I already joked with my friends how the Witch King had bigger balls than Sauron and even Morgoth. The dude was so confident when he challenged Gandalf, even though Gandalf would've mopped the floor with all the Nine combined. To have the balls to challenge a guy who is the same divine race as the Dark Lord. Huge respect for The Lord of the Nazgul.
To be fair though, Gandalf wasn't there to directly fight the war for the people of middle earth. He was there to guide and assist them. His power was limited by his purpose, such that even Galadriel and Elrond and the other Noldor Elf lords had more power than he did. So even if he wanted to, he couldn't have just squished the Witch King, and the Witch King knew it. The Valar would have severely punished him, the way they ended up doing to Saruman. That's why when Gandalf fought several of the riders on Weathertop, he didn't bring his full powers to bear and defeat them for good then and there, even though he easily could have even in his weakened "Grey" state. And why he didn't just turn the Witch King into a dark puddle on the walls of Minas Tirith during the siege.
@@michellewilt4479 from what I got, at least in the books, Gandalf believed that one of his final tasks in Middle Earth was to face the Witch King (I can't recall the passage at the moment) as well, Gandalf was not Man and that was the prophecy that the Witch King clung dearly to in his approach.
Khamul might have embraced darkness in life already rather than only once turning into the wraith. Perhaps he was a necromancer or dark wizard or just generally just so naturally evil pre-ring that the effect is multiplied. Great video as always.
Funny anecdote: in the original drafts of LOTR, Frodo was going to push Gollum with the Ring to his death in the Sammath Naur. Then, the entrance of the Chamber is blocked by the Witch King: either Frodo says he is the Ringmaster and commands him to jump in the fire, or Sa heroically appears and stabs the Witch-King from behind, slaying him. In the oldest version there was even a sketched duel between Sam and a surviving Ringwraith on a rock island floating over the magma. Outstanding 😃
The Nazgul, and the Witch-King especially, are immensely cool in my opinion. I think the following description by Gandalf summs it up: "King of Angmar long ago, sorcerer, ring-wraith, Lord of the Nazgul, spear of terror in the hands of Sauron, shadow of despair."
The Nazgûl are by far the most interesting villains in the series ..I’d love to see a tv series on how all of them fell and became slaves of Sauron ..or atleast the story of the witch king …that would a str8 gift to all of entertainment
I'll never forget seeing the second Fellowship of the Ring movie trailer and watching that awesome shot of the Nazgul riding out of Minas Morgul. I knew then that the movies were in good hands.
My theory on the identity of the Nazgûl: 1. Witch-King (Black Númenórean)-Prince Isilmo, kept youthful by his royal Númenórean blood and his own witchcraft and denied the throne by his family (including his son-the future king) 2. Khamûl-Easterling ruler of the far east, conqueror of Rhûn (descendent of the Easterlings who fought for Melkor and as a result, have been "veiled" in darkness ever since, hence, Khamûl's issues with daylight) 3. 8th Lord of Andúnië (Black Númenórean)-counselor to the King of Númenór and a sorcerer 4. Admiral Ciryatur (Black Númenórean)-tricked into wearing a ring after defeating Sauron in battle-Sauron's ultimate revenge 5. Dúnedain (descendent of Númenórean and Haradrim ancestry) Sorcerer of Umbar-conqueror of the south 6. Dúnedain (see above) General of Far Harad-enslaver of the Southrons 7. Haradrim General of Near Harad-enslaver of his own people through military force 8. Easterling Warrior of Northern Rhûn 9. Variag ruler of Khând-used as a messenger of the north (Khamûl's Lieutenant) The timeframe adds up (spanning from about 1700 SA-1900 SA,) the locations make sense (3 rings for Númenór, 3 for the east and 3 for the south-all major regions/cities accounted for) and their backgrounds make sense (aka previous occupations-sorcerers, warriors, kings, advisors, military leaders-all of which are in a position to corrupt and conquer.) Also, all of these characters are either vague (i.e. General of Umbar-no name/date,) have a rough date of their life (i.e. we know there was an 8th Lord of Andúnië and he likely took his position as Counselor around 1850 but the name and exact dates are unknown) or they have a relative "timestamp" of when they "checked in" but they never exactly "checked out" (i.e. we know Isilmo was born in the 1300's but his death is unrecorded/we know Ciryatur was Admiral of the Númenórean navy in 1700 but his death is unrecorded) which leaves their "demises" completely open/vacant. So, those are my thoughts. If you want to know how I came to these conclusions, I will tell you, but I am sure no one cares.
The brief rundown of how I discerned most of this was because, Tolkien, (like all great writers) likely wrote about what he knew. In other words, I deduced that he was talking about his own backyard (why wouldn't he?) and was able to pinpoint answers more easily after that realization. For instance: The Númenóreans are believed to be a superior race of men. Nazi Germany also believed that they were superior. If you think of it like that, Khamûl quickly becomes a high-ranking Japanese official (Easterlings-get it)? Obviously, it makes sense that there would be three from Númenór (which is confirmed), three from the East (one is confirmed), and three from the South, considering the known conquered world at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and it also gives Sauron a tactical advantage. He literally just has to conquer the Northwest region of Middle Earth (France, UK, US, etc.) to essentially rule the world. If you think of it regionally like that, you can pretty much figure out where the Nazgûl come from and if you consider their real life counterparts, you can essentially figure out their former occupation before being reduced to a Ringwraith. Sorcerer=propaganda creator or lower level politician (a sorcerer bends people to their will, do they not?) King=dictator, that's pretty self explanatory in context. Warrior=general or elite foot soldier. I also considered how the people of Middle Earth look. The Easterlings of Northern Rhûn are described as looking like what most people think when they think of Vikings. Have you ever heard of "The White Death"? He was an elite soldier if I ever heard of one (I bet Tolkien had heard of him), and he's Scandinavian (Viking). From there, I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions as to who everyone is and translate the dot connection to real characters in Tolkien's works. None of this is at all confirmed, of course, except the three Númenóreans-keep in mind, Tolkien says that no king of Númenór became a Nazgûl, so that eliminates fan favorite, Tar-Ciryatan, but NOT Prince Isilmo who was never given the throne for reasons unknown OR any advisors to Ciryatan (Lord of Andúnië), etc., Khamûl and the former occupations of everyone (kings, sorcerers and warriors), as all of this is addressed by Tolkien himself. It's what I would have done in Tolkien's position. Maybe it makes sense, maybe not, but it's my theory... - "Deep Thoughts," by Jack Handy I also have theories about Gothmog, The Mouth of Sauron, etc.
Concerning their items, robes and form after they loose it: I don’t think it is barely an inconvenience when they lost their „clothes“ from Elronds water spell. Elrond did more than disrobe them and Sauron did more than giving them robes, weapons and wearable items. Sauron GAVE them the form of black riders, a far more powerful spell than just making specific single items like clothing, wearables and mounts. He gave them a mortal form, bound their spirits to it and allowed those disbodied entities to touch the mortal world in the first place. This form is destroyed by Elrond, they cannot simply take up other items after that.
Sauron didn’t die at the end of return of the king, he was forever diminished. He is a Maia, he cannot die he could be made into a spirit of hatred that can no longer take physical form or influence the world around him.
@@colinandrew89 Because he no longer has the ability to take physical form and influence the world around him. Imagine living in a world where you can’t interact with anyone no matter what you do. And to top it off, he wanted to take over middle earth. Now, he can’t do anything other than just watch as everything he built up till the point of his defeat just crumble away and there is nothing he can do about it
I love the contrast between the Fellowship and the Nazgul. The Fellowship is a voluntary group, fighting the Ring and Sauron by choice, while the Nazgul are enslaved by it's influence. The Nazgul remind me that you always have a choice to do the right thing.
Some powers of the Witch-king: - Silence: "By Elbereth and Lúthien the Fair,’ said Frodo with a lasteffort, lifting up his sword, ‘you shall have neither the Ring nor me!’ Then the leader, who was now half across the Ford, stood up menacing in his stirrups, and raised up his hand. Frodo was stricken dumb. He felt his tongue cleave to his mouth, and his heart labouring. His sword broke and fell out of his shaking hand." Here we already have the use of a spell rarely remembered in the book: in addition to having given a "silence" lv 2, it still made Frodo lose consciousness. For those who play D&D 5e, we can make a list of some of the Witch King's abilities: A) Black breath: "He seemed to be asleep. ‘‘I thought I had fallen into deep water,’’ he says to me, when I shook him. Very queer he was, and as soon as I had roused him, he got up and ran back here like a hare.’ ‘I am afraid that’s true,’ said Merry, ‘though I don’t know what I said. I had an ugly dream, which I can’t remember. I went to pieces. I don’t know what came over me.’ ‘I do,’ said Strider. ‘The Black Breath" B) An aura of Inexplicable Terror to the point of driving the armies of Gondor and generating a fighting frenzy for the allied forces: "Some said that it could be seen, like a great black horseman, a dark shadow under the moon. Wherever he came a madness filled our foes, but fear fell on our boldest, so that horse and man gave way and fled." C) Control of the weather to the point of generating a windstorm and a blizzard: "Do not mount on this sea-monster! If they have them, let the seamen bring us food and other things that we need, and you may stay here till the Witch-king goes home. For in summer his power wanes; but now his breath is deadly, and his cold arm is long." (...) "But Arvedui did not take his counsel. He thanked him, and at parting gave him his ring [the Ring of Barahir], saying: 'This is a ring of worth beyond your reckoning. For its ancientry alone. It has no power, save the esteem in which those hold it who love my house. It will not help you, but if ever you are in need, my kin will ransom it with great store of all that you desire." And a lightning storm in Minas Morgul: "And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds." D) A certain ability of necromancy to imprison evil spirits for the creation of Barrow Wight. E) Control over fire - to trigger an explosion spell on Grond: "Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud in a dreadful voice, speaking in some forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone. Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if stricken by some blasting spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground. " And create a flame-sword (Azor Ahai): "Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade." There is a writing by Tolkien that speaks (in letter 210) of the "Demonics force" that anabolized the witch king, to the point of making him an active weapon in addition to the innate fear he generated in opponents, so much so that he managed to approach a region "on fire" (fire being a weapon against the Nazgûl) in the siege of Minas Tirith.
