c. S.A. 1600
Sauron forges the One Ring
Created at Orodruin and held by its maker.
OriginA lineage tracker for the Ring's complete known custody: forged by Sauron, lost twice, borne by seven individuals, and destroyed at Sammath Naur.
Loss and discovery are recorded separately. A vacancy is a real custody state, not a bearer.
Created at Orodruin and held by its maker.
OriginAfter Sauron's defeat, Isildur cuts the Ring from his hand and claims it.
SeizureIt slips from Isildur while he tries to escape the disaster at the Gladden Fields.
Loss · vacancy beginsFound in the Anduin after roughly two and a half millennia without a bearer.
DiscoveryDéagol is murdered and Sméagol takes possession.
Violent seizureIt is dropped in the tunnels beneath the Misty Mountains before Bilbo encounters it.
Loss · vacancy beginsBilbo discovers the Ring lying on the tunnel floor.
DiscoveryA deliberate voluntary transfer at Bag End.
Voluntary transferBelieving Frodo dead, Sam takes the Ring and later bears it himself.
Temporary custodyThe Ring passes back voluntarily in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.
Voluntary returnHe bites the Ring from Frodo's hand at Sammath Naur.
Violent seizureGollum falls into the Cracks of Doom. The lineage ends.
Terminal event* Calculated from Tolkien's supplied chronology rather than presented as a simple printed calendar date.
The first vacancy lasted about 2,461 years — roughly half of the Ring's entire existence and longer than Sauron's own possession.
Sam counts because he takes custody, carries the Ring independently and wears it. Gandalf and Tom Bombadil do not create new lineage periods because their handling is brief and another person's custody clearly continues.
Durations remain approximate where Tolkien supplies only a year or broad period.
| Bearer | Periods | Total possession | Longest period | Share of lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauron | 1 | ~1,841 years | ~1,841 years | ~37.9% |
| Sméagol / Gollum | 2 | ~478 years + moments | ~478 years | ~9.8% |
| Bilbo Baggins | 1 | ~60 years | ~60 years | ~1.2% |
| Frodo Baggins | 2 | ~17½ years | ~17½ years | ~0.36% |
| Isildur | 1 | ~2 years | ~2 years | ~0.04% |
| Samwise Gamgee | 1 | ~1 day | ~1 day | <0.001% |
| Déagol | 1 | Briefly | Briefly | <0.001% |
Every custody state, including the two periods in which the Ring had no bearer.
c. S.A. 1600 → S.A. 3441
S.A. 3441 → T.A. 2
~2,461 years
Brief possession
c. T.A. 2463 → T.A. 2941
Unknown short duration
T.A. 2941 → 3001
3001 → 13 Mar 3019
13 → 14 Mar 3019
14 → 25 Mar 3019
25 Mar 3019 · moments
25 March, T.A. 3019 · Sammath Naur
A serious chronology first; the lineage-tracker format comes second.
Primary sources. The Lord of the Rings, especially Appendix B; The Fellowship of the Ring (“The Shadow of the Past”, “A Long-expected Party”); The Two Towers (“The Choices of Master Samwise”); The Return of the King (“The Tower of Cirith Ungol”, “Mount Doom”); Unfinished Tales (“The Disaster of the Gladden Fields”); The Silmarillion (“Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”); and The Hobbit (“Riddles in the Dark”).
Possession rule. The tracker records independent physical custody. Brief handling or examination does not create a new possession period if another individual's custody clearly continues.
Approximate dates. Where Tolkien supplies only a year or approximate period, this tracker keeps that uncertainty rather than inventing a month or day.
Vacancy. A Ring lying lost and unheld is treated as vacant. Rivers, tunnels and places are not personified as bearers.
Destruction. Destruction is a terminal event, not a transfer to a new possessor.