6 The Lord of the Rings Heroes Who Personally Fought Sauron (and Which Character Won)

This article contains spoilers for The Silmarillion and the Rings of Power.It was rare to find a depiction of Sauron directly fighting someone The Lord of the Ringsbut there were some characters who claimed this dubious honor. Most of the fights Sauron fought on Amazon Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was composed for the show, including Sauron’s fight with Galadriel. Meanwhile, watching Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies, where Sauron is a giant, ghostly eye, it’s easy to imagine that Sauron never fought anyone in person. The truth Tolkien exposed is more complex.

High fantasy creator JRR Tolkien published The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in his life, remotely referencing some of the stories that saw Sauron fight in single combat. It was only after he passed away that his son, Christopher, published his father’s broader Legendary in The Silmarillionand later the volume of 12 The History of Middle Earth. In these books, Sauron directed battles, participated in battles, and from time to time faced named characters of extraordinary talents in critical duels to the death, proving himself to be one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth.

6

Finrod Felagund, Galadriel’s brother

First Era

Galadriel fought against Sauron in The Rings of Power season 2 finale, but it was her brother who fought him in the legendarium in the First Age. Although, Finrod can actually be seen in The Rings of Power carrying the wounds with which he canonically diedunfortunately killed while Galadriel stands over him. So the show seems to pay homage to Finrod’s Sauron duel, as well as inventing a Galadriel duel for good measure.

In The SilmarillionFinrod Felagund went in disguise to Sauron’s fortress, Tol-in-Gaurhoth, with a band of Elves. Unfortunately, they were discovered, resulting in a magical standoff between Sauron and Finrod, during which “Felagund fought with Sauron in songs of power.“The songs were more than just music in The Lord of the Ringswith the Music of the Ainur visualizing the entire world at the beginning of time.

In a meta twist, fittingly, The Silmarillion gives details of the musical duel in poem form, providing an excerpt from “The Lay of Leithian”, an in-universe elven poem of great renown. Losing the duel,”Finrod fell before the throne,“and was imprisoned, fighting a werewolf to save Beren’s life, but losing his own in the process. This explains the scratches on Galadriel’s dead brother in Rings of Power.

5

Lúthien, the Elf Princess

First Era

Finrod was not the only elf to face Sauron in single combat in the First Age; The elf princess Lúthien also did this. Technically, Lúthien was only half-elf, also half-Maya, as the daughter of Melian the Maia and King Thingol of Doriath. Sauron was a Maia, i.e. Lúthien was arguably even more equipped to fight Sauron than Finrodpossessing blood of the same magical race. Lúthien appears in the same story as Finrod – Lúthien went to Tol-in-Gaurhoth to rescue Beren, who was with Finrod.

Lúthien, as well as Finrod, turned the magical song into a weapon, weakening the fortress when she arrived. But Sauron’s werewolf kin responded, coming to meet him. Sauron was, in fact, the Lord of Werewolves, and Tol-in-Gaurhoth was the Isle of Werewolves. Fortunately, Lúthien had her faithful hound to help her, and he faced the werewolves sent by Sauron. Eventually, Sauron himself came out and attacked Lúthien, but she managed to overcome him with Maia’s magic.

Only momentarily, Lúthien threw her magical cloak between her and Sauron, leaving him in a drowsy state that caused him to stop briefly. Lúthien would have lost this fight painfully if her dog had not attacked Sauron while he was sleepy, but she still faced him face to face and lived to tell the tale, emerging triumphant, which is certainly more than any other Elf, Man or Dwarf (except Finrod) can say.

4

Huan, the Hound of Valinor

First Era

After Lúthien temporarily stunned Sauron with her sleep spell, Huan attacked Sauron and won the fight. Huan, the Hound of Valinor, was originally a gift to the Elves from one of the 15 Valar – Tolkien’s demigods. Huan was a huge, super-powerful wolfhoundand good-natured to boot. Given by Vala Oromë to the Elf Celegorm, Huan quickly detected Lúthien’s moral superiority and exchanged Celegorm for her.

Of every race and species, Huan is one of three people in all of Arda – the world in which Middle Earth is situated – confirmed by Tolkien to face Sauron personally for more than a minute. Since Sauron fought against himself on a few occasionshe would have fought more people than just that, but their names were never part of Elvish lore, so his resistance to Sauron, momentary or otherwise, was lost to the mists of time.

