Magic ring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A magic ring is an article of jewelry that appears frequently in fantasy and fairytale. They can be endowed with any number of abilities. Invisibility and granting of wishes are two common tropes.
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[edit] Arm Rings and Finger Rings
Generally, only two types of magical rings are known from mythology and fiction: arm rings and finger rings.
Different magic rings can do different magical things: depending on the purposes of the storyteller a magical ring can either have a limited or general function.
Magical rings can be magical for a variety of reasons, or the storyteller can give no reason at all. Some rings are explained as ordinary rings that have become magical because they have been enchanted by a magician or touched by a god. Other rings are magical because of the material they are made of; often a ring is a mere carrier for a special jewel, which itself is the source of the magic. Other rings are magical because they are inhabited by a spirit.
Figures of Celtic gods have been found wearing a torc or a neck ring, and torcs are on rare occasion mentioned as decoration in early Irish and Welsh literature, but none is described as magical. Similarly, ancient drawings of Mesopotamian gods sometimes include one or several rings attached to staffs or poles, but no reference has been found in writings recovered from that time to show whether they were magical or merely decorative.
[edit] Function in the Story
Like other magical objects in stories, magic rings act as a plot device to grant magical abilities. They may give magical abilities to a person lacking in them, or enhance the power of a wizard. For instance, in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the magical ring allows Bilbo Baggins to be instrumental in the quest, matching the abilities of the dwarves.[1]
Other magical rings function as nothing more than MacGuffins; the characters' desire for the ring rather than its innate powers moves the story. For example, in the Volsunga Saga, the magic ring that eventually rests on Sigurd's arm is not actually used to do anything, and its possible use is never explained. The ring's function in the plot is only to the focus of desire for most of story's main characters; it is their greed for the ring that moves the plot along.
[edit] Magic Rings in Mythology and Folklore
The earliest known magical ring in fiction or myth is very likely the arm ring named Draupnir. It belonged to the Norse god Odin. Because its only reported function is to create more gold arm bands every few days, Draupnir seems to have been a religious symbol which represented increasing wealth.
A similar arm ring, which also comes from Norse mythology, was called Andvarinaut. Andvarinaut is the famous Ring of the Niebelungens from The Volsunga Saga and The Nibelungenlied, which eventually becomes the property of the hero Siegfried or Sigurd. Although how it comes to be cursed is explained in detail, Andvarinaut's use is never specifically given in the story. Other than its curse being the source of disaster for every owner, Andvarinaut's only plot function is that nearly every character wants to get it, who knows about it (but not Sigurd, who has got the ring but is clueless, like many other heroes in Medieval German Literature).
Medieval storytellers report that the wizard Merlin was the victim of a magical finger ring given to him by the young enchantress named Nimue. The magic in the ring caused him to fall in love with her. Merlin then allowed Nimue to imprison him either in the trunk of a tree or in a stone coffin, hence his demise.
Other than these three examples, magical rings are unknown in any other western or middle eastern mythology or folktales, but they occur frequently in modern fantasy and fairytales (see below). Although Greek mythology lists many magical objects, particularly in the Perseus myth, rings are never mentioned. Plato, however, tells a story about the Ring of Gyges, which conferred invisibility on its wearer.
[edit] Magic Rings in Fairytales and Modern Fantasy
The following is a partial list of modern fairytales and fantasy novels in which a magic ring is a central or essential plot element. (Note that magic rings occur in a myriad of fantasy stories as incidental objects or background items; those are not listed here.)
- The oldest "modern" fairy tale to use a magic ring is the story of Aladdin: not only is there a djinn summoned by the magic lamp, there is also a less powerful djinn summoned from a finger ring handed to Aladdin by the magician pretending to be Aladdin's uncle. The storyteller uses the djinn in the ring as a helper for Aladdin to recover the magic lamp after the magician steals it.
- The composer Richard Wagner wrote a series of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen which present his version of the story in The Nibelungenlied and The Volsunga Saga. The operas are more often called The Wagner Ring Cycle in English.
- Throughout J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy story The Lord of the Rings twenty magical finger rings are mentioned, although most do not appear in the story. (Tolkien borrows from Germanic and Norse mythology for themes, creatures, and names.) In The Lord of the Rings there are actually 4 rings that are revealed to the reader, including the "one ruling ring" about which the plot revolves, and all three elven rings, in the possession of Gandalf the wizard, and the elves Elrond and Galadriel. The nine "Ringwraiths" each possessed a ring made for the human kings.
- Author Andre Norton wrote several fantasy novels in which magic, and occasionally magic rings, play a part. One of her science fiction novels The Zero Stone has a magic ring that is central to the plot.
- Author H. Warner Munn wrote an award winning fantasy novel titled Merlin's Ring.
- Author Stephen R. Donaldson wrote a long series of fantasy novels about a magic ring of white gold owned by a fictional Thomas Covenant.
- Author Poul Anderson, in A Midsummer Tempest, has Oberon and Titania give two characters magical rings that will aid them as long as they are true to each other; these rings act on their behalf on several occasions in the book.
- Author Piers Anthony wrote Castle Roogna and included as an important part of the plot a ring that claimed to be able to grant wishes. Every wish made on this ring did come true — eventually, and apparently unaided by the efforts of the characters.
- Magic rings with a wide variety of effects became a common part of the "treasure" found in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and thus part of many other fantasy role-playing games and computer and video games that followed it.
- In Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring, Jerry wears a ring on his head and whenever the ring gets tapped, it casts a magical spell.
- In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a Magic ring bearing a coat of arms linked to Hogwarts Founder, Salazar Slyterin, plays an important part in the over plot of the series as an artifact containing the soul of Heir of Slyterin, Lord Voldemort. As long as this fragment of soul is safely and magically contained within the ring, and the various other soul fragments in other objects, or horcruxes are safe, Voldemort can not be killed. The ring has since been destroyed, and the Dark Lord must rely on his other soul fragments.
- In the Tanya Grotter book series, a Russian parody of Harry Potter, the heroine uses a magic ring that bears the voice of her great-grandfather in order to perform spells. Additionally, the other magicians in the series also use rings to do magic.
- In the DC Universe, the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott fashioned a power ring from an ancient lamp that was derived from a mass of matter was that was revealed to be the Starheart. This was a concentration of magic energy that the Guardians of the Universe created to attempt to remove magic from the universe. As a result of this discovery, Scott's ring functions much like the standard rings of the Green Lantern Corps, except it cannot directly affect wood.
- In the MMORPG RuneScape, magic rings have many uses from teleportation to helping attack.
[edit] See also
- Aladdin
- Andvarinaut
- arm ring
- Der Ring des Nibelungen
- Draupnir
- finger ring
- magic (paranormal)
- magic item
- Nibelungenlied
- Ring of Gyges
- Volsunga Saga
[edit] References
- ^ Tom Shippley, The Road to Middle-earth, p 77, ISBN 0-628-25760-8
