[en] The Prancing Pony > The Lord of the Rings
Who is the third most powerful being in the Middle - earth?
Crimson King:
Gandalf answers this questions almost directly in the Two Towers
--- Zitat von: -Gandalf ---Dangerous!' cried Gandalf. 'And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord
--- Ende Zitat ---
Sauron is the most powerful being during the War of the Ring, even without his ring. Gandalf comes second, the rest is speculation. As far as I know this is the clearest indication of "power levels" provided by Tolkien, regarding the Third Age.
Walküre:
I wouldn't consider Saruman or Denethor real threats to Sauron, more as possible obstacles; and, remember, both these two great characters were eventually deceived by Sauron and kind of 'used' by him, and, at the end of the day, all they have done (believing to act freely) was in Sauron's advantage.
Because this is what Sauron is best at, deceiving people :)
Galadriel, instead, remained always loyal and always refused and repulsed Sauron in every way; and she doesn't need a Palantír for her 'telepathic' battles, she does it herself, because she is a force of nature :P
Saruman and Denethor were subjugated by Sauron, while Galadriel wasn't, and she also could see through his mind.
--- Zitat von: -Mandos- am 6. Mai 2015, 15:44 ---
And whats about Nenya? Do we just take it as part of Galadriel? Normally a magical artifact like this isnt fair to compare to characters, on the other hand she always has it...
--- Ende Zitat ---
I have always regarded Galadriel and Nenya as different matters; it's true that she has had it (openly used) for more than 3000 years and that a Ring of Power is deeply connected to its bearer, but Nenya is still a powerful Elven Artifact.
Galadriel probably uses it also to channel her powers, like the staff of the Wizards, but her powers and essence are not determined only by Nenya; her powers come from afar, from 'the Day before days' in Valinor (as Tolkien says), when the Sun, the Moon and Men didn't exist yet in the World :)
Nenya preserves the integrity of the Golden Woods, hides them from the enemies and almost totally slows the action of Time in this realm; then, as a Ring of Power, exponentially enhances the natural powers and the magical influence on the World of its bearer.
But it's the specific extremely ancient Magic of Galadriel that fends off the evil and grants her great natural powers (she throws down the walls of Dol Guldur after the defeat of Sauron).
TiberiusOgden:
It seems that Sauron (although without the One ring) is the clear winner, but real duel is between Gandalf and Galadriel, concerning second place. 8-| :)
Walküre:
Galadriel is the moral winner :P
Adamin:
Well, I'd say that there is an easy logical way to answer the question.
Let's assume that the most powerful being in Middle-earth was of good nature. In that case the main force of evil (Sauron) should succumb to it. That would mean that there should have been no need for the Quest to destroy the Ring, since the most powerful being could beat Sauron in a direct confrontation.
But that didn't happen in the books, so i think we can assume that this isn't the case.
So let's assume that the most powerful being in Middle-earth was of evil nature. In that case there are two possibilities: Either it is the main Antagonist Sauron, or a rival to him. If a rival to Sauron was in fact more powerful, then the forces of good would have most likely prioritized the fight against him or the rival would have openly attacked Sauron. Both again did not happen in the books.
That's why I'd say it's safe to assume that Sauron must have been the most powerful entity in Middle-earth during the Third Age. Otherwise, why bother with the secret mission to destroy him without the use of open force/power?
Because there were beings in the elder days that could challenge Sauron openly, and we do have examples for confrontations like this: The Battle of the Last Alliance ended (not at all like in the movies) with a fight between Sauron and an all-star team of Middle-earths mightiest heroes: Gil-Galad & Elendil, probably with the help of Isildur, Elrond and Círdan. The first two even died, but all together still managed to defeat Sauron.
But those days passed away and there are no such powers (for good) left in Middle-earth in the Third Age. I think this is mentioned, or at least implied at the Council of Elrond, which again is why they decide to destroy the Ring in secrecy.
Concerning Galadriel:
Well yes she definetly is very powerful, but again she never went out on her own to directly confront Sauron.
She didn't had any restrictions on her actions in Middle-earth like the Istari. In fact she left during the Exile of the Noldor, which basically banished her from Valinor.
It is said that Fëanors words concerning Middle-earth kindled a desire in her heart, as she was eager to see those wide unguarded lands and rule a realm of her own. http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Galadriel
So Galadriel went to Middle-earth with the desire to rule, and even renouncing the Undying Lands to do so.
I think its not farfetched to assume that Galadriel would have destroyed Sauron if she could do so without the One Ring, because she tells us that this is exactly what she would do with the One Ring. The Speech that she gives to Frodo (which was a bit overblown in the movies) reflects that Galadriel spent a lot of time thinking about what she would do with the One Ring, and describes how she would rule everyone as a unbearably adored queen. There is a lust for power in Galadriel (although in the end she rejects it/the Ring).
So yeah, Galadriel is actually kinda sketchy regarding her motives and her actions in the books (another example: Why is she testing the hearts of the fellowship members in Lórien, prodding into their darkest fears without consent?)
Therefor I think that she actually couldn't be stronger than Sauron, or else she would have challenged him.
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