LOTR: Why Aren’t All the Palantíri Accounted For?

The Seven Seeing Stones, or Palantíri, are some of the most fascinating and important artifacts in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With ancient origins and unknowable powers, the stones become a viable weapon for Sauron in his quest to spy on and corrupt anyone else who might carry one. As Gandalf himself says when he scolds Saruman in The Fellowship of the Ring film, “A Palantír is a dangerous tool… They are not all accounted for, the lost seeing stones.” How did these powerful orbs become lost, and how many yet still remain within Middle-Earth

Like many of the best things in Tolkien’s mythology, the creation of the Palantíri dates back to some of the earliest years of his fictional world. After thousands of years, the stones found their way into the hands of the Dúnedain, who spread them throughout the watchtowers of Arnor and Gondor. By the time of The Lord of the Rings, however, these Seeing Stones are all but forgotten, lost to the annals of time and scattered among the ruins of once great kingdoms. In order to understand how such great artifacts could be lost, as well as to speculate where they might have ended up, it requires a deep-dive into the lore of Middle-Earth and a history that predates the very existence of Gondor.

Where Do The Palantíri Come From?

Thousands and thousands of years before the time of Frodo, Aragorn, and even Gandalf, some of the earliest Elves in Middle-Earth lived in the Blessed Realm of Valinor. This land was in the uttermost West, and was home to the god-like Valar who helped to create the world. Among these Elves was an incredibly skilled smith named Fëanor, who is arguably the most important Elf in all of Tolkien’s legendarium. Among the many, many feats of his life (he also crafted the three Silmarils), Fëanor created the Palantíri.

It’s unknown exactly how many Seeing Stones Fëanor actually crafted, and if all of them were made by him or only in his fashion. Long after Fëanor departed Valinor, however, these stones remained among the Elves of the Blessed Realm as tools of foresight and great power. Many years later, at the end of the First Age, the Valar waged a great war for the fate of Middle-Earth, and several clans of Men joined their cause. These clans were later known as the Dúnedain, and their loyalty to the Valar was rewarded in the form of an entire island upon which they could build a new kingdom. Thus, the kingdom of Númenór was created, and its splendor would become the single greatest achievement of Men in the history of Middle-Earth.

Númenór prospered for many centuries, becoming a realm that rivaled even the beauty of Valinor. Unfortunately, the people of this land soon forgot the benevolence of the Valar, and began to value their own pride above anything else. The island nation was slowly consumed by a growing divide between those who were faithful to the Elves and the Valar, and those who forsook the old ways in favor of Númenór’s rise to power. Within Valinor, the Elves of the West perceived the plight of Númenór, and they offered the Faithful a gift intended to grant them foresight in these troubling times: seven of the Palantíri. In this way, the Seeing Stones came into the hands of Men, and these seven would become cherished heirlooms that were passed down for generations to come.

How Were They Lost?

After centuries of disrespect to the Valar, the Númenórean’s rebellion came to a head when they launched an attack against Valinor itself. Their insolence was rewarded with a wave of catastrophic proportions, so great that it destroyed the entire island and literally altered the shape of the earth. Númenór was destroyed, but not all of its people were so unlucky, A few of the Faithful had forseen the disaster and left the island by boat, and because of their loyalty they were rewarded with safe passage to Middle-Earth. These ships were led by Elendil and his two sons, Isildur and Anárion.

Upon their arrival in Middle-Earth, Elendil and his sons set to work rebuilding the greatness of their people. In the north, Elendil established the kingdom of Arnor, and in the south, his sons named the realm of Gondor. Over the course of many years, these twin kingdoms would grow to incredible prominence. In nearly every major city of both Gondor and Arnor, a Palantír was placed. These stones created a network of communication between the two kingdoms, allowing Elendil to exchange words with his sons even from miles away. Among the most important stones were those located in Osgiliath, Minas Anor (which would later become Minas Tirith), Minas Ithil, Amon Sûl (AKA Weathertop), and Isengard.

Unfortunately, the greatness of both Arnor and Gondor was not to last. Within Gondor, the city of Minas Ithil was besieged and captured by the nine Ringwraiths, who transformed it into the terrible fortress of Minas Morgul. A few years later, at the Battle of the Last Alliance, both Elendil and Anárion were killed, and not long after, Isildur was slain by a pack of Orcs. Within Gondor, the city of Minas Ithil was besieged and captured by the nine Ringwraiths, who transformed it into the terrible fortress of Minas Morgul. From this capture, Sauron gained access to one of his most powerful and unforeseen weapons: a Palantír.

What Happened to the Rest of the Stones?

Of the seven total Palantíri in Middle-Earth, only four remain within knowledge by the time of The Lord of the Rings. These include the stone of Minas Ithil, which was taken by Sauron and kept within his fortress of Barad-dûr, the stone of Isengard, which was used by Saruman, and the stone of Minas Tirith, which was used by the kings and the stewards. The last of the known stones was kept by the Elves, and was eventually taken back to Valinor on the same ship that bears Frodo at the end of The Return of the King. Of the other three Palantíri, however, their fate is unknown for sure.

With so much strife and war throughout Gondor and Arnor during the Third Age, it makes sense that artifacts such as the Seeing Stones would become lost. In the north, Arnor was assailed by the Witch-King, whose forces swept through the kingdom and all but destroyed it. Two of the stones were lost in this lengthy conflict, and their whereabouts are completely unknown. To the south, in Gondor, the Palantír of Osgiliath was lost in a civil war known as the Kin-Strife.

Ultimately, Gandalf’s warning to Saruman in The Fellowship of the Ring could not have been more true. The seven Palantíri are some of the most powerful and mysterious objects in all of Middle-Earth, and the fact that so many of them were lost means their usefulness could no longer be considered uncompromised. In fact, it is later found out that it is with his stolen Palantír that Sauron is able to corrupt Saruman so effectively, as well as sow seeds of doubt and madness in the mind of Gondor’s steward, Denethor. The Palantíri are some of the strangest and most straight-up magical items in all The Lord of the Rings, so much so that the murkiness of their final resting places feels like a fitting end for their story.