Silence can stop all spells that it is necesary to use the voice to cast them, i don't know that it works with elves or other races, but it works with all humans.
9:30 "Then the black captain rose his stirrups and CRIED ALOUD IN A DREADFUL VOICE" MAAAAN how hasn't this made it into the movies when their "loud cries" were almost normal if they appeared. This would've given him A LOT more power in that whole fight/siege/war and for me personally he would instantly jump to the most frightening enemy in that war. Just imagine this dark and weird voice crumbling through gondor, everyone's reaction and while all that happens, the Grond just destroys the door. Woulda been a legendary scene right here
Perhaps Khamul is the one who first received his ring of power and the last who turned into a wraith. In the meantime, just like Gollum, he began to hate both sunlight and moonlight, that's why it affects him the most.
In a sci-fi timeline I've been working on, there's reference to an operatic duology written in the twenty-eighth century (titles translate into Classical English as "Khamûl [the] Liberator" and "Khamûl [the] Tyrant") where Sauron gives Khamûl a Ring of Power to corrupt the fight to liberate Khamûl's people from oppression, and Khamûl becomes worse than the old tyrant even while he still has moral agency.
I like the idea that the Nine were a mix of kings, great warriors, and sorcerers. While not canon, I do love the story from Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor / War, as only at the end do we realise Talion's entire arc has been a backstory for one of the Nazgul. I wasn't too keen on some of the ones they added, like Isildur, even though it added to the drama. At least they didn't do all of them, and left the Witch King alone! You have to wonder if the others found "freedom" the way he did when the Ring was destroyed. Maybe, maybe not. In Talion's case, his succumbing to become a Wraith was a self-sacrifice to protect the rest of Middle Earth from Sauron, rather than an act of greed or lust for power. As far as the books go, I think keeping historical details of the Nine as vague or nonexistent as possible adds to the mystique. Part of what makes the Witch King so sinister is we know literally nothing about him or who he was in life. I detest that modern storytelling insists on giving every single character a detailed backstory, leaving nothing for fans to speculate or draw their own conclusions.
The Shadows games implies that the Nazgul is a club you can be forced to join after death not via ownership of a ring. It also implies that the 9 were never fully around for thousands of years. Helm yes could be one but that betrays him so much. Isildur no. I do not see Gil-Galad or Elrond not noticing the effects. Enjoy the games arc but they should not be considered as anything but fascination of the developers.
I liked the games. I liked that Talion became a Nazgul I thought that was a cool twist like you said that after all this time it was the back story of one for the Nazgul. I'm a casual Tolkien fan so I took no issue with Isildur becoming a Nazgul, since wearing the ring of power freshly cut from Sauron's hand would definitely have some effect on him. What wasn't examined was the number of Nazgul, at least not that I can recall. There were 9 originally, then was Isildur a 10th? Or did he take someone's place? I do like the idea that most are ancient, long forgotten warriors or kings because it adds a larger scope.
I really love the amount of questions and unknown things of the world of Tolkien there are. It really adds a lot of mystery that really just makes it feel more like real history. Tolkien is Definitely the best world creator out
I like the idea that Kamuel was a threat to Sauron thus he received a 'gift' that he resisted the influence, or wore his ring less often. ("And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength, and to the good or evil in their wills in the beginning...") That being in sunlight reminded him of his lost mortality and humanity.
It seems rather unpractical to have to go all the way back to Mordor just for a robe. If it gets torn on a nail or the root of a tree, if you come too close to a candle. It seems like in practice, they'd be doing nothing but go back and forth, and I think Sauron had better things to do than to dress them every morning.
The scream is also described in the Fellowship when the Hobbits are between the clearing with Gildor and Farmer Maggott's fields. one close by and one farther away
In regards to why Khamûl was weakest in the sunlight, I have a theory. Maybe he was a truly evil yet powerful leader in his time. A bandit-king or something along those lines. Since he would already be evil, and would likely favor shady tactics (night raids and ambushes for example), acting during the day would have been a disadvantage for him even before he got the ring. So naturally after becoming a ringwraith, not only is his strengths enhanced, but so are his weaknesses. If I had to give an example of someone I am thinking of, he would be most like Black Dow from the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Just a truly heartless and despicable character.
Notice that the Nine Rings had the same lesser powers of the One Ring, with which they could “walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men”, but always totally under the control of The One (“but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron”) Notice that Tolkien is talking about the Nine when they had just recently got their Rings, and they were still alive, before they were totally gone to the Unseen World, and became wraiths
Good video. I like some of the info found in Lords of Middle-Earth (LOME) Volume 2 as it details the Nazgul for the original MERP RPG from Iron Crown Enterprises. One is supposedly a female even. The Angmar supplement is great too describing the Witch King's realm / fortress etc.
There are strong suggestions that at least three of the most fear-inspiring of the Nine had originally been Black Numenoreans (those from Numenor-such as the so-called “King’s Men,”-who, unlike the “Faithful,” turned against the Valar, and worshipped Melkor), who lived in the Numenorean colonies in Harad.
I'm always so intrigued when I hear about who the king's were after they received their ring but before they became the nazgul. The part where it says that some of them were great king's and sorcerers really hypes me. I want to know about the sorcerer king's. Like what powers did they have. Did they possess a staff, could they cast spells, did they make potions. I just want to know more about those particular ones that the book says we're sorcerers. Anyone else feel that way?
I think the nazgul use of fear is actually a good example to use when explaining magic in Tolkien's universe. So much about his system of magic is related to will power. Gandalf stops Durin's Bane from crossing the bridge via a declaration of will ("you cannot pass!") followed by identifying himself as a being of great will equal to that of the balrog Similarly one of the main things the rings of power actually do is increase the power of your will. Sam just holding the one ring made him appear larger and more intimidating to the orc in Cirith Ungol, and the rings of Galadriel and Elrond allow them to stave off the diminishing of the elven realms, they are able to will Rivendell and Lorien to remain unchanged. Barad-dûr is described as having a design that should be impossible, it shouldn't be able to hold itself up and is only able to because it's held together by Sauron's will And the rings of power are quite explicitly said to only be able to be wielded by beings of immense will power, which is why Sauron is uniquely afraid of the possibility that Aragorn has the ring. In the same way the nazgul are intimidated by his lack of fear, the power they hold is to overcome the wills of their opponents by making them fall into fear and despair Thus a strong willed individual who doesn't allow themself to succumb to fear and despair is in a literal sense powerful magically
A theory about Khamul and daylight it may be the fact that at his origins, Khamul is an easterling and with the men in the east being the first to witness the dawn, so Khamul is the first to suffer the weakness of the daylight
The darkness they bring with them and the strength it gives to other dark beings can't be ignored. Although I believe fear may be their most powerful weapon. It's a lot easier to kill a man, elf, hobbit or whatever when they are paralyzed by fear.
I think that their greatest power was fearless reputaion, or like you said fear that they bring to the peoples of Midlleearth. Great and interesting video... Guys when is the live stream, and what happend to Tabletop Alliance...its been a few weeks since last video?
Yet another awesome videos guys!! absolutely love your show! Maybe some more ‘what if’ ones soon? what if Gollum weren’t there to bite frodo’s finger off. or maybe what if Rohan never answered Gondors call. big love guys!
Great video. I think that all nazgul can done their famous scream, because it is reported in the passage of the Silmarillion, but this scream is less powerful than the Witch king's scream. For the rescue of Frodo, we have the combination of cunning and power of Gandalf, Aragarn, Glorfindel and Elrond, so nazgul are very powerful. For me here we have the proof that Witch king is most powreful than Tom Bombadil, Witch King can affect the weather, when Tom Bobadil adimts that he can't do this, his immunity to the one ring means nothing for me, he said that he isn't the master of the nazgul, so he can't do nothing against Nazgul.
It depends how you define power. I'd say the witch king had none, as he was a) a slave to Sauron and b) could be destroyed by a magic knife wielded by a hobbit. But it's a matter of perspective. He was able to cause a lot of destruction, so if you define power that way, then he had quite a bit. Temporarily.
@@Cat_Woods that the power of witch king depends from Sauron's power it isn't in doubt, Sauron is my favourite antagonist and i think that he is one of most powerful maiar with eonwe, arien, melian and osse. The magical knife is forged by Arnor that has its knowledge from Numenor and Numenor has the knowledge from elves of Valinor, so it is a very powerful artifact and the hobbit attacks from behind and the blade weaken the witch King, not destroyed him.
