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Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.    

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,    

One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

So goes the poem that describes the Rings of Power, the magic devices that J.R.R. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings revolves around, and the inspiration for Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. But just how many Rings of Power are there, and why are they, well, powerful? Popverse's resident Tolkien wizard Ashley Victoria Robinson and Hobbit apprentice Grant DeArmitt are here to tell you all of that - check out our Rings of Power explained below.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings

Seen at both the very beginning of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the very end of Rings of Power season 1, the Three Rings wielded by the race of Elves are not only the most wholesome of Sauron and Celebrimbor's creations, they're also the only ones with names. Listed below are those names for each ring, along with their unique attributes and wearers.

• Nenya - The Adamant Ring, known to represent water. Originally worn by Celebrimbor, Galadriel is the eventual wielder of this ring. It is with this power she can see into the future using her mirror of water, as seen in the LotR films.
• Narya - The Red Ring, representing fire. After belonging to high king Gil-Galad, this ring makes it way to Gandalf, granting him a command over the force of light as seen in the LotR trilogy.
• Vilya - The Ring of Sapphire, representing air. Owned by Celebrimbor, Gil-Galad, and Elrond at various times, the ring's direct power is never shown in the movies, but it is with this power that Elrond is able to build Imladris, or Rivendell, The Great Elven Refuge.

Seven for the Dwarf-lords/Nine for Mortal Men

Much less is known about the properties of the unnamed 16 rings given by Sauron to the races of Men and Dwarves. However, their influences on both races are eventually documented, with the Rings of Men being the conduits by which Sauron corrupts the nine great kings that would become the Nazgûl.

The Dwarves, on the other hand, are able to resist Sauron's artifacts much better. Though the rings do bring out Dwarves' natural inclination toward greed, they did not corrupt them to the extent they did the Men. By the time the events of The Lord of the Rings begin, Sauron has reclaimed three of these rings, while the other four were taken by dragons.

One Ring to Rule Them All

We couldn't very well finish this list without mentioning Sauron's ultimate weapon, the One Ring. Linked to all of the other Rings of Power, this ring was Sauron's way of attempting to control their wearers, infused aa it was with his will and malice. Contrary to popular belief, the One Ring does not simply turn its wearer invisible, but shifts them into a kind of "unseen realm," where spiritual beings such as Sauron and his Nazgûl are actually more aware of the wearer.

After the destruction of this Master Ring, the other Rings still existing in Middle-Earth are lost in varying degrees. The Nine and the Seven disappear for all intents and purposes, while the Elves' Rings remain but gradually lose their power. These last Three are still worn by their wearers as they sail toward The undying Lands at the end of The Lord of the Rings.

But hey, we're getting WAY ahead of ourselves here. In terms of Amazon's Rings of Power, the titular artifacts still have yet to be completely forged. You can continue watching their origins when The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on August 29, and you can keep an eye on Popverse as each episode debuts. We'll be updating the site weekly until the finale on October 3, so make sure to be here for more explainers like this one.

Until next we meet, fellow travelers.

Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you from a Lord of the Rings reading guide, a Lord of the Rings watch guide, details on the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, a full the Lord of the Rings reunion panel you can watch, how the OG Hobbit actors stay in touch every day on a groupchat, and the true message of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Gimli himself - John Rhys-Davies.