In this week’s episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a dark and ancient relic from the First Age comes into the light. Adar (played by Sam Hazeldine), in his first conversation with Galadriel (played by Morfydd Clark), reveals Morgoth’s crown.
Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, once wore this crown, but now Sauron (played by Charlie Vickers) seeks it. According to Adar, the Iron Crown’s power, when combined with the Elven Rings of Power, could potentially defeat Sauron.
However, Galadriel finds the crown dangerous and refuses to even look at it. What makes this crown so special, even after Morgoth’s defeat so long ago?
Morgoth’s Iron Crown Held the Silmarils
The Iron Crown of Morgoth immediately seems familiar. It follows the same design and look as Sauron’s famous armor from The Lord of the Rings movies, which The Rings of Power mirrors.
This shows how Sauron sees himself as Morgoth’s heir, even in his armor and equipment. But the history of the Iron Crown goes back much further, to a time before the First Age of Middle-earth.
During the Years of the Trees, when the world’s light came from the two trees Laurelin and Telperi in Valinor, Fëanor, an Elven smith, created the Silmarils. These three gems, known for their unmatched beauty, were among the most beautiful things in Middle-earth.
They held the light of the Trees and had the blessing of the Valar, making them precious beyond measure. Morgoth, obsessed with the Silmarils, destroyed the Trees and stole the gems from Fëanor during the chaos.
In the process, Morgoth also killed Fëanor’s father. Nearly all the conflicts of the First Age stem from these events, as Fëanor’s sons swore to recover the Silmarils and defeat Morgoth.
After stealing the Silmarils, Morgoth returned to his fortress, Angband, and designed the Iron Crown. The crown might not seem special at first, but it is a powerful object.
Although the Silmarils themselves don’t hold magical power, the light they contain and the Valar’s blessing make them harmful to Morgoth. Still, Morgoth desired to wear all three gems in his crown.
To protect himself, he designed the Iron Crown to hold the Silmarils without letting them hurt him. The Silmarils still burned Morgoth’s flesh when he wore the crown, but he never took it off.
Morgoth’s Crown Is Lost After the War of Wrath
The First Age was filled with battles involving Morgoth and the Silmarils. One of the Silmarils was recovered by Beren and Lúthien and passed down through their family to Eärendil the Mariner and his wife Elwing, the parents of Elrond (played by Robert Aramayo).
With the Silmaril on the bow of their ship, they became the first mortals to reach the Undying Lands of Valinor by themselves. Eärendil pleaded with the Valar to help in the fight against Morgoth, and the Valar agreed.
With the help of the Host of the Valar, a great war called the War of Wrath began against Morgoth. It became the bloodiest conflict in Tolkien’s stories and is shown in the opening scenes of The Rings of Power Season 1, although with some changes from the books.
The destruction was so intense that Beleriand, a continent in Middle-earth where most of the battles took place, sank into the sea. In the end, Morgoth was defeated, losing his crown and the Silmarils.
As punishment, Morgoth was banished to the Void, a place between worlds. To ensure he could never return, the Valar turned Morgoth’s crown into a collar and chains to imprison him. The Silmarils were also lost. Eärendil kept the Silmaril on his ship as he sailed the skies.
The other two Silmarils were recovered by Fëanor’s sons, Maedhros and Maglor, but they could not hold onto them. After committing many cruel acts to get the gems, they found the Silmarils too painful to keep. One gem was thrown into a fiery pit, and the other was cast into the ocean.
Morgoth’s Iron Crown Returns in The Rings of Power Season 2
Before Adar shows Galadriel the Iron Crown, The Rings of Power hinted at its importance. Adar tells Galadriel that he witnessed Sauron reforge the crown for himself and then used it to kill him. This scene is shown in the opening sequence of Season 2 as a flashback.
In this scene, set in Sauron’s fortress in Forodwaith, Sauron declares himself the new Dark Lord to the Orcs. However, the Orcs do not trust him and refuse to follow him into another deadly war. Pretending to accept Sauron’s leadership, Adar uses the crown to kill him.
The survival of the Iron Crown and its use in the Second Age is a major change from Tolkien’s original writings, but it works within the series. Adar does not explain how he recovered the crown, only saying that “there are many stories” about what happened to it.
The crown also appears in teasers for Season 2 in different scenes, including one where Sauron holds it while fighting Galadriel. Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, also mentioned the crown in an interview, so it will likely play a key role in the final episodes of the season.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video in the U.S. New episodes are released every Thursday.
