Celebrimbor is a name that The Lord of the Rings fans may recognize as an important one in Middle-earth. In short, Celebrimbor is the elf responsible for forging the Rings of Power alongside Sauron. However, like many of Tolkien’s characters, Celebrimbor has a complex history and lineage in The Lord of the Rings world, and he’s only becoming more nuanced during his tenure in Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. In the spirit of exploring Celebrimbor’s importance to The Lord of the Rings series, we’ll first review his place and journey in The Rings of Power’s first two seasons. And then we’ll dive into what The Lord of the Rings‘ extensive lore shares about the elven smith.
Let’s take a closer look at what we know about Celebrimbor’s The Rings of Power story and his history in The Lord of the Rings greater world.
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Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: His Character and Story
Celebrimbor will become a main character in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. So, let’s review his season one role on the series and what season two has held for him so far.
Celebrimbor in Season One of The Rings of Power
Season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduces us to the elven smith, Celebrimbor. While Celebrimbor does not play an enormous role in the first season of the show, he still has a major impact on the world of Middle-earth and the future of The Rings of Power.
Celebrimbor originally comes onto the scene as a part of Elrond’s storyline. Celebrimbor confides in Elrond that he wants to create work that really matters, that truly impacts Middle-earth. He reveals plans to build a mighty forge where he can create things of great power. Of course, though this is undoubtedly true for Celebrimbor, it’s really a ruse for a much more pressing concern. In The Rings of Power season one, Celebrimbor and High King Gil-galad are searching for a way to keep the light of the Valar from fading in Middle-earth. If the light of the Valar fades, the elves will be forced to leave Middle-earth or fade away.
In season one of The Rings of Power, we come to understand Celebrimbor as ambitious, brilliant, and more than a little bit vain. Although he is good-hearted, he is blinded by a desire for greatness and legacy. And this main drive pushes him to sometimes use people and be blind to certain dangers around him—ideas that only continue to cement in season two.
Ultimately, Celebrimbor’s manipulations of Elrond prove fruitful as Elrond uncovers the Dwarven discovery of Mithril and is able bring a small amount of it back to the Elves. Mithril, it is implied, contains some light of the Valar inside of it and can thus aid in strengthening it for the elves. However, despite the presence of Mithril, Celebrimbor cannot seem to devise a way to solve the problem at hand—enter, Halbrand.
Celebrimbor Forges the Elven Rings of Power
Galadriel brings Halbrand to Eregion after he suffers injuries in the Southlands. Of course, we, and Galadriel, quickly learn Halbrand is Sauron on The Rings of Power, but not before he helps Celebrimbor to devise a method of forging rings that will create the power they all seek, a power not “of the flesh, but over flesh.” Sadly, Celebrimbor is not privy to the discovery about Sauron, and Galadriel merely tells him that he is not to treat Halbrand again.
Celebrimbor, ignorant of the truth that Sauron is really Halbrand in The Rings of Power season one, goes forward with the forging of the Elven Rings of Power at Galadriel’s behest. These Rings are made after Sauron/Halbrand leaves for Eregion, and thus, though his methodology is in play, he is not himself present for the forging of the three Rings of Power. Melting together Galadriel’s dagger, which contains pure gold and silver from Valinor, and Mithril, Celebrimbor creates the first Rings of Power for the elves.
In season one, we simply see the Rings forged. But in early season two of The Rings of Power, the elves in Lindon finally don the Rings, and ‘lo, they work as desired, amplifying the light of the Valar in Middle-earth and letting it shine down upon the elves. Celebrimbor has done what he sought and saved the elves from a terrible fate. However, he is still in Eregion and does not know if his creations have been successful. Enter, again, Sauron.
Celebrimbor’s Relationship with Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2
Appealing to the vein of vanity in Celebrimbor, Sauron, posing as a Halbrand desperate to work with Celebrimbor once more, causes the smith to forget his caution. And, of course, Sauron wastes no time in making Celebrimbor feel as though the elves are ungrateful for his contributions to saving their race, cleverly alienating him from Gil-galad, Galadriel, and the rest. As the cherry on top, Sauron transforms himself into his fair form, Annatar, and tells Celebrimbor the Valar or gods themselves have selected the smith to help them do their great work. How is an elf obsessed with legacy supposed to resist?
Sauron as Annatar tells him, “I have walked through the dusts and the deserts of far away lands in search of an artist possessing the craft to save all Middle-earth. A storm is coming, Celebrimbor. I can bring you the knowledge none other possess, I can unlock your grandest abilities. And when our work is complete, never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Fëanor. But forevermore know you as The Lord of the Rings.” To be fair, it would be hard for anyone to resist that.
For now, Sauron drives Celebrimbor to create more Rings of Power. Of course, they’ll need Mithril to do that, so Sauron and Celebrimbor invite Prince Durin IV and King Durin III to Eregion to propose a trade of the powerful artifact for the precious metal… A deal the dwarves agree to at the end of The Rings of Power episode three.
A Closer Look Than Ever Before at Sauron and Celebrimbor’s Dynamic
In sum, Sauron needs Celebrimbor’s skills to make Rings of Power, and Celebrimbor needs Sauron’s vision and power to create a legacy. In The Lord of the Rings‘ lore, the relationship between Celebrimbor and Sauron is only described in the broadest of strokes. But The Rings of Power will allow us to delve deep into the heart of its terrible intimacies and intense back and forth.
Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron shares, “I’d say their relationship is one of mutual respect, in that it’s kind of like the meeting of two minds to create an amazing piece of technology. One of them brings one element and the other, I like to think of Sauron as the idea man. He brings this thing that he’s been stewing on. Not a power of the flesh, but over flesh, an idea he’s had am mean stewing on for centuries. But he doesn’t have the practical knowledge about how to implement it. And then all of a sudden he meets this guy who knows his way around a forge really well. Not that Sauron doesn’t, but he thinks, ‘Well, I can work with this person to put my ideas into motion.’ It’s the bringing of them together. They push each other to new heights throughout the season.”
The relationship between the pair will be absolutely central to this season of The Rings of Power.
Who Plays Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Charles Edwards plays Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
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Who Is Celebrimbor, the Elven Smith, in The Lord of the Rings Lore?
Now that we’ve taken a look at Celebrimbor’s place on Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, it’s time to delve into how his history from The Lord of the Rings informs his character in the series. We’ll strive to simplify the details of Celebrimbor’s history and offer the most important points you might need to know to understand his position and perspectives in the Prime Video series.
Celebrimbor Is the Descendent of Fëanor, a Highly Skilled Elven Craftsmith (Who Also Flew too Close to the Sun)
In The Lord of the Rings‘ world, Celebrimbor comes from a storied elven line with a history of producing masterful craftspeople (that have a vein of vanity to them). Celebrimbor is, in fact, a descendent of a First Age figure called Fëanor. Fëanor, like Celebrimbor, was a craftsman and gem-smith of unparalleled talent, and he created the mythical Silmarils, gems that captured the very light of the Valar (a.k.a. the pure essence of elven power). In season one of The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor tells Elrond that the jewels of Fëanor were so beautiful that they almost turned the heart of Morgoth, Sauron’s wicked predecessor, from evil. However, creating such power and beauty did not lead Fëanor down happy paths; instead, the creation of the Silmarils inflamed Fëanor’s worst traits, jealousy, greed, and anger, and brought him and those around him much misery.
Fëanor’s story foreshadows Celebrimbor’s in many ways, an irony planted by Tolkien. But on The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor doesn’t seem to consider the tragic outcomes creating the Silmarils wrought on his ancestors. Instead, he is more preoccupied with the idea that his own work has not achieved anything close to those who have come before him. This facet of Celebrimbor’s story, the idea that living up to the legacy of Fëanor drives him, actually comes right from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings writings. In the Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes, “Sauron had better fortune with the Noldor of Eregion and especially with Celebrimbor, who desired in his heart to rival the skill and fame of Fëanor.” It’s no accident Sauron brings up this pain point to Celebrimbor in The Rings of Power season two.
Celebrimbor Helps Sauron Create the Rings of Power in The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore
Speaking of the Dark Lord, of course, the main thing we learn about The Lord of the Rings‘ Celebrimbor from its source texts is that Celebrimbor was responsible for helping Sauron to craft the 19 Rings of Powers. As we know from The Rings of Power, in the Second Age of Middle-earth, Celebrimbor is Lord of Eregion, an elven realm that plays host to a guild of the most skilled craftspeople in the elven world. (In the texts, they are known as Gwaith-i-Mírdain, or “People of the Jewel-smiths.”) Led by Celebrimbor, the smiths of Eregion welcomed Sauron into their ranks when he came to them in his fair form, Annatar, with a promise of gifts and teachings.
The Silmarillion notes, “It was in Eregion that the counsels of Sauron were most gladly received, for in that land the Noldor desired ever to increase the skill and subtlety of their works…They hearkened to Sauron, and they learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power.” Among the Rings of Power created in Eregion by Celebrimbor, with Sauron’s guidance, were the nine rings for man and the seven rings for Dwarves. Celebrimbor also made three Elven Rings of Power without Sauron’s guidance.
While crafting these rings, Celebrimbor believed Sauron to be a friend. It was not until Sauron made his One Ring of Power in Mount Doom that Celebrimbor and all the other elves knew they had been deceived. Celebrimbor attempted to hide the location of the Rings of Power from Sauron. But, of course, Sauron did not like that very much. In retaliation for Celebrimbor seeking to deny him, Sauron marches on Eregion. We will leave what ultimately happens to Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings obscured for now. The Rings of Power will no doubt address it in season two.
Celebrimbor’s Other Achievements
In addition to creating the Rings of Power, during Middle-earth’s Second Age, Celebrimbor saw “friendship arise between Dwarves and Elves, such as has never elsewhere been, to the enrichment of both those peoples.” In the Unfinished Tales, Tolkien says Celebrimbor “had an almost ‘dwarvish’ obsession with crafts.” And “his greatest friend was Narvi.” Together, the pair of them oversaw the building of the Doors of Durin, gates that allow greater communication and cooperation between elves and Dwarves. Narvi is a Dwarven smith of great talent who will also appear on The Rings of Power season two. We can’t wait to see that relationship play out.
Will Celebrimbor Have a Banner Season on The Rings of Power?
All of this brings us to the crucial question at hand. Will Celebrimbor have a banner season on The Rings of Power this year? Well, Charles Edwards, who plays Celebrimbor, teases, “That may be premature.” A fascinating thing to hear. Well, if you know, you know!
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