@@oscurosignore8026 The book says the blade unmade his sinews. Doesn't seem that anything else could have done that. All told, without the knife, he wouldn't have been destroyed.
@@Cat_Woods yes it damaged his sinews, but it doesn't destroy the witch King, with that blow Marry broken the spell that give the regeneretion of wraith's sinews and expose the nazgul to the next mortal blow of Eowyn. This thing is writen after a few pages.
@@balashibuyeeter2704 Like when Sauron 'ring' died, they became farts in the wind. Before Sauron the were dying men, after getting his power from the rings they become almost indestructable wraiths. When the ring melted they *poosh*
@@balashibuyeeter2704 Exactly, but the only thing that bind Sauron to the world is The Ring, he is the ring. Without the ring, the thing they are bound to, they are nothing. No Sauron=No Nazgul
Men after their death leave the world and go to the Halls. When Saurons part that is bound to earth is destroyed, Nazgul are no longed bound to the world. No Sauron, no Nazgul.
I'm pretty sure i read in the fellowship or two towers that the Nazgul stole black horses from the Rohirrim and drove them to terror but were able to ride them
darkness was used as a weapon by morgoth and sauron (like givin orcish armies strength and inflicting fear on people). we know the rings draw strength from the wearers ambitions, enabling them to fulfil their ambitions but enhancing its control over the wearer by doing so. my theory is that Khamul was the one most fearful of Sauron and fervently against him. His will to fight Sauron is what gave the ring power and control, the darkness would be his weakness if the light against Sauron is what he sought for power..
Nazguls are truly terrifying when seen from the hobbits perspective but Ive always wondered why/how Strider beats them so easily 1 vs 5. They dont seem so scary or powerful after that.
It was a combination of events. They were still shaken from their earlier fight with Gandalf so they were already on edge. Frodo called the name "Elbereth" which stunned them with fear for the name since that is the Elven name of Varda which all Evil hates the most. Frodo nearly killed the Witch-King with the Númenórean blade he was wielding which freaked out the WK even more. Finally, Aragorn jumps in with his Fire torch. Aragorn is superhuman in capabilities + catching them off-Guard + Fire and Light is an extremely hard counter for the Nazgûl, their senses are completely screwed up when it's used against them. With all that the Nazgûl believed they were facing something similar to Gandalf so they backed off, if they stuck it out they probably would have succeeded in capturing the Ring is my belief.
At one point I had a dream that I was fighting in a battle between Gondor and Mordor in a place i didn't recognise (come to think of it, it might have been the Black Gate) after the fight was over I found myself alone, but then out of nowhere came a feeling of dread and so I hid myself from whatever it was, moments later three dark figures appeared, and they spoke with a hollow voice, I knew it was the Nazgul. Then I saw another figure approach one of the Nazgul but this was a living man who I guessed to be the Mouth of Sauron and he spoke with the Ringwraith, probably of what Sauron plans to do next. That feeling of fear is everything I imagined the Nazgul being, now Im thankful that they never found me in the dream otherwise it would have become a nightmare.
Is it possible that some of them might have retained a glimmer of an original goodness that is grieved at what they are forced to do? That, to me, would truly be a hell and punishment.
Like a few others in the chat, I had no idea the 9 no longer had their rings. Could they have potentially been more powerful if they had them on? Thanks for a great video!
Sauron used their rings to control them. There was a risk that, if worn they might lose them. After all, they lost their horses and gear when they got wrecked by Elrond's flood. I presume in such a circumstance, their rings would be swept away. If someone else found them, perhaps they could control the Nazgul?
@@legionarybooks13 That's an interesting thought. I always assumed someone would need the One Ring to control the Wraiths, but Sauron doesn't have it in the Third Age and they are still slaves to his will. So I guess it was their rings that he used against them?
@@oscurosignore8026, correct. I was just speculating as to why that was and if he feared risking losing control over them, especially since he was not in possession of the One Ring.
Only because the witch king has more on screen time that adds to the character. Based on just appearance Sauron has a better design than just shredded sheets with a crown. Without the crown the witch king is simply a generic bad guy. Thus his on screen development adds to the overall design
My guess is as to why Kamul is most affected by the sun probably has to do with his being an "Easterling", from the land which first sees the sun every single day, and at a relatively equatorial latitude at that. On top of that, maybe the 2 blue wizards, who also went east long before the other 3 Istari arrived in Middle-Earth, perhaps they had done something to "curse" Khamul to be affected by sunlight as their Maiar magic would be at least as powerful as anything a Nazgul possessed.
It is known that Khamûl is an Easterling, hence, "Khamûl, the Black Easterling" (he was likely a direct descendent of the first men of Hildórien) and in the first age, Easterlings were used by Melkor (Morgoth...whatever) as assault troops. It is suggested that Melkor brought darkness with him everywhere he went. As such, the Easterlings of the far side of Middle Earth (the far east, shall we say?) were probably veiled in said darkness for years...probably A LOT of years...call it a curse. Personally, it always made more sense to me that Khamûl was hampered not from his own personal issues but by something more. Regionally (geographically) speaking, this all just makes sense. So...to put it bluntly, Khamûl has probably lived in darkness for his entire life and likely has no pigmentation to his skin (an albino) and eyes, making him blind and weaker in the daylight...but hey, what do I know?
What-if video idea for you to do: What if Gandalf never fell at the Bridge of Khazad-dum and continued with the fellowship to Lothlorien and on forward?
I think Sauron could only be the one that makes the weapons or cloaks and would have planned for the issue of having to go all the way back to Mordor Before being useful so like the rangers had stashes all around the same would be true for the nazgul
Khamul was the most evil at heart, if not the most powerful. He had great sense of smell and hearing and was always sensitive to sunlight. More so than the other Nazgul. These two major features of his nature we amplified and made him fear and avoid the light. Their main power is not fear, they have real magic, dark magic, and weapons that give the fear they project a reality all it’s own. They are capable of rendering you immobile, and because they all have Morgul blades, this ability alone is fatal to their enemies. Lastly, they have to go back to Sauron or one of their bases of operation, not so much for clothes (but yes that too, regular because crousting around for clothes is forbidden by Sauron), they have to be re-equipped with enchanted weapons, horses, etc. This means a trip back to the boss….and a report to him. Good video. Check out my coming series on the powers of the Nazgul explained…the final word. Lore-Master.com The LoreMaster has spoken. ~LMHS
Riders at the ford… Riders at the ford… Where’s the shire? We don’t know. For Sauron we must go Find the halfing at bag end, And take the ring from him, Riders at the ford
For me, the power of the Nazgul that is the greatest is fear, but "fear" with certain characteristics. "Fear" can mean more than one thing. It can mean a particular feeling, just the FEELING of fear does not always stop someone. Robert Heinlein tells a story of an early 20th century tuberculosis hospital, where he was being treated, where one procedure was to inject air into the chest cavity on one side, to collapse the lung on that side, to give some of the lesions inside that lung a chance to heal. Trouble was sometimes the treatment killed the patient instantly. One day the first patient died on the table. The second bravely climbed onto the table, and then HE died. The third one unhesitatingly climbed onto the table and HE died. But all the rest--there were quite a few--tolerated the treatment just fine. The punchline is that the treatment did not kill the third patient who died on the table. He died of fear. Now that's courage. "Fear" can also refer to not just a feeling but a loss of morale, as The Broken Sword mentions. Note we can be "afraid of" something, meaning we feel the emotion of fear about it, or "afraid of" it, when we find ourselves unwilling to approach or perform the source of fear. When Tolkien speaks of what is in someone's "heart", he means not only their feelings but their MOTIVES; in other words, the will. To me, the power of the Nazgul is fear in THIS sense; that they can not only create a FEELING of fear but can crush your WILL; you can be made unwilling to oppose them. Remember that Merry was so horrified that he was blind and sick, and while he desperately felt he had to stand by Theoden, his will at first did not answer. But when he beheld Eowyn in her desperate courage, his own courage was awakened. To my mind, it wsa not only the courage that allowed the tuberculosis patient to set an example for the others even though he died of fear, but it was enough "courage" to give him the will to act, in spite of the terrible power of the Witch King. Winston Churchill, writing of the Battle of Omdurman, said that at one point as the islamist (some things never change) fanatics were advancing on their position, some Arab allies of the British and Egyptians holding part of the line began to fall back against orders. The commander ordered a force of reserves in behind them to shoot them if they deserted. They returned to their places and continued the fight because, as Churchill put it, their morale had been "restored". Of course the "fear" power of the Nazgul included the EMOTION of fear, in spades, but also, to me, directly attacks your willingness to oppose them. It quite literally "dis-courages" you.
For some reason this rocked up in my list 2 hours later? I've been online and checking my sub feed as I was bored and your video wasn't even here. But says it's been up for 2 hours? That is strange 🤣
Answer to Question: I believe the poem of the One Ring contains the clue. Nine rings for mortal men. While the Elves are Kingly in the poem, the mortal men doomed to die are prone to folley. I believe they rose to greater power over several stations, and were subverted at the height of said power. (Using the Rings) The opening quote from you started with talks about how they could no longer enjoy life. So it makes sense that they obtained the power and comfort they wanted, only to not be able to enjoy it. Sauron would revel in snatching them at the cusp of their individual victories.
