Why didn't Gandalf know about Bilbo's Ring? 🤔 #lotr_qa

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Middle Earth Lore

Gandalf, Tolkien, Wizards, Rings of Power, LOTR, Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, Hobbits, Frodo, Sauron, Bilbo, Samwise, Middle Earth

[thegreyhavens]

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[razakhan]

Didn't he spend like 20-some years researching his suspicions between Bilbo's party and the quest

[shyguygamer]

Saruman was right Gandalfs love of the halflings leaf slowed his mind

[johnweatherman]

There were MANY lesser rings and he believed it to be one of those until Bilbo's long life became problematic. That made him suspect a great ring was in play, and only one of those was unaccounted for. Even then, it was only after finding Isildur's Scroll and testing the Ring itself that he knew for sure. So no, Gandalf did not know for over 70 years while doing nothing.

[kevincanning]

A wizard arrives precisely when he means to.

[SantomPh]

Gandalf only realized it was the one when he found Isildur's Scroll and the Tengwar writing on it, only visible in flames. Previously he only saw a golden ring and Bilbo not actually wearing it at any time.

Saruman gatekept the information from Gandalf as well, since he was also looking for the One. That's why Gandalf, upon realizing Frodo had likely inherited the Ring left him for 17 years to research. Frodo was safe as no one knew about the Ring until Gollum was captured and said Shire and Baggins

[Boudica]

His love of the halflings leaf had clearly slowed his mind.

[AverageAwesomeDude]

Gandalf at first didn’t believe the ring would be found cause Saruman told him it was unlikely, back then he trusted him and he was called The Wise for good reason. Also pretty much everyone else in middle earth also assumed it was gone for good, it had been 3000 years without a whisper after all.

Also I think a part of Gandalf simply didn’t want to believe it. Gandalf was afraid of Sauron and of failing, he confessed his fears to his Valar before leaving for middle earth. He knew Bilbo had a magic ring so he kept an eye, but after 60 years of him remaining a good natured Hobbit he assumed it must’ve been some other ring since The One rings powers of corruption are literally legendary. It was only after the party and Bilbos outburst about the Ring that he saw there actually was corruption that his suspicion reawakened. Even then he didn’t want it to be true and spent almost 20 trying to find out exactly what happened to be sure. He was holding on to hope that it wasn’t the One Ring literally until the last second before the rings markings showed up in the fire.

He really didn’t want it to be true. Even Maiar can turn a blind eye and drag their feet

[travisdoyle]

so if the one ring can control the other ring bearers, it is plausable that Bilbo's will of Gandalf (or anyone of the company at the time for that matter) to know of the rings existence extended through the rings power and "Blinded" Gandalf into not being able to relise the rings true nature.

[ViktoryGamingNetwork]

I always believed he simply thought it was just a magical ring of sorts and not the one ring. Even in the film after Bilbo used it in The Shire he said "there are many magic rings in the world and none of them should be used lightly" and from that I gathered he never would've guessed it was actually the one.

[CT-pigl]

At some point in Fellowship, Gandalf mentions that Mount Doom burst into flame once again, as a sign of Sauron's resurgence. Would it even have been possible to destroy the Ring before that happened?

[chidmania]

Saruman had told the White Council that the One Ring had fallen into the sea and was lost and beyond the reach of any, including Sauron.

Being the leader of the wizards and head of the White Council, nobody saw the need to question his information or wisdom.

Part of why Gandalf took so long was because he was trying to reconcile his misgivings with Saruman's 'trustworthy' information.

When he had come at last to the definitive conclusion, who did he go to?

Saruman.

Because he thought Saruman had made a mistake, when he had deliberately deceived them all.

[matthewhenthorn]

It wasn't until Bilbo said that he felt stretched and somehow thin, that gandalf suspected something was up, Then when Biblo became aggressive about leaving the ring behind, he knew it was far more than just a simple magic ring. It was a long time of research that lead him to.the conclusion it was the one ring and so tested it by putting it in the fire.

[captironsight]

I think he explains it in Moria. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, therefore Frodo was also meant to have it; and that is an "Encouraging thought."
Basically, Eru Illuvitar deemed it so.

[VincesPaintingAdventure]

He did know, or at least suspected, but also was the ONLY one who knew the incredible resiliancy of hobbits to resist the dark magic and left it with Bilbo for safe keeping.

[Etymon-jtzw]

" A wizard is never late nor is he early he arrives precisely when he means to "

Gendolph wasn't late he was waiting for frodo baggins to be born and grow up because he knew that Bilbo baggins would not have the strength to make the journey and would have eventually just turned into another Golem.

And he knew he could not claim the ring for himself because he would have turned into another Sarumon.

[comesahorseman]

Gandalf wasn't sent to do anything to destroy the ring. He was sent to advise.

[yougood]

He was led astray by Saruman's reassuring to the council that the ring had passed on to the ocean in the west through river channels. Since Saruman was head of the Astari order and very wise, Gandalf didn't think to question him until he saw Bilbo disappear at the party in fellowship.

[lilianbieth]

It's 79 years, not 75 (I can't remember if that's right).
And the One Ring was not the ONLY lost ring (some dwarf's ring were lost too).

[The_medicine_frog]

Probably doesn't help that it wasn't the One Ring when the hobbit was published.