# Why did it take Gandalf very long to find out about the ring?



## Might_of_arnor (Oct 7, 2017)

so I'm saying this off my mind, forgive if I make a mistake. 

So Gandalf suspects that Bilbo has a ring, a ring that makes him invisible. That right there should be enough to question bilbos (he finds out during the hobbit). And then again he sees Bilbo invisible again at his 111th birthday. He makes Bilbo give it to frodo and then goes on for I believe it was 20-25 years to go research whether this was the one ring or not. 

Now frankly I find it hard to believe that anyone, especially someone like Gandalf, a Maia who i suspect has more knowledge than anyone in middle earth apart from a few people perhaps, could not notice this was the one ring. Unless there are rings out there that make you invisible, would Gandalf not have known. Could he not have questioned that this may have been a very powerful ring at least and could have at least checked it out. Literally everything could have been averted had Gandalf asked Bilbo to let him study the ring. 

(Btw I'm not saying that last bit to make it look like I'm removing the whole story, that last bit was just a scenario.)


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## CirdanLinweilin (Oct 7, 2017)

Might_of_arnor said:


> so I'm saying this off my mind, forgive if I make a mistake.
> 
> So Gandalf suspects that Bilbo has a ring, a ring that makes him invisible. That right there should be enough to question bilbos (he finds out during the hobbit). And then again he sees Bilbo invisible again at his 111th birthday. He makes Bilbo give it to frodo and then goes on for I believe it was 20-25 years to go research whether this was the one ring or not.
> 
> ...



From the way Bilbo was going all "Gollum" on the Ring, I highly doubt Bilbo would've allowed Gandalf a single peep. It took a heck ton of willpower, and divine intervention from Gandalf just for Bilbo to give it up!

That's my only thought.

I'll ruminate further on this..

CL


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## Might_of_arnor (Oct 13, 2017)

That was after the events of hobbit, I meant during the events where he first acquired the ring, surely the ring wouldn't have already projected his dominance over Bilbo (it didn't with Sam and he had it for at least a few hours). So it bothers me that Gandalf didn't at least take a peep at the ring when Bilbo first acquired it.


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## CirdanLinweilin (Oct 13, 2017)

Might_of_arnor said:


> That was after the events of hobbit, I meant during the events where he first acquired the ring, surely the ring wouldn't have already projected his dominance over Bilbo (it didn't with Sam and he had it for at least a few hours). So it bothers me that Gandalf didn't at least take a peep at the ring when Bilbo first acquired it.



When Bilbo acquired the Ring, Sauron wasn't at full strength, he wasn't exerting his will to find it nor could he. When Frodo got it, Sauron was powerful enough to assert his dominance over the Ring. Sauron, during _The Hobbit, _was a mere shade, by the time of _The Lord of the Rings, _he had a physical form, so at this point, the Ring's influence was stronger. The Ring is only as powerful as Sauron. 

I hope that helps.

CL


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## Might_of_arnor (Oct 16, 2017)

CirdanLinweilin said:


> When Bilbo acquired the Ring, Sauron wasn't at full strength, he wasn't exerting his will to find it nor could he. When Frodo got it, Sauron was powerful enough to assert his dominance over the Ring. Sauron, during _The Hobbit, _was a mere shade, by the time of _The Lord of the Rings, _he had a physical form, so at this point, the Ring's influence was stronger. The Ring is only as powerful as Sauron.
> 
> I hope that helps.
> 
> CL


Yeah it does help thanks. Don't you find it weird that sauron managed to gain that much power in 60 years, I wonder if he was at the same speed during the peace period


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## CirdanLinweilin (Oct 16, 2017)

Might_of_arnor said:


> Yeah it does help thanks. Don't you find it weird that sauron managed to gain that much power in 60 years, I wonder if he was at the same speed during the peace period



It is weird. Weirder still no one in Middle-earth noticed until Sauron had already declared war!

CL


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## Elthir (Oct 16, 2017)

Hmm, my assumption (!) is that Sauron was fully physical by TA 2951 (declares himself openly), but I've always thought (at least so far) that he could have been fully physical before this, perhaps even well before this, but preferred to remain secret in any case.

References in _The Shadow of the Past_ seem vague enough, unless I've forgotten or missed something?


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## CirdanLinweilin (Oct 16, 2017)

Galin said:


> Hmm, my assumption (!) is that Sauron was fully physical by TA 2951 (declares himself openly), but I've always thought (at least so far) that he could have been fully physical before this, perhaps even well before this, but preferred to remain secret in any case.
> 
> References in _The Shadow of the Past_ seem vague enough, unless I've forgotten or missed something?



That is interesting. I've never thought of it that way, but that is a clever strategy. 

All I can remember is when Gollum was captured, tortured, and interrogated and let go in 3017, he must've seen Sauron face-to-face because Gollum mentions only four fingers on The Black Hand.

CL


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