Here’s a theory that I’d like to hear other people’s tale on: so the Nazgûl are in the wraith world, but anything in the wraith world can have an effect on the normal world. In the case of the Nazgûl that effect is that anything that passes through their form is destroyed. The main example of this is weapons, but it would also apply to clothing they tried to put on. Somehow Sauron managed to create a material, whether through enchantment or through mining, that has the some sort of presence in the wraith world to prevent it from passing through the wraiths’s bodies and being destroyed
my theory about Khamûl is actually quite simple: As far as i know he used to be a king in the east. Maybe Rhûn or somewhere around that area. I'd like to think that Rhûn and the east in general somewhat resembles a desert or something like that. at least an area where the sun shines down pretty hard. wouldn't it be somewhat ironic for him being the Nazgul most vulnerable to the sun?
I always figured that he was a descendent of the Easterlings who served Melkor and who were therefore plagued to live in darkness like vampires, which makes him less powerful in daylight (physically and visually) but I don't know.
they probably need to return to their source to be re-armed/clothed b/c if not, what is to stop them from just going around while invisible to everything and killing at will? and what would be scarier: a black rider or a black rider on fire running at you burning everything in between if they had that option?
I think Tolkien definitely would have the 9 able to pick up random equipment if in need!!! I also understood their "re-dressing" after the flood of Rivendell to involve a reforming of shape/spirit, something slightly deeper than raiment. (Maybe pride compelled them not to grab a dress drying on the line. In seriousness, they were of large stature, too. They would most likely not find anything adequate out and about in the wilderness. It also seems that the menacing raiment bolstered their projection of terror - either by lifting them into a more evil mood 😀, or allowing them to feed off the fear of those who see them all suited up. Just brain-storming here.) I believe Tolkien might have some writing on how the power of the one ring worked, and that might inform us somewhat here concerning the 9. I haven't read Tolkien material for several years...
I feel the great Kings of old were heroic, but the rings granted great success opportunities and victories. The rings slowly turned them like King Saul unable to rest full of dread and anxiety, always looking to whom would it be hate, would take all they had acquired and unending fear of the loose of the ring. The loves of their wives and children were shelved to a forgotten place again dooming them, not even the loyalty of the bravest warriors could they trust for the voice of the ring never granted peace nor rest. They the great Kings were truly doomed to have the power, but never to know the blessing of death. Death they could give, yet Sauoron would only dangle death to them, delighting great at their greed to be powerful. Thus the delusion was the truth they rode to the more, even onto it's insanity and pain. Love to the wraith was now the light that caused them pain, for its memories were fire that burned them with self hate of the true loves that were. .
I see a sorcerer with the power to heal made a king by people who view that as the sign of kingship--that power is then co-opted by Sauron and spread to the other Nine to give them self-sustaining power.
Personally, I think the reason Kamuel was weaker in daylight has to do with him being an Easterling; given they were already men of darkness, it would make sense they'd gain more strength from the night but in turn be far weaker in daylight. (Yes, I know, "men of darkness" is really just a figure of speech, but I can see them being stronger were evil thrives: the dark). Then again, some have theorized that the Nine had each they're own unique powers like the Three, which could explain the abnormality.
I hope Rings of Power gaves us the backstory of the Nine. I did a list long time ago (fanfic): Ar-Pharazôn (Númenor) Khamûl (Rhun) Ar-Wazon (Númenor) Herumor (Umbar) Fuinur (Umbar) Halnur (Harad) Lontos (Dunlending) Varos (Khand) Neder (Wainrider)
I think their relentlesness is their main strenght during the lord of the rings. They tirelessly seek the ring and it would only be a question of time until they succeeded had frodo not destroyed the ring. Even if they were defeated a hundred times they would continue their mission
Khamul is it easterling those lands were conquered long before the West was that's why he has such a weakness to sunlight because he spent the majority of his time in darkness
📚Can you do a tier list video of the 10 or so most powerful characters in Middle Earth? Excluding the Valar. And maybe explain their powers and abilities please?
I imagined an apprentice, or a jealous attempted usurper, of one of the Blue Mages, made their way to become corrupted by a similar desire for power. If you'd seen a corruptible Gandalf be worshipped like a demigod, and thought you could be even greater, might you not?
1. Not being able to swim 2. Being afraid of and weak against fire for no apparent reason 3. Being easily fooled and misdirected by childish pranks 4. Ohh wait you said powers..Ummm...
To me, there is a lot of similarity between the RingWraiths and the Dememtors in the Harry Potter and while the dementors didn't wield physical weapons, Like the Nagul, their greatest weapon was fear and sucking the very fight out of you. With that, I now leave you a question. I remember it being said that the 9 were given to kings or rulers but not sure if that was in the book or the movies, however, it stated that the rings corrupted them and made them hunger for power. The master ring seemed to have the same effect on those who bore it. Pretty sure you covered this at some point but the only one I remember having one of the 3 rings that were given to Elven lords ,was Galadriel, I assume Elrond had one. How did those rings not corrupt them? I remember when Frodo offered her the one but while tempted, she declined. Oh, now that I think about it, Frodo offered it to Gandalf as well. Perhaps like the hobbits, the elves nature was so pure the rings had no ill effect?
I've always believed they were mostly kings of numenor read several of Tolkien's novels but the designers of PS4 shadows of war had a great spin on the lore with isuldir and family being nazgul don't hate me for liking the gaming lore it's just a way to keep enjoying Tolkien's world we live in
Late to the game, but I don’t picture them as kings, but as someone in the kings court. I picture that they fed information to Sauron and sewed bedlam secretly in the court. For information and corruption Sauron rewarded them with the rings. I don’t think it was mentioned that they themselves were kings, but it seems Sauron picked them for their influence and the influence he could have upon them. Having them have ulterior motives and be traitors to their king seems on par with Sauron.
Not sure if he could create more, as I each ring was tied to a specific Nazgul. I mentioned in another thread that Sauron used the rings to control them. There was a risk that, if worn they might lose them. After all, they lost their horses and gear when they got wrecked by Elrond's flood. If their rings were lost and someone else found them, perhaps they could control the Nazgul?
@@legionarybooks13 also the 9 rings of nazguls were destructible. So if someone took a Nazgul’s ring and destroyed it then that nazgul would die permanently.
Can you make a video about the balrogs? Was the one defeated by Gandalf the last one?? I seem to have heard that there were many, but they fled to the deep places of the world. I have always been worried that once all the elves and wizards have left Middle Earth, Aragorn would have to fight them himself, but Gandalf said it's a foe beyond any of them. With the elves gone, the days of Men start. But if there's still balrogs around, that's a problem. Same for dragons. Was Smaug the last one? Same for spiders. Was Shelob the last one? She was only hurt, not killed, by Sam.
I already joked with my friends how the Witch King had bigger balls than Sauron and even Morgoth. The dude was so confident when he challenged Gandalf, even though Gandalf would've mopped the floor with all the Nine combined. To have the balls to challenge a guy who is the same divine race as the Dark Lord. Huge respect for The Lord of the Nazgul.
Yeah, he was definitely feeling his oats. In his defense, he was just there to open a door and gloat.
To be fair though, Gandalf wasn't there to directly fight the war for the people of middle earth. He was there to guide and assist them. His power was limited by his purpose, such that even Galadriel and Elrond and the other Noldor Elf lords had more power than he did. So even if he wanted to, he couldn't have just squished the Witch King, and the Witch King knew it. The Valar would have severely punished him, the way they ended up doing to Saruman. That's why when Gandalf fought several of the riders on Weathertop, he didn't bring his full powers to bear and defeat them for good then and there, even though he easily could have even in his weakened "Grey" state. And why he didn't just turn the Witch King into a dark puddle on the walls of Minas Tirith during the siege.
Lol
@@michellewilt4479 exactly.
@@michellewilt4479 from what I got, at least in the books, Gandalf believed that one of his final tasks in Middle Earth was to face the Witch King (I can't recall the passage at the moment) as well, Gandalf was not Man and that was the prophecy that the Witch King clung dearly to in his approach.
Khamul might have embraced darkness in life already rather than only once turning into the wraith. Perhaps he was a necromancer or dark wizard or just generally just so naturally evil pre-ring that the effect is multiplied.
Great video as always.
Funny anecdote: in the original drafts of LOTR, Frodo was going to push Gollum with the Ring to his death in the Sammath Naur. Then, the entrance of the Chamber is blocked by the Witch King: either Frodo says he is the Ringmaster and commands him to jump in the fire, or Sa heroically appears and stabs the Witch-King from behind, slaying him. In the oldest version there was even a sketched duel between Sam and a surviving Ringwraith on a rock island floating over the magma. Outstanding 😃
If the seven dwarf kings turned into Nazgul, they probably would be small, and that makes me happy
The Nazgul, and the Witch-King especially, are immensely cool in my opinion. I think the following description by Gandalf summs it up: "King of Angmar long ago, sorcerer, ring-wraith, Lord of the Nazgul, spear of terror in the hands of Sauron, shadow of despair."
The Nazgûl are by far the most interesting villains in the series ..I’d love to see a tv series on how all of them fell and became slaves of Sauron ..or atleast the story of the witch king …that would a str8 gift to all of entertainment
I'll never forget seeing the second Fellowship of the Ring movie trailer and watching that awesome shot of the Nazgul riding out of Minas Morgul. I knew then that the movies were in good hands.