Huan’s victory was decisive and was well finished by his master, Lúthien. Somewhat extraordinarily, Sauron faced this fight like a giant, frightening wolf – as befits the Lord of Werewolves. This dogfight, described in detail in “The Lay of Leithian”, ended with Huan’s teeth around Sauron’s neck and Lúthien offering Sauron the choice between the death of his body and facing the disembodied wrath of Morgoth, or the surrender of his fortress. Remarkably, he chose surrender.

3

Celebrimbor, Lord of Eregion

Second Era

Along with Finrod and Huan, Celebrimbor was the third and last person described by JRR Tolkien to face Sauron alone and in personand even that was only described in an apocryphal Tolkien story buried in Unfinished Stories. As The Silmarillion and The History of Middle Earth, Unfinished Stories it was compiled from stories that Tolkien never published in his lifetime, but some were decidedly well finished, while others were not.

“Celebrimbor, desperate, personally resisted Sauron on the steps of Mírdain’s great gate.” in “The Story of Galadriel and Celebborn.” That was a fight Celebrimbor lost completely. Sauron grabbed him and tortured him for information on the whereabouts of the Rings of Power they created together. Tolkien did not describe the exact process of Celebrimbor’s horrific death, but Celebrimbor died riddled with arrows and carried by Sauron into battle like a banner.

Saint Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr who died from arrows, and it may be that JRR Tolkien had this in mind while writing Celebrimbor. Without considering, Celebrimbor’s work as a blacksmith and enemy of Sauron has thankfully never been forgotten in the tradition of the elven Eldar. The Rings of Power season two showed Celebrimbor’s death in gruesome detail.

2

Elendil, king of the Dúnedain

Second Era

In “Of The Rings Of Power and The Third Age”, the final story of The SilmarillionElendil saw Sauron’s defeat in the Second Age. This king among kings proved his worth by going toe-to-toe with Sauron on the slopes of Mordor itself. It was not detailed whether Celebrimbor fought armed or not, while Finrod used spells against Sauron while Huan fought tooth and nail. Elendil used his sword, the famous Narsil.

Elendil fought Sauron on the battlefield in the traditional sense, making this moment of glory the most memorable of all of Sauron’s personal clashes. However, Elendil could not have done it without Gil-galadthe High King of the Elven Kingdom. The two approached Sauron together, and the likelihood is that neither could have faced him alone. Along with Gil-galad, Elendil subdued Sauron long enough for his son, Isildur, to cut the ring from Sauron’s finger, which completely incapacitated him.

Although it was Gil-galad and Elendil who fought against Sauron, it was Isildur who tore a finger from his prone form, ending him for good. In that regard, Elendil and his allies won the fight. But simultaneously, Elendil lost controlkilled by Sauron before falling to the ground. Without the One Ring, Sauron’s spirit left to slowly rebuild another body. Meanwhile, Narsil was destroyed, leaving him to be reforged many years in the future, before Aragorn Elessar claimed the throne as Isildur’s heir.

1

Gil-Galad, the High King

Second Era

Gil-galad joined Elendil in Mordor in fighting Sauron personallyChecking out as one of Lord of the Rings’ greatest heroes. As a prominent character of the Second Age of Middle-earth, Gil-galad is portrayed by Benjamin Walker in Rings of Power. Focusing on the Second Age, the show will likely adapt Gil-galad and Elendil’s fight with Sauron in its final season, which will likely face the Last Alliance.

Peter Jackson Fellowship of the Ring The prologue shows this fight with Sauron, but misleadingly shows one person facing Sauron before Isildur advances, instead of two. The prologue is also misleading because it shows Isildur as the one who neutralized Sauron. In that sense, the film definitely sold Elendil and Gil-galad. As the last High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad represented a dying age. And indeed, the Second Age died with it, with the fall of Sauron marking the beginning of the Third Age.

Gil-galad used a spear called Aeglos in battle, which he carried with him into the War of the Last Alliance. It was enough to fight Sauron, allowing Gil-galad to help Elendil throw Sauron to the ground. But like Elendil, Gil-galad paid the ultimate price for these heroic final moments. Killed along with Elendil, Gil-galad was permanently enshrined as one of the greatest Elves in the world. The Lord of the Rings.