The palantíri are just some of the many mystical objects described in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies adapted the Tolkien books of the same names, resulting in timeless displays of high fantasy characters, places, and artifacts. The palantíri played a big role in the War of the Ring in the book and the movie trilogy, enabling Saruman to communicate with Sauron, advancing the plans of both villains.

The palantíri caused havoc in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie, facilitating Saruman's partnership with Sauron. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pippin used a palantír, accidentally showing his position to Sauron and showing Sauron's hand to the Fellowship. This ended up being strategic for the Fellowship. With such great power, it is easy to assume that the palantíri have some kind of enigmatic and mysterious source. However, their origins are, in fact, well-documented and clear.

The Origins Of The Palantíri In The Lord Of The Rings Explained

The Palantíri Originated In Aman

In The Lord of the Rings, the palantíri were "the seven Seeing Stones brought by Elendil and his sons from Númenor; made by Fëanor in Aman," as succinctly put by The Silmarillion. Fëanor was of the great house of the Noldor, one of three great families of Elves, which also included the Vanyar and the Teleri. Fëanor "became of all the Noldor... the most subtle in mind and the most skilled in hand" (via The Silmarillion). His descendant Celebrimbor would try to rival him, in his pride, forging the Rings of Power. "Palan" is Quenya for "far and wide," explaining the Stones' names, Quenya being an Elvish language.

Celebrimbor's pride was the crack that Sauron crept into in his manipulation of the Elf. Sauron withheld his identity from Celebrimbor and secured his assistance in making the rings that formed the basis of his plan for world domination.

Fëanor made the famous Silmarils which would rock the whole of Arda, the world in which Middle-earth was situated, "and other crystals he made also, wherein things far away could be seen small but clear." Many of these crystals - the palantíri - were made, and their total number is unknown. But the fate of seven is recorded in the various annals of Middle-earth presented by pioneering author J.R.R Tolkien. The Elves had a friendship with the Númenórean Amandil and his family in the Second Age and seven palantíri were "gifts of the Eldar to their house," thereafter transported to Middle-earth.

What Powers A Palantír Has, According To The Lord Of The Rings Lore

The Palantíri Enabled Communication

The palantíri allowed their s to communicate with each other and see what was happening near them. Palantíri granted s visions of other spaces and other times, penetrating through solid matter to see beyond walls, enabling s to see things "as with the eyes of the eagles of Manwë." Manwë was one of the 15 Valar - the demigods of Tolkien's world - and had more foresight than any being in the universe other than the one creator himself, Eru Ilúvatar. This speaks to the power that Fëanor had imbued the palantíri with. Meanwhile, The Silmarillion described Manwë's eagles:

...spirits in the shape of... eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world. Thus they brought word to him of well nigh all that ed in Arda; yet some things were hidden even from the eyes of Manwë and the servants of Manwë.

Gandalf confirmed in The Lord of the Rings that the Seeing Stones allowed s "to see far off, and to converse in thought with one another." Skill was required to master the palantíri, with haphazard or blurry visuals possible in the hands of the inexperienced. It was easiest to see what was closest to the palantíri and harder to see further away. The Stones facilitated the exchange of thought, which was a skill native to all beings, though mastered by few. Some palantíri were greater in power, and some were only linked with certain others.

Which Lord Of The Rings Settlements Possessed A Palantír (& When)?

The Seeing Stones Traveled Far And Wide

The Seeing Stones started their life in Aman in the hands of the Noldor Elves in the First Age, where it could be speculated that some remain. After Elves were banned from Númenórean shores, they gifted palantíri to their friends on the island kingdom in the Second Age of Middle-earth to retain some level of connection to them. Amandil was the leader of these Elf-friends and ed the Stones down to his son, Elendil, who escaped with seven when Númenor was destroyed. Fleeing Númenor, Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion, went on to found the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

The palantíri were then distributed between Gondor and Arnor. As Gandalf mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, "in that way they long guarded and united the realm of Gondor." Gandalf went on to state that the Elf-friends "set up Stones at Minas Anor, and at Minas Ithil, and at Orthanc in the ring of Isengard." The Stone that mastered these was in Osgiliath, Gondor's main city. These Seeing Stones all covered the realm of Gondor in the Second Age, while in Arnor there were palantíri at Annúminas, Amon Sûl, and Elostirion, a tower in the Tower Hills, a range of hills in western Eriador.

The Fate Of The Palantíri Explained

Few Palantíri Remain

Some palantíri have been destroyed or lost, while a couple remain intact. Aragorn said that "only one now remains that you could use" in The Lord of the Rings. He was referring to his own. Gandalf recovered a palantír from Orthanc, which was used by Pippin before it finally made its way to Aragorn, its rightful owner. As seen in Peter Jackson's movies, Denethor also had the use of a Seeing Stone in Minas Tirith. Aragorn's words on this Stone were sinister - "you would not wish to see what the Stone of Minas Tirith would show you."

Having burned with Denethor on his pyre, the hardy Stone was left showing little more than Denethor's burning hands. This was the Stone from Minas Anor, which became Minas Tirith. Sauron overran Minas Ithil and turned it into Minas Morgul, taking its palantír for his own. According to The Lord of the Rings, the palantíri of Annúminas and Amon Sûl were "buried in the sea" with a shipwreck and the Osgiliath Stone was lost in the River Anduin after a war. Círdan put the seventh Stone on a ship to Valinor with Elrond, according to "Appendix A" of The Lord of the Rings.