In the second half of “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age,” Isildur refuses to destroy the One Ring when he has the chance, keeping it as his prize from the vanquished Sauron. But he is stripped of the Ring, and his life, when he’s ambushed by Orcs on his way home. It’s only a question of time before the Ring is found centuries later by one of the fisher-folk living near the river, and eventually comes to the hand of some creature called a Hobbit from some place called the Shire. Think you’ve heard this one before? Not so fast! We go back to Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales to learn more about Isildur’s death at the Gladden Fields and the origin of the Istari or Wizards. We also dig up some blasphemous rumours about the origins of Orcs to answer a listener question.
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Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. Tree and Leaf: Including “Mythopoeia” (HarperCollins, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Olsen, Corey. Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
I’d like to see if anyone has the Gandalf cosplay cover of Ring of Fire that Alan alluded to in the closing of this episode! >D