The Palantiri

The palantiri were Seeing-stones that could be used the gather information and communicate over great distances. Seven stones were brought to Middle-earth and they were used to help govern the far-flung realms of Gondor and Arnor. But over time many of the palantiri were lost and one fell into the hands of Sauron, who used it to spread deceit and despair among those who opposed him.

A palantir could be used to see distant places and events. A person looking into a palantir might see random, blurry images of far-away scenes. But if a viewer had a strong will, the palantir could be directed to show specific things. One could even zoom in to see small details. A palantir could see through walls or other obstacles as long as there was sufficient light on the other side.

A palantir could also be used to communicate with another palantir. The palantiri did not transmit sound. Two people would communicate by thought via the stones and would hear one another's voices inside their heads. The palantiri were intended to be used to transfer only thoughts that were consciously and willingly shared, but someone with a dominant will could force another to reveal more than intended. In the long history of the palantiri, only Sauron is known to have misused the stones in this way.

In the late Second Age when Sauron gained influence over Numenor, the Elves gave seven palantiri to Amandil, the leader of those who remained Faithful. Amandil's son Elendil rescued the Seven Stones from the Downfall of Numenor and brought them to Middle-earth.

The seven palantiri were distributed throughout the realms of Gondor and Arnor in the year 3320 of the Second Age. Elendil took three of the stones north to Arnor and placed them in Annuminas, the Tower of Amun Sul, and Elostrion in the Tower Hills. Elendil's sons Anarion and Isildur each took two of the palantiri and set them around Gondor in Minas Anor, Orthanc, Minas Ithil, and Osqiliath.

The palantiri were kept in guarded rooms in high towers. They were originally placed on round, black marble tables with depressions in the surfaces to fit the stones. Only the King and those authorized by the King were permitted to use them. Wardens were appointed by the King to guard each stone and to survey them periodically in order to give and gather news. But over time the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor began to decline. Several of the palantiri were lost and the others fell into disuse and were eventually forgotten by all but a few.

The Anor-stone became a closely guarded secret of the Stewards of Gondor. It was kept in the upper chamber of the Tower of Ecteleon on the highest level of Minas Tirith. The palantir was never again mentioned publicly or written about in public records, though the Stewards kept their own archives about the lore of the palantiri.

Denethor was the first Steward to dare to use the Anor-stone. When he began to do so is not certain, but it seems that it may have been immediately upon assuming the Stewardship in 2984. Denethor wanted to learn information to help Gondor as the threat from Mordor grew, but he was also motivated by jealousy of Thrgil, a captain who had been favored by Denethor's father Ecthelion. Denethor had apparently determined that Thorongil was none other than Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor. Denethor wanted to surpass Thorongil and his friend Gandalf in knowledge and he also wanted to learn what they were doing.

Sauron was never able to dominate Denethor's will, but in the end he led Denethor to despair by revealing the full strength of the forces of Mordor and showing him only selected images in order to convince Denethor that defeat was inevitable. After the death of Denethor's beloved son Boromir, Denethor's spirit was weakened, and when it appeared that his only surviving son Faramir had been mortally wounded, Denethor succumbed to despair.

On the night of March 13, 3019, Denethor went to the top of the Tower of Ecthelion and looked into the palantir. Sauron showed him a fleet of Corsairs' ships sailing up the Anduin from the south, and Denethor believed that end was coming for Minas Tirith. He did not know that in truth the ships were under the command of Aragorn who was coming to the aid of Minas Tirith. Denethor may also have seen the Ring-Bearer imprisoned in the Tower of Cirith Angul and concluded that Sauron had the Ring, not realizing that Sam Gamgee had taken the Ring before Frodo was captured.

On March 15, Denethor tried to burn himself and Faramir alive on a funeral pyre. Faramir was rescued, but Denethor burned to death holding the Anor-stone in his hands. Afterwards it was said that unless one had great strength of will to direct the palantir, it would only show Denethor's burning hands. Saruman began to use the Orthanc-stone around the year 3000. At first he may have been able to control it and see far-off places and events, but he soon came into contact with the Ithil Stone and fell under Sauron's sway. Saruman's integrity had already been weakened by the abandonment of his moral principles in his quest to obtain power for himself, and he was thus vulnerable to domination by the superior will of Sauron. Before long, Saruman felt compelled to report to Sauron via the palantir. Saruman became a traitor to the White Council and to the free peoples of Middle-earth whom he was supposed to help in their struggle against Sauron.

After Saruman's forces were defeated at the Battle of Helms Deep and Isengard was destroyed by the Ents, Gandalf and KIng Theoden of Rohan came to Orthanc to parley with Saruman on March 5, 3019. Saruman's lackey Grima wormutangue threw the Orthanc-stone down from the tower and it was picked up by Pippin Took.

Gandalf took the palantir away from the Hobbit, but Pippin could not stop thinking about it. That night as they camped at Dol Baran, Pippin retrieved the palantir from Gandalf as the Wizard slept and looked into the stone. He was confronted by Sauron, who mistook him for the Ring-Bearer and assumed he was being held captive by Saruman in Orthanc.

Aragorn then claimed the Orthanc-stone as the heir of Elendil and the rightful master of the palantiri. On March 6, he revealed himself to Sauron in the Orthanc-stone and showed him that Narsil - the sword that had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand - had been reforged. Then Aragorn was able to wrench control of the Orthanc-stone away from Sauron and he saw that the Corsairs posed a danger to Minas Tirith from the south. He chose to take the Paths of the Dead and was able to capture the Corsairs' ships and come in time to the Pellenor Fields. Sauron was filled with fear and doubt after his confrontation with Aragorn and he was distracted as the Ring-bearer made his way toward Mount Doom.