Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-31507215-20180329035659/@comment-33185350-20180329044634

Wow that had never occurred to me, but it does seem logical that the Ringwraiths would be wearing their rings. I also recall something about perhaps Sauron holding the rings in his possession, though that may be meant physically or metaphorically? Really an interesting proposition.

I checked Tolkien Gateway, and its article indicates that there’s not a clear answer from Tolkien’s work. Gandalf at the Council of Elrond says the Ringwraiths bear their rings, but most references say Sauron has them. It speculates that Gandalf’s statement may be an oversight by Tolkien. I’m not sure, it seems like it could go either way.

There are two other notable points in favor of Sauron keeping the rings. First of all Frodo doesn’t seem to notice any rings on Weathertop (as mentioned in Tolkien Gateway) which he likely would have if they had been there. Second of all (just my speculation) if the Witch-king left a ring the people nearby would probably be drawn to it in a similar but perhaps weaker way than the One Ring. We don’t see anyone doing this or acting strange in a way that would indicate that, so I think it’s likely Sauron physically holds the Nine Rings in his personal possession (until Barad-dûr is broken, at which point I assume the rings would lose their power and be lost in the rubble).