Why were there so many violent rings in ancient times?

In order to explain why there are so many violent rings, we have to go to the old stories of Middle Earth—The Silmarillion. It's a difficult book to read in part because J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher and the fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay had to compile it from Tolkien's notes. And in part because it contains several different sections spanning over 50,000 years.

The latter stories explain the origins of 22 rings. Most of the rings were made by the elf Celebrimbor and are morally neutral. Of the three rings for the elves, Galadriel had Nenya, Elrond wore Vilya, and Gandalf wore Narya after the elf Cirdan gave it to him.

While the nine rings of men were made morally neutral, the wearers found themselves unable to properly wield them. The rings gave power, but drew energy from the wearer, turning them into wraiths. Sauron used this for his own benefit. He stole the rings from an elvish vault and gave them to the nine kings he wished to enslave—those who became the Ringwraiths.

Legend says that Celebrimbor was captured by Sauron and yielded the seven rings meant for the dwarf kings. Although the dwarves did not suffer physically from the rings, they became filled with greed and wrath, which fitted Sauron's purposes. Thorin's grandfather, Thror, bore a ring and passed it to his son Thrain. Sauron captured Thrain and took the ring from him.

The rings the elves made weren't inherently violent, although Sauron used the rings of men and dwarves for violent purposes. The One Ring is different. Sauron made it specifically to rule the other rings and, thus, Middle Earth. (When Sauron forged the One Ring, the elves took theirs off. He couldn't control the dwarves because they're too stubborn.) It's difficult to say if the Ring, itself, is violent or if Sauron imbued his own violence in it. It did inspire Smeagol to kill Deagol.

Saruman also had a ring of power. Gandalf mentions it at Elrond's council. Not much is known about it, including if Saruman made it or if Sauron gave it to him as a "gift."

Finally, the Ring of Barahir. It was made by the Noldor, the clan of elves Galadriel belongs to. Throughout the ages, it was given, rescued, and stolen until the Rangers ransomed it and gave it to Elrond for safe keeping. Of course, Elrond eventually gave it to Aragorn who gave it to Arwen as an engagement gift. It's unclear if this ring was a ring of power.

Are the rings of power violent? Some of them. Most were certainly used in violent ways and had violent repercussions for their bearers. It's interesting to compare the events to the Old Testament of the Bible. People did violent things then, too, and, like the heroes of Middle Earth, God sometimes had to reciprocate with violence to set things right. But He doesn't need a ring to direct His power.

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