My theory on the identity of the Nazgûl:
1. Witch-King (Black Númenórean)-Prince Isilmo, kept youthful by his royal Númenórean blood and his own witchcraft and denied the throne by his family (including his son-the future king)
2. Khamûl-Easterling ruler of the far east, conqueror of Rhûn (descendent of the Easterlings who fought for Melkor and as a result, have been "veiled" in darkness ever since, hence, Khamûl's issues with daylight)
3. 8th Lord of Andúnië (Black Númenórean)-counselor to the King of Númenór and a sorcerer
4. Admiral Ciryatur (Black Númenórean)-tricked into wearing a ring after defeating Sauron in battle-Sauron's ultimate revenge
5. Dúnedain (descendent of Númenórean and Haradrim ancestry) Sorcerer of Umbar-conqueror of the south
6. Dúnedain (see above) General of Far Harad-enslaver of the Southrons
7. Haradrim General of Near Harad-enslaver of his own people through military force
8. Easterling Warrior of Northern Rhûn
9. Variag ruler of Khând-used as a messenger of the north (Khamûl's Lieutenant)
The timeframe adds up (spanning from about 1700 SA-1900 SA,) the locations make sense (3 rings for Númenór, 3 for the east and 3 for the south-all major regions/cities accounted for) and their backgrounds make sense (aka previous occupations-sorcerers, warriors, kings, advisors, military leaders-all of which are in a position to corrupt and conquer.)
Also, all of these characters are either vague (i.e. General of Umbar-no name/date,) have a rough date of their life (i.e. we know there was an 8th Lord of Andúnië and he likely took his position as Counselor around 1850 but the name and exact dates are unknown) or they have a relative "timestamp" of when they "checked in" but they never exactly "checked out" (i.e. we know Isilmo was born in the 1300's but his death is unrecorded/we know Ciryatur was Admiral of the Númenórean navy in 1700 but his death is unrecorded) which leaves their "demises" completely open/vacant. So, those are my thoughts. If you want to know how I came to these conclusions, I will tell you, but I am sure no one cares.
The brief rundown of how I discerned most of this was because, Tolkien, (like all great writers) likely wrote about what he knew. In other words, I deduced that he was talking about his own backyard (why wouldn't he?) and was able to pinpoint answers more easily after that realization.
For instance:
The Númenóreans are believed to be a superior race of men. Nazi Germany also believed that they were superior. If you think of it like that, Khamûl quickly becomes a high-ranking Japanese official (Easterlings-get it)?
Obviously, it makes sense that there would be three from Númenór (which is confirmed), three from the East (one is confirmed), and three from the South, considering the known conquered world at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and it also gives Sauron a tactical advantage. He literally just has to conquer the Northwest region of Middle Earth (France, UK, US, etc.) to essentially rule the world. If you think of it regionally like that, you can pretty much figure out where the Nazgûl come from and if you consider their real life counterparts, you can essentially figure out their former occupation before being reduced to a Ringwraith.
Sorcerer=propaganda creator or lower level politician (a sorcerer bends people to their will, do they not?) King=dictator, that's pretty self explanatory in context. Warrior=general or elite foot soldier. I also considered how the people of Middle Earth look. The Easterlings of Northern Rhûn are described as looking like what most people think when they think of Vikings. Have you ever heard of "The White Death"? He was an elite soldier if I ever heard of one (I bet Tolkien had heard of him), and he's Scandinavian (Viking).
From there, I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions as to who everyone is and translate the dot connection to real characters in Tolkien's works. None of this is at all confirmed, of course, except the three Númenóreans-keep in mind, Tolkien says that no king of Númenór became a Nazgûl, so that eliminates fan favorite, Tar-Ciryatan, but NOT Prince Isilmo who was never given the throne for reasons unknown OR any advisors to Ciryatan (Lord of Andúnië), etc., Khamûl and the former occupations of everyone (kings, sorcerers and warriors), as all of this is addressed by Tolkien himself. It's what I would have done in Tolkien's position. Maybe it makes sense, maybe not, but it's my theory...
- "Deep Thoughts," by Jack Handy
I also have theories about Gothmog, The Mouth of Sauron, etc.
from where did you get this info?
Concerning their items, robes and form after they loose it: I don’t think it is barely an inconvenience when they lost their „clothes“ from Elronds water spell. Elrond did more than disrobe them and Sauron did more than giving them robes, weapons and wearable items. Sauron GAVE them the form of black riders, a far more powerful spell than just making specific single items like clothing, wearables and mounts. He gave them a mortal form, bound their spirits to it and allowed those disbodied entities to touch the mortal world in the first place. This form is destroyed by Elrond, they cannot simply take up other items after that.
Sauron didn’t die at the end of return of the king, he was forever diminished. He is a Maia, he cannot die he could be made into a spirit of hatred that can no longer take physical form or influence the world around him.
Such a fate was worse than if his spirit had been completely annihilated.
He is either held forever in the Halls of Mandos or in the Void
Eru could unmake him, *IF* Eru did that sort of thing (which, of course, he doesn’t).
@@legionarybooks13 y
@@colinandrew89 Because he no longer has the ability to take physical form and influence the world around him. Imagine living in a world where you can’t interact with anyone no matter what you do. And to top it off, he wanted to take over middle earth. Now, he can’t do anything other than just watch as everything he built up till the point of his defeat just crumble away and there is nothing he can do about it
fear is their main weapon loved the vid James looking forward as always to the next
Thank you!
I think the Nazgul are just so interesting and badass.
They are awesome!
I love the contrast between the Fellowship and the Nazgul.
The Fellowship is a voluntary group, fighting the Ring and Sauron by choice, while the Nazgul are enslaved by it's influence. The Nazgul remind me that you always have a choice to do the right thing.
Excellent work Mellon! I trust you's guys analysis over all. KEEP IT UP!
"ELENDIL! ELENDIL! FOR THE WEST!!"
Thank you Mellon!
Some powers of the Witch-king:
- Silence:
"By Elbereth and Lúthien the Fair,’ said Frodo with a lasteffort, lifting up his sword, ‘you shall have neither the Ring nor me!’ Then the leader, who was now half across the Ford, stood up menacing in his stirrups, and raised up his hand. Frodo was stricken dumb. He felt his tongue cleave to his mouth, and his heart labouring. His sword broke and fell out of his shaking hand."
Here we already have the use of a spell rarely remembered in the book: in addition to having given a "silence" lv 2, it still made Frodo lose consciousness.
For those who play D&D 5e, we can make a list of some of the Witch King's abilities:
A) Black breath:
"He seemed to be asleep. ‘‘I thought I had fallen into deep water,’’ he says to me, when I shook him. Very queer he was, and as soon as I had roused him, he got up and ran back here like a hare.’ ‘I am afraid that’s true,’ said Merry, ‘though I don’t know what I said. I had an ugly dream, which I can’t remember. I went to pieces. I don’t know what came over me.’ ‘I do,’ said Strider. ‘The Black Breath"
B) An aura of Inexplicable Terror to the point of driving the armies of Gondor and generating a fighting frenzy for the allied forces:
"Some said that it could be seen, like a great black horseman, a dark shadow under the moon. Wherever he came a madness filled our foes, but fear fell on our boldest, so that horse and man gave way and fled."
C) Control of the weather to the point of generating a windstorm and a blizzard:
"Do not mount on this sea-monster! If they have them, let the seamen bring us food and other things that we need, and you may stay here till the Witch-king goes home. For in summer his power wanes; but now his breath is deadly, and his cold arm is long."
(...)
"But Arvedui did not take his counsel. He thanked him, and at parting gave him his ring [the Ring of Barahir], saying: 'This is a ring of worth beyond your reckoning. For its ancientry alone. It has no power, save the esteem in which those hold it who love my house. It will not help you, but if ever you are in need, my kin will ransom it with great store of all that you desire."
And a lightning storm in Minas Morgul:
"And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds."
D) A certain ability of necromancy to imprison evil spirits for the creation of Barrow Wight.
E) Control over fire - to trigger an explosion spell on Grond:
"Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud in a dreadful voice, speaking in some
forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone. Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if stricken by some blasting spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground. "
And create a flame-sword (Azor Ahai):
"Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade."
There is a writing by Tolkien that speaks (in letter 210) of the "Demonics force" that anabolized the witch king, to the point of making him an active weapon in addition to the innate fear he generated in opponents, so much so that he managed to approach a region "on fire" (fire being a weapon against the Nazgûl) in the siege of Minas Tirith.
I can't help but love this break down as an avid player of 5th edition D&D
^
Silence can stop all spells that it is necesary to use the voice to cast them, i don't know that it works with elves or other races, but it works with all humans.
CR tho
@@Meshifuari Honestly, if I were to Stat him he most likely would be between CR12-16
9:30 "Then the black captain rose his stirrups and CRIED ALOUD IN A DREADFUL VOICE" MAAAAN how hasn't this made it into the movies when their "loud cries" were almost normal if they appeared. This would've given him A LOT more power in that whole fight/siege/war and for me personally he would instantly jump to the most frightening enemy in that war.
Just imagine this dark and weird voice crumbling through gondor, everyone's reaction and while all that happens, the Grond just destroys the door. Woulda been a legendary scene right here
Perhaps Khamul is the one who first received his ring of power and the last who turned into a wraith. In the meantime, just like Gollum, he began to hate both sunlight and moonlight, that's why it affects him the most.
i like this theory
In a sci-fi timeline I've been working on, there's reference to an operatic duology written in the twenty-eighth century (titles translate into Classical English as "Khamûl [the] Liberator" and "Khamûl [the] Tyrant") where Sauron gives Khamûl a Ring of Power to corrupt the fight to liberate Khamûl's people from oppression, and Khamûl becomes worse than the old tyrant even while he still has moral agency.
