdom, was forced to flee to Forochel Bay, the locals gave him shelter and food. In gratitude, he gave them a ring and said that a decent amount could be paid for him.
After a certain period of time, the heirs of King Artadine bought the ring. Years passed, the relic was in the hands of Aragorn, the only heir to the kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. In the book and the film The Lord of the Rings, we see that Aragorn wears a ring, does not remove it from his finger, and values the relic of his ancestors. At the end of the book, Aragorn gives the ring to his elven wife Arwen, as a symbol of eternal love.
Symbolism of the ring
Barahir's silver ring was forged and made in the form of two snakes with an emerald in the center. What does this symbol mean?
During the reign of Queen Victoria, a ring with snakes, which was also called the "snake ring", was popular. Such items in the 19th century were decorated with various precious stones: rubies, sapphires or emeralds. As a sign of love for her husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria wore a ring with two snakes. It had two meanings:
- The intertwined snakes signified the newlyweds and symbolized loyal and consensual love.
- The snake personified eternity.
In the photo of Barahir's ring, presented below, you can see that one snake bites another strongly by the tail. Tolkien redid the Victorian ring a little, modified it for his book.
A person who wears a similar ring on his finger can symbolize childbirth, social significance and strength, he is not afraid of either enemies or envious people.