Timeline of the Great Rings

[Huinesoron]

I don't remember doing this at all, but I largely stand by it. Thankfully, Tolkien doesn't seem to have meandered on the Rings in later life the way he did with so much else!

In light of RoP's Meteor Man, one point might need highlighting: Appendix B doesn't quite say that the Istari landed in 1050 T.A. It says "the Istari or Wizards first appeared in Middle-earth. It was afterwards said they came out of the Far West...". A similar turn of phrase is used for the Nazgul in 2251 S.A.: "the Nazgul or Ringwraiths, slaves of the Nine Rings, first appear."

In the case of the Nazgul, I've always read it as "first come out into the open" - ie, Sauron didn't just grab nine Men who happened to be alive in 2251, he'd been slowly building up this force over 500 years. It is therefore possible by the text of Appendix B that the Istari were already in Middle-earth, but "undercover". Last Writings: The Five Wizards talks about how nobody except the three western wizards even knew the other two existed, so the Blue Dudes at least almost certainly didn't land at the Grey Havens.

But Gandalf definitely did. ^_^ Appendix B does say that Cirdan gave Narya to Gandalf when he landed at the Grey Havens, and that this was after Gil-Galad gave Vilya to Elrond. That doesn't mean it has to be 1050, but it can't be before the Last Alliance.

hS