Love the shadow of war idea of talion as a ring wraith
FINALLY!
I've been waiting for this video since the video on the Nazgul you did last month.
Glad it's finally here.
Hope you enjoy it 😁
I like the idea that the Nine were a mix of kings, great warriors, and sorcerers. While not canon, I do love the story from Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor / War, as only at the end do we realise Talion's entire arc has been a backstory for one of the Nazgul. I wasn't too keen on some of the ones they added, like Isildur, even though it added to the drama. At least they didn't do all of them, and left the Witch King alone! You have to wonder if the others found "freedom" the way he did when the Ring was destroyed. Maybe, maybe not. In Talion's case, his succumbing to become a Wraith was a self-sacrifice to protect the rest of Middle Earth from Sauron, rather than an act of greed or lust for power. As far as the books go, I think keeping historical details of the Nine as vague or nonexistent as possible adds to the mystique. Part of what makes the Witch King so sinister is we know literally nothing about him or who he was in life. I detest that modern storytelling insists on giving every single character a detailed backstory, leaving nothing for fans to speculate or draw their own conclusions.
But how will you set up the spin offs and prequels?
It’s almost as if once the ring took full affect history itself forgot who they were.
The Shadows games implies that the Nazgul is a club you can be forced to join after death not via ownership of a ring. It also implies that the 9 were never fully around for thousands of years. Helm yes could be one but that betrays him so much. Isildur no. I do not see Gil-Galad or Elrond not noticing the effects.
Enjoy the games arc but they should not be considered as anything but fascination of the developers.
I liked the games. I liked that Talion became a Nazgul I thought that was a cool twist like you said that after all this time it was the back story of one for the Nazgul.
I'm a casual Tolkien fan so I took no issue with Isildur becoming a Nazgul, since wearing the ring of power freshly cut from Sauron's hand would definitely have some effect on him. What wasn't examined was the number of Nazgul, at least not that I can recall. There were 9 originally, then was Isildur a 10th? Or did he take someone's place?
I do like the idea that most are ancient, long forgotten warriors or kings because it adds a larger scope.
I loved Talion's story. I hope they'd make a 3d animation movie based on the game. That was 1000 times better than that amazon crapppp ROP
I really love the amount of questions and unknown things of the world of Tolkien there are. It really adds a lot of mystery that really just makes it feel more like real history. Tolkien is Definitely the best world creator out
The Witch King was a sorcerer before he was turned. That's why he has more powers than the other Nazgul.
Is that verified out of curiosity? It’s a cool idea
@@drumbran I forget where I seen it, on youtube somewhere. But yeah, the Witch King was into dark sorcery before he was given the ring by Sauron.
I would have assumed he was a black numenorean who was a great leader of the kings men to the south and also practiced dark magic
I mean he’s literally called the “witch” king so that makes perfect sense
I like the idea that Kamuel was a threat to Sauron thus he received a 'gift' that he resisted the influence, or wore his ring less often. ("And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength, and to the good or evil in their wills in the beginning...") That being in sunlight reminded him of his lost mortality and humanity.
It seems rather unpractical to have to go all the way back to Mordor just for a robe. If it gets torn on a nail or the root of a tree, if you come too close to a candle. It seems like in practice, they'd be doing nothing but go back and forth, and I think Sauron had better things to do than to dress them every morning.
Nice work dude
The scream is also described in the Fellowship when the Hobbits are between the clearing with Gildor and Farmer Maggott's fields. one close by and one farther away
In regards to why Khamûl was weakest in the sunlight, I have a theory. Maybe he was a truly evil yet powerful leader in his time. A bandit-king or something along those lines. Since he would already be evil, and would likely favor shady tactics (night raids and ambushes for example), acting during the day would have been a disadvantage for him even before he got the ring. So naturally after becoming a ringwraith, not only is his strengths enhanced, but so are his weaknesses. If I had to give an example of someone I am thinking of, he would be most like Black Dow from the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Just a truly heartless and despicable character.
When you asked if the Nazgul have to go back to Mordor to be re-robed, I instantly pictured Middle Earth as a huge game of Pac-Man.
Notice that the Nine Rings had the same lesser powers of the One Ring, with which they could “walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men”, but always totally under the control of The One (“but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron”)
Notice that Tolkien is talking about the Nine when they had just recently got their Rings, and they were still alive, before they were totally gone to the Unseen World, and became wraiths
Good video. I like some of the info found in Lords of Middle-Earth (LOME) Volume 2 as it details the Nazgul for the original MERP RPG from Iron Crown Enterprises. One is supposedly a female even. The Angmar supplement is great too describing the Witch King's realm / fortress etc.
There are strong suggestions that at least three of the most fear-inspiring of the Nine had originally been Black Numenoreans (those from Numenor-such as the so-called “King’s Men,”-who, unlike the “Faithful,” turned against the Valar, and worshipped Melkor), who lived in the Numenorean colonies in Harad.
I'm always so intrigued when I hear about who the king's were after they received their ring but before they became the nazgul. The part where it says that some of them were great king's and sorcerers really hypes me. I want to know about the sorcerer king's. Like what powers did they have. Did they possess a staff, could they cast spells, did they make potions. I just want to know more about those particular ones that the book says we're sorcerers. Anyone else feel that way?
I think the nazgul use of fear is actually a good example to use when explaining magic in Tolkien's universe.
So much about his system of magic is related to will power. Gandalf stops Durin's Bane from crossing the bridge via a declaration of will ("you cannot pass!") followed by identifying himself as a being of great will equal to that of the balrog
Similarly one of the main things the rings of power actually do is increase the power of your will. Sam just holding the one ring made him appear larger and more intimidating to the orc in Cirith Ungol, and the rings of Galadriel and Elrond allow them to stave off the diminishing of the elven realms, they are able to will Rivendell and Lorien to remain unchanged. Barad-dûr is described as having a design that should be impossible, it shouldn't be able to hold itself up and is only able to because it's held together by Sauron's will
And the rings of power are quite explicitly said to only be able to be wielded by beings of immense will power, which is why Sauron is uniquely afraid of the possibility that Aragorn has the ring. In the same way the nazgul are intimidated by his lack of fear, the power they hold is to overcome the wills of their opponents by making them fall into fear and despair
Thus a strong willed individual who doesn't allow themself to succumb to fear and despair is in a literal sense powerful magically
A theory about Khamul and daylight it may be the fact that at his origins, Khamul is an easterling and with the men in the east being the first to witness the dawn, so Khamul is the first to suffer the weakness of the daylight
The darkness they bring with them and the strength it gives to other dark beings can't be ignored. Although I believe fear may be their most powerful weapon. It's a lot easier to kill a man, elf, hobbit or whatever when they are paralyzed by fear.
I think that their greatest power was fearless reputaion, or like you said fear that they bring to the peoples of Midlleearth. Great and interesting video...
Guys when is the live stream, and what happend to Tabletop Alliance...its been a few weeks since last video?
Thank you!
And sadly we just haven’t had time recently! Hopefully we can get back to it soon though!
Videos about them are the best, make more videos about mordor.
We do love making videos on them!
Don't care what anyone says, there is no more metal and awesome name as "The Witch King of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgul and Greatest of the Nine"
Good analysis. Informative and well researched.
Yet another awesome videos guys!! absolutely love your show! Maybe some more ‘what if’ ones soon? what if Gollum weren’t there to bite frodo’s finger off. or maybe what if Rohan never answered Gondors call. big love guys!
Man, I wanted to learn more of the villains back stories
Great video.
I think that all nazgul can done their famous scream, because it is reported in the passage of the Silmarillion, but this scream is less powerful than the Witch king's scream.
For the rescue of Frodo, we have the combination of cunning and power of Gandalf, Aragarn, Glorfindel and Elrond, so nazgul are very powerful.
For me here we have the proof that Witch king is most powreful than Tom Bombadil, Witch King can affect the weather, when Tom Bobadil adimts that he can't do this, his immunity to the one ring means nothing for me, he said that he isn't the master of the nazgul, so he can't do nothing against Nazgul.
It depends how you define power. I'd say the witch king had none, as he was a) a slave to Sauron and b) could be destroyed by a magic knife wielded by a hobbit. But it's a matter of perspective. He was able to cause a lot of destruction, so if you define power that way, then he had quite a bit. Temporarily.
@@Cat_Woods that the power of witch king depends from Sauron's power it isn't in doubt, Sauron is my favourite antagonist and i think that he is one of most powerful maiar with eonwe, arien, melian and osse.
The magical knife is forged by Arnor that has its knowledge from Numenor and Numenor has the knowledge from elves of Valinor, so it is a very powerful artifact and the hobbit attacks from behind and the blade weaken the witch King, not destroyed him.
@@oscurosignore8026 The book says the blade unmade his sinews. Doesn't seem that anything else could have done that. All told, without the knife, he wouldn't have been destroyed.
@@Cat_Woods yes it damaged his sinews, but it doesn't destroy the witch King, with that blow Marry broken the spell that give the regeneretion of wraith's sinews and expose the nazgul to the next mortal blow of Eowyn. This thing is writen after a few pages.
Nazgul are the side-men of Sauron. With him they are all powerful. Without him they are nothing.
