Who were the bearers anyway?
I think the best explanation would be that a chain was made (or found) in rivendell and then some one put it on Frodo while he slept. I think it was probably whoever it was that changed Frodo's clothing when he came in, he or she may have found it on the chain in his pocket and so replaced the chain if it was damaged when Frodo fell from Asfaloth.
Again we come into the whole issue of how you define a bearer of a ring of power. I never really considered Gandalf a bearer of the ring. He held the ring yes, but I do not believe that that necessarily means he 'bore' it. for example, if you pick up something from a shop shelf but do not buy (or steel) it, are you a bearer of that item? I do not think so.
This question all depends on how you classify a bearer. I think it would come down to any who had taken the ring as their own possession. in which case the bearers would be; Sauron, Isildor, Deagul, Smeagul, Bilbo, Frodo and Sam to a lesser extent as he felt forced to take the ring for his own.
Any comments?
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