The Art of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings--Fellowship of the Ring: The Title

 

I'd always thought of Sauron as the title's "Lord of the Rings" and thought of Frodo's band as the fellowship of the first book's title. 

While both can exist, they necessarily contrast. One convenes for good, while the other for bad.

Yet couldn't someone else be the lord of the ring(s)? Who is the lord? And what kind of ring are we talking about? There are many types of rings here. All could apply--not just physical metal bands, but also a group of creatures who band together. 

Who rules? The one who holds the ring? The one who destroys it? Or the ring itself? Does not the metal band also lord over rings of men?

Meanwhile, could there not also be other fellowships apart from Frodo's? Sauron's, too, with vastly different designs. Gollum also has a fellowship, albeit a rather small one that temporarily expands only to collapse again. Surely, we are meant to compare and contrast them all.

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Related posts:

The Art of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings--the proem

Fellowship of the Ring, Ch 1 "A Long-Expected Party", part one (age, WWI)

Fellowship of the Ring, Ch 1 "A Long-Expected Party", part two 

Fellowship of the Ring, Ch 1 "A Long-Expected Party", part three