Idk man nazgul single handedly destroyed arnor and captured minas ithil from gondor. They're still very powerful without sauron.
@@balashibuyeeter2704 Like when Sauron 'ring' died, they became farts in the wind. Before Sauron the were dying men, after getting his power from the rings they become almost indestructable wraiths. When the ring melted they *poosh*
@@assasin19991999 they are bound to sauron's ring but not to sauron himself.
@@balashibuyeeter2704 Exactly, but the only thing that bind Sauron to the world is The Ring, he is the ring. Without the ring, the thing they are bound to, they are nothing. No Sauron=No Nazgul
Men after their death leave the world and go to the Halls. When Saurons part that is bound to earth is destroyed, Nazgul are no longed bound to the world. No Sauron, no Nazgul.
Awesome video happy Monday!
Thank you!
One does not simply walk into Mordor to go shopping for new clothes.
I'm pretty sure i read in the fellowship or two towers that the Nazgul stole black horses from the Rohirrim and drove them to terror but were able to ride them
darkness was used as a weapon by morgoth and sauron (like givin orcish armies strength and inflicting fear on people).
we know the rings draw strength from the wearers ambitions, enabling them to fulfil their ambitions but enhancing its control over the wearer by doing so.
my theory is that Khamul was the one most fearful of Sauron and fervently against him. His will to fight Sauron is what gave the ring power and control, the darkness would be his weakness if the light against Sauron is what he sought for power..
or maybe its the complete opposite, he couldve been the most evil and power hungry. either way the ring knows he is most affected by the darkness
Nazguls are truly terrifying when seen from the hobbits perspective but Ive always wondered why/how Strider beats them so easily 1 vs 5. They dont seem so scary or powerful after that.
The Weathertop encounter is vastly different in the book.
@@bloodredcrown interesting! I cant remember. Guess its a good excuse to read it again ;)
Movie magic
It was a combination of events. They were still shaken from their earlier fight with Gandalf so they were already on edge.
Frodo called the name "Elbereth" which stunned them with fear for the name since that is the Elven name of Varda which all Evil hates the most.
Frodo nearly killed the Witch-King with the Númenórean blade he was wielding which freaked out the WK even more.
Finally, Aragorn jumps in with his Fire torch. Aragorn is superhuman in capabilities + catching them off-Guard + Fire and Light is an extremely hard counter for the Nazgûl, their senses are completely screwed up when it's used against them.
With all that the Nazgûl believed they were facing something similar to Gandalf so they backed off, if they stuck it out they probably would have succeeded in capturing the Ring is my belief.
Strider was trained to be able to deal with the Nazgul. It was not all milk and honey in Rivendell while he was growing up.
My pet theory is that the Witch King was originally was originally a King's Man who ruled over the Númenórean colony of Umbar.
I like the BFME name for their Auras of Terror “Dread Visage” which basically means terrifying face
At one point I had a dream that I was fighting in a battle between Gondor and Mordor in a place i didn't recognise (come to think of it, it might have been the Black Gate) after the fight was over I found myself alone, but then out of nowhere came a feeling of dread and so I hid myself from whatever it was, moments later three dark figures appeared, and they spoke with a hollow voice, I knew it was the Nazgul. Then I saw another figure approach one of the Nazgul but this was a living man who I guessed to be the Mouth of Sauron and he spoke with the Ringwraith, probably of what Sauron plans to do next. That feeling of fear is everything I imagined the Nazgul being, now Im thankful that they never found me in the dream otherwise it would have become a nightmare.
Is it possible that some of them might have retained a glimmer of an original goodness that is grieved at what they are forced to do? That, to me, would truly be a hell and punishment.
The worst part about the Nazgul was the Black Breath. Even if you could successfully hurt one, you're still dead.
Like a few others in the chat, I had no idea the 9 no longer had their rings. Could they have potentially been more powerful if they had them on? Thanks for a great video!
Sauron used their rings to control them. There was a risk that, if worn they might lose them. After all, they lost their horses and gear when they got wrecked by Elrond's flood. I presume in such a circumstance, their rings would be swept away. If someone else found them, perhaps they could control the Nazgul?
@@legionarybooks13 That's an interesting thought. I always assumed someone would need the One Ring to control the Wraiths, but Sauron doesn't have it in the Third Age and they are still slaves to his will. So I guess it was their rings that he used against them?
@@legionarybooks13 in the book there is writen that the rings are in Sauron's possession, so they don't wear the rings.
@@oscurosignore8026, correct. I was just speculating as to why that was and if he feared risking losing control over them, especially since he was not in possession of the One Ring.
Peter jackson witch king has a much cooler design than sauron himself.
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The Witch King is way more intimidating than Sauron.
Only because the witch king has more on screen time that adds to the character. Based on just appearance Sauron has a better design than just shredded sheets with a crown. Without the crown the witch king is simply a generic bad guy. Thus his on screen development adds to the overall design
Sauron had awesome armor, I think they both kick ass
Actually I thought the Mouth of Sauron (Extended Edition) was incredibly creepy. I wish they'd left him in!
My guess is as to why Kamul is most affected by the sun probably has to do with his being an "Easterling", from the land which first sees the sun every single day, and at a relatively equatorial latitude at that. On top of that, maybe the 2 blue wizards, who also went east long before the other 3 Istari arrived in Middle-Earth, perhaps they had done something to "curse" Khamul to be affected by sunlight as their Maiar magic would be at least as powerful as anything a Nazgul possessed.
It is known that Khamûl is an Easterling, hence, "Khamûl, the Black Easterling" (he was likely a direct descendent of the first men of Hildórien) and in the first age, Easterlings were used by Melkor (Morgoth...whatever) as assault troops. It is suggested that Melkor brought darkness with him everywhere he went. As such, the Easterlings of the far side of Middle Earth (the far east, shall we say?) were probably veiled in said darkness for years...probably A LOT of years...call it a curse. Personally, it always made more sense to me that Khamûl was hampered not from his own personal issues but by something more. Regionally (geographically) speaking, this all just makes sense.
So...to put it bluntly, Khamûl has probably lived in darkness for his entire life and likely has no pigmentation to his skin (an albino) and eyes, making him blind and weaker in the daylight...but hey, what do I know?
What-if video idea for you to do:
What if Gandalf never fell at the Bridge of Khazad-dum and continued with the fellowship to Lothlorien and on forward?
love your videos man!!
I think Sauron could only be the one that makes the weapons or cloaks and would have planned for the issue of having to go all the way back to Mordor Before being useful so like the rangers had stashes all around the same would be true for the nazgul
Khamul was the most evil at heart, if not the most powerful. He had great sense of smell and hearing and was always sensitive to sunlight. More so than the other Nazgul. These two major features of his nature we amplified and made him fear and avoid the light. Their main power is not fear, they have real magic, dark magic, and weapons that give the fear they project a reality all it’s own. They are capable of rendering you immobile, and because they all have Morgul blades, this ability alone is fatal to their enemies. Lastly, they have to go back to Sauron or one of their bases of operation, not so much for clothes (but yes that too, regular because crousting around for clothes is forbidden by Sauron), they have to be re-equipped with enchanted weapons, horses, etc. This means a trip back to the boss….and a report to him. Good video. Check out my coming series on the powers of the Nazgul explained…the final word.
Lore-Master.com
The LoreMaster has spoken.
~LMHS
I paused this right at the section “riders at the ford” and now I can’t get “riders on the storm” by the doors out of my head.
Riders at the ford…
Riders at the ford…
Where’s the shire? We don’t know.
For Sauron we must go
Find the halfing at bag end,
And take the ring from him,
Riders at the ford
For me, the power of the Nazgul that is the greatest is fear, but "fear" with certain characteristics. "Fear" can mean more than one thing. It can mean a particular feeling, just the FEELING of fear does not always stop someone. Robert Heinlein tells a story of an early 20th century tuberculosis hospital, where he was being treated, where one procedure was to inject air into the chest cavity on one side, to collapse the lung on that side, to give some of the lesions inside that lung a chance to heal. Trouble was sometimes the treatment killed the patient instantly. One day the first patient died on the table. The second bravely climbed onto the table, and then HE died. The third one unhesitatingly climbed onto the table and HE died. But all the rest--there were quite a few--tolerated the treatment just fine. The punchline is that the treatment did not kill the third patient who died on the table. He died of fear. Now that's courage. "Fear" can also refer to not just a feeling but a loss of morale, as The Broken Sword mentions. Note we can be "afraid of" something, meaning we feel the emotion of fear about it, or "afraid of" it, when we find ourselves unwilling to approach or perform the source of fear. When Tolkien speaks of what is in someone's "heart", he means not only their feelings but their MOTIVES; in other words, the will. To me, the power of the Nazgul is fear in THIS sense; that they can not only create a FEELING of fear but can crush your WILL; you can be made unwilling to oppose them. Remember that Merry was so horrified that he was blind and sick, and while he desperately felt he had to stand by Theoden, his will at first did not answer. But when he beheld Eowyn in her desperate courage, his own courage was awakened. To my mind, it wsa not only the courage that allowed the tuberculosis patient to set an example for the others even though he died of fear, but it was enough "courage" to give him the will to act, in spite of the terrible power of the Witch King. Winston Churchill, writing of the Battle of Omdurman, said that at one point as the islamist (some things never change) fanatics were advancing on their position, some Arab allies of the British and Egyptians holding part of the line began to fall back against orders. The commander ordered a force of reserves in behind them to shoot them if they deserted. They returned to their places and continued the fight because, as Churchill put it, their morale had been "restored".
