"Morgoth's Ring" or Sauron's Ring?

[Angry Hill Troll]

I have a theory about how the Rings of Power actually worked. Admittedly, this is going to be rather speculative, but as far as I know, doesn't contradict anything Tolkien wrote, and may help to explain a few things.

To begin with, the Valar (and to a lesser extent, the Maiar) dispersed much of their original power into the substance of Middle-earth. This was particularly true of Melkor (a.k.a Morgoth), who early on had fought the other 14 Valar combined to a standstill.

To gain dominion over Arda, Morgoth had let most of his being pass into the physical constituents of the earth.

- Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed

This is why Tolkien refers to all of Middle-earth as 'Morgoth's Ring'.

To a lesser extent, the same applies to the other Valar as well:

The Valar 'fade' and become more impotent, precisely in proportion as the shape and constitution of things becomes more defined and settled. - Myths Transformed

So Arda contains the being of the Valar (with a disproportionate share from Melkor).

Tolkien makes it clear that Morgoth's dispersed power is still there:

The dark spirit of Melkor's remainder might be expected, therefore, eventually and after long ages to increase again, even (as some held) to draw back into itself some of its formerly dissipated power. - Myths Transformed

My theory about the Rings of Power is the following: the Rings operated by using the dispersed power of the Valar in Arda.

So as to the individual Rings:

The One Ring uses Melkor's dispersed power. It was made by Sauron, Morgoth's servent, and its will (which is imposed on anyone who tries to use it) is to dominate the entire world (wasn't that why Melkor dispersed his power in the first place?) Also, it is much more powerful than any of the other rings--because Melkor dispersed more of his power into the world than any other Vala.

The Three Rings; Vilya, Narya, and Nenya; use the dispersed power of the Vala Manwë, Aulë, and Ulmo; respectively.

..the Valar perceived that the World had been but foreshadowed and foresung, and they must achieve it.
So began their great labours...And in this work the chief part was taken by Manwë and Aulë and Ulmo. But Melkor, too, was there from the first, and he meddled in all that was done... -Ainulindalë (text C)

Vilya is said to be the most powerful of the Three Rings (as Manwë is the most powerful of the three Vala mentioned) and the ring is set with a sapphire, as is Manwë's sceptre (from Version C of the Ainulindalë). Also, Elrond says in FOTR that "those who made [the Three] did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained." That is much like the role of the Valar in Arda.

The Seven Rings don't seem to be connected to a particular Vala, but rather to Gold, as according to the dwarves, they multiply wealth. Unfortunately,...

..all gold (in Middle-earth) seems to have had a specially 'evil' trend - Myths Transformed

Morgoth's power was disseminated throughout Gold, if nowhere absolute (he did not create Gold) it was nowhere absent. (It was this Morgoth-element in matter, indeed, which was a prerequisite for such 'magic' and other evils as Sauron practiced with it and upon it.)

About the Nine Rings we also know very little, other than their effect on their bearers. Presumably they were not tied to a particular Vala either, but some combination which included a 'Melkor-element'. They seem to given their bearers strength and supernatural abilities, as the quote from Elrond implies.

So, let's see how this theory addresses some questions:

Was it Sauron's will in the Ring? Yes and no. Sauron made the One Ring, and put most of his own power into it. And he created it to gain domination over the world. But the corruption that the Ring works on it bearer is also a consequence of the Ring being a focal point for Morgoth's dispersed will, which is far stronger than Sauron's. For this reason, no one, not even the Valar, could make the Ring anything but an instrument of evil (since this would require Melkor's reformation, which was proved to be beyond their abilities). In this view, by creating the Ring, and thus linking his power to Morgoth's, Sauron makes himself irrevocably evil and Morgoth's proxy in Arda.

This also explains why Elrond says that the Valar would not permit the Ring to be carried into the West: letting the Ring into Valinor would be tantamount to letting Morgoth in.

Also, this answers the question: if making magic rings was a surefire way to increase one's power, why didn't Morgoth make one? Well, since it was his power to begin with that the One Ring ended up using, what would be the point? He dispersed his power consciously in an attempt to gain control over the physical world.

Finally, a minor point: Saruman was the wizard chosen by Aulë, so the fact that Cirdan gave the ring which made use of Aulë's power to Gandalf instead upset Saruman in part because being Aulë's choice among the Istari made him (in his mind anyway) the rightful bearer.

This theory is probably unprovable from anything Tolkien wrote, but I would be interested in hearing your views and whether it is contradicted by anything written.