71
votes
Accepted
Could Sauron have read Tom Bombadil's mind if Tom had held the Palantir?
Sauron could not read Tom Bombadil’s mind without Tom’s permission, palantír or no palantír. In fact, he could not read anyone’s mind without their permission.
Tolkien explains what we would call ...
- 25.1k
26
votes
Accepted
Why is so much emphasis placed on the Ring instead of the Palantiri?
The idea that the Council and Gandalf were distracted by the Ring and had not entirely thought out the true power of the Palantíri is suggested by Tolkien in his essay titled "The Palantíri"
...
- 77.8k
24
votes
Accepted
What (fictional) perspective is "Of the Third Age and the Rings of Power" written from?
Christopher Tolkien's published "The Silmarillion" has no framing device
The original framing device of Tolkien's first age texts involved a mariner (first Eriol, later Ælfwine), who visited ...
- 96.1k
21
votes
Accepted
How do you destroy a Palantír?
Immense heat, like Orodruin
This is briefly discussed in Unfinished Tales; much like the One Ring, there was no power known to man that could physically harm the palantíri; it was believed that only ...
- 165k
18
votes
Could Sauron have read Tom Bombadil's mind if Tom had held the Palantir?
Given that we really don't know where Tom Bombadil sits in the spectrum of documented Middle Earth "powers", it's impossible to say what he can or can't do. He may be a Maia. He may be a Vala. He ...
- 301
11
votes
Why is so much emphasis placed on the Ring instead of the Palantiri?
As for the Palantiri there was no one else to dominate. The Osgiliath stone had been sitting in the Anduin since the Kin-Strife (Gondor’s civil war). Two of the Arnor stones were sitting in the ...
- 8,941
10
votes
What (fictional) perspective is "Of the Third Age and the Rings of Power" written from?
The published Silmarillion is often taken by fans to be, in-universe, an English translation of the Bilbo's own translations from Elvish. However, the book itself never claims to be this. In the ...
- 102k
10
votes
Did Cirdan use the Palantir in Lindon?
The short version is that we don't know; both are possible, but there's no evidence one way or the other.
Did Círdan look into the Stone of Elostirion?
Possibly. We know that other Elves did so on ...
- 165k
9
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Noldor use the palantíri?
No, this is never directly answered; the palantíri themselves don't enter the narrative until fairly late in the writing of The Two Towers, and Tolkien never integrated them into his stories of the ...
- 165k
9
votes
Why did the Númenórean dissenters associate Míriel's use of a palantír with darkness or evil?
For several reasons, primarily because, as established in the first season, the general Númenórean population have turned against the traditional ways of their past and have grown resentful or at ...
- 2,471
9
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Palantir of Orthanc "possess" Pippin the first time?
A palantir has to be placed in the right position for it to work
Pippin, it's noted in Unfinished Tales, by sheer "coincidence" sat the Orthanc Stone in its right position, facing it towards ...
- 26.5k
8
votes
Why didn't the Palantir of Orthanc "possess" Pippin the first time?
In 'Unfinished Tales' it is explained that the Palantir needs to be in the correct orientation to function. It is stated that it is pure luck that had Pippin hold it the right way to see Sauron; the ...
- 22.6k
7
votes
How do you destroy a Palantír?
Could the Palantír be made unusable without physically destroying it?
Sure. In fact, by the time of the War of the Ring, most of the seven palantiri that were ever on Middle-Earth are unusable for one ...
- 136k
5
votes
Why didn't Gandalf know what the Palantir was?
Before visiting Orthanc (T.A. 3019), Gandalf thought that Saruman's treachery was recent. Saruman had been the trusted leader of the White Council for hundreds of years (since T.A. 2463). If Saruman ...
- 51
4
votes
Do the Palantíri have powers to lure?
There is no canon evidence to suggest it was the Palantir was luring Pippin in. However there is noted as being perilous
Not specific to the Palantir
In the Lord of the Rings books, in the specific ...
- 77.8k
3
votes
Accepted
Simultaneous use of Palantiri
The palantir of Osgiliath used by Denethor could be used to eavesdrop on the "conversations" of others, specifically between Sauron and Saruman, so it's possible to have more than a two-way ...
- 8,438
2
votes
Which King took possession of the Stone of Orthanc?
It is unquestionably Aragorn who retained the Palantir, not only for the reasons outlined already, but also because Gondor retained the tower as an exclave
the Stewards retained under their own ...
- 1,547
1
vote
How many Palantíri are accounted for?
There were 8 palantiri, 1 in Tol Eressea, and seven in Middle Earth.
Concerning the seven, (Gondor) the Osgiliath stone fell into the Anduin river during the Kin strife and as of its size, being ...
- 11
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