Of course the "fear" power of the Nazgul included the EMOTION of fear, in spades, but also, to me, directly attacks your willingness to oppose them. It quite literally "dis-courages" you.
For some reason this rocked up in my list 2 hours later? I've been online and checking my sub feed as I was bored and your video wasn't even here. But says it's been up for 2 hours? That is strange 🤣
RUclips 🤦♂️
Answer to Question: I believe the poem of the One Ring contains the clue. Nine rings for mortal men. While the Elves are Kingly in the poem, the mortal men doomed to die are prone to folley. I believe they rose to greater power over several stations, and were subverted at the height of said power. (Using the Rings) The opening quote from you started with talks about how they could no longer enjoy life. So it makes sense that they obtained the power and comfort they wanted, only to not be able to enjoy it. Sauron would revel in snatching them at the cusp of their individual victories.
Nice one - the broken sword !
Thank you!
Here’s a theory that I’d like to hear other people’s tale on: so the Nazgûl are in the wraith world, but anything in the wraith world can have an effect on the normal world. In the case of the Nazgûl that effect is that anything that passes through their form is destroyed. The main example of this is weapons, but it would also apply to clothing they tried to put on. Somehow Sauron managed to create a material, whether through enchantment or through mining, that has the some sort of presence in the wraith world to prevent it from passing through the wraiths’s bodies and being destroyed
my theory about Khamûl is actually quite simple: As far as i know he used to be a king in the east. Maybe Rhûn or somewhere around that area. I'd like to think that Rhûn and the east in general somewhat resembles a desert or something like that. at least an area where the sun shines down pretty hard. wouldn't it be somewhat ironic for him being the Nazgul most vulnerable to the sun?
I always figured that he was a descendent of the Easterlings who served Melkor and who were therefore plagued to live in darkness like vampires, which makes him less powerful in daylight (physically and visually) but I don't know.
Do you have a video on the undying lands? And if you dont could you make one?
I didn’t think Celeborn had seen the two trees. Did you mean Glorfindel?
That's what I was thinking.
Yes 🤦♂️ my script said Glorfindel, somehow I spoke Celeborn 😂 Great spot though! :D
they probably need to return to their source to be re-armed/clothed b/c if not, what is to stop them from just going around while invisible to everything and killing at will? and what would be scarier: a black rider or a black rider on fire running at you burning everything in between if they had that option?
Yay very nice video
I like the king Theories, i Think a nice portration of that was in the non canon middle earth shadow of war game
Instilled sense of fear within their enemies >Tolkien's Mazgul(Ringwraiths) = Rowling's Dementors !
I always thought that they were just invisible and that they couldn't be seen without clothing.
I think Tolkien definitely would have the 9 able to pick up random equipment if in need!!! I also understood their "re-dressing" after the flood of Rivendell to involve a reforming of shape/spirit, something slightly deeper than raiment. (Maybe pride compelled them not to grab a dress drying on the line. In seriousness, they were of large stature, too. They would most likely not find anything adequate out and about in the wilderness. It also seems that the menacing raiment bolstered their projection of terror - either by lifting them into a more evil mood 😀, or allowing them to feed off the fear of those who see them all suited up. Just brain-storming here.) I believe Tolkien might have some writing on how the power of the one ring worked, and that might inform us somewhat here concerning the 9. I haven't read Tolkien material for several years...
I feel the great Kings of old were heroic, but the rings granted great success opportunities and victories. The rings slowly turned them like King Saul unable to rest full of dread and anxiety, always looking to whom would it be hate, would take all they had acquired and unending fear of the loose of the ring. The loves of their wives and children were shelved to a forgotten place again dooming them, not even the loyalty of the bravest warriors could they trust for the voice of the ring never granted peace nor rest. They the great Kings were truly doomed to have the power, but never to know the blessing of death. Death they could give, yet Sauoron would only dangle death to them, delighting great at their greed to be powerful. Thus the delusion was the truth they rode to the more, even onto it's insanity and pain. Love to the wraith was now the light that caused them pain, for its memories were fire that burned them with self hate of the true loves that were. .
I see a sorcerer with the power to heal made a king by people who view that as the sign of kingship--that power is then co-opted by Sauron and spread to the other Nine to give them self-sustaining power.
Powers and abilities of the Valar
They were also vulnerable to the true hero of the Legendarium - farmer Maggot.
Personally, I think the reason Kamuel was weaker in daylight has to do with him being an Easterling; given they were already men of darkness, it would make sense they'd gain more strength from the night but in turn be far weaker in daylight. (Yes, I know, "men of darkness" is really just a figure of speech, but I can see them being stronger were evil thrives: the dark). Then again, some have theorized that the Nine had each they're own unique powers like the Three, which could explain the abnormality.
I wish an alternate universe movie would be made called Predator vs Nazgûl. I would absolutely watch that.
The Nazgûl are Sauron’s wingmen. He’s unstoppable in any bar at closing time if he has even one of them with him.
I hope Rings of Power gaves us the backstory of the Nine.
I did a list long time ago (fanfic):
Ar-Pharazôn (Númenor)
Khamûl (Rhun)
Ar-Wazon (Númenor)
Herumor (Umbar)
Fuinur (Umbar)
Halnur (Harad)
Lontos (Dunlending)
Varos (Khand)
Neder (Wainrider)
They made them women
I think their relentlesness is their main strenght during the lord of the rings. They tirelessly seek the ring and it would only be a question of time until they succeeded had frodo not destroyed the ring. Even if they were defeated a hundred times they would continue their mission
Khamul is it easterling those lands were conquered long before the West was that's why he has such a weakness to sunlight because he spent the majority of his time in darkness
📚Can you do a tier list video of the 10 or so most powerful characters in Middle Earth? Excluding the Valar. And maybe explain their powers and abilities please?
I imagined an apprentice, or a jealous attempted usurper, of one of the Blue Mages, made their way to become corrupted by a similar desire for power.
If you'd seen a corruptible Gandalf be worshipped like a demigod, and thought you could be even greater, might you not?
1. Not being able to swim
2. Being afraid of and weak against fire for no apparent reason
3. Being easily fooled and misdirected by childish pranks
4. Ohh wait you said powers..Ummm...
To me, there is a lot of similarity between the RingWraiths and the Dememtors in the Harry Potter and while the dementors didn't wield physical weapons, Like the Nagul, their greatest weapon was fear and sucking the very fight out of you. With that, I now leave you a question. I remember it being said that the 9 were given to kings or rulers but not sure if that was in the book or the movies, however, it stated that the rings corrupted them and made them hunger for power. The master ring seemed to have the same effect on those who bore it. Pretty sure you covered this at some point but the only one I remember having one of the 3 rings that were given to Elven lords ,was Galadriel, I assume Elrond had one. How did those rings not corrupt them? I remember when Frodo offered her the one but while tempted, she declined. Oh, now that I think about it, Frodo offered it to Gandalf as well. Perhaps like the hobbits, the elves nature was so pure the rings had no ill effect?
I've always believed they were mostly kings of numenor read several of Tolkien's novels but the designers of PS4 shadows of war had a great spin on the lore with isuldir and family being nazgul don't hate me for liking the gaming lore it's just a way to keep enjoying Tolkien's world we live in
The fear they cause and the reputation that they have proceeding them.
How come you guys dont do twitch anymore?
No time sadly :( maybe if we ever get less busy we can get back to it!
As for Khamûl, I think it's because he used to be an easterling... makes a little sense
Thank you, I can finally make a lore accurate Ringwraith build in elden ring and strike fear into those whose worlds I invade.
As Aragorn said, " they were once great king's of men, then one by one they fell into darkness." I believe they were king's before they turned.
Late to the game, but I don’t picture them as kings, but as someone in the kings court. I picture that they fed information to Sauron and sewed bedlam secretly in the court. For information and corruption Sauron rewarded them with the rings. I don’t think it was mentioned that they themselves were kings, but it seems Sauron picked them for their influence and the influence he could have upon them. Having them have ulterior motives and be traitors to their king seems on par with Sauron.
Khamul, I believe was an easterling with were men already corrupted by Sauron. He never knew the light.
I didn't know that Sauron took the rings off the 9. Why did he do this? And, could he create more Nazgûl by using the same rings?
Not sure if he could create more, as I each ring was tied to a specific Nazgul. I mentioned in another thread that Sauron used the rings to control them. There was a risk that, if worn they might lose them. After all, they lost their horses and gear when they got wrecked by Elrond's flood. If their rings were lost and someone else found them, perhaps they could control the Nazgul?
@@legionarybooks13 also the 9 rings of nazguls were destructible. So if someone took a Nazgul’s ring and destroyed it then that nazgul would die permanently.
The Ringwraiths, The Nine, The Fallen Kings The Nazgûl are my favourite names to call the Nazgûl.
Nazgul vs Oath Breakers please! Who would win?
Can you make a video about the balrogs? Was the one defeated by Gandalf the last one?? I seem to have heard that there were many, but they fled to the deep places of the world. I have always been worried that once all the elves and wizards have left Middle Earth, Aragorn would have to fight them himself, but Gandalf said it's a foe beyond any of them. With the elves gone, the days of Men start. But if there's still balrogs around, that's a problem. Same for dragons. Was Smaug the last one? Same for spiders. Was Shelob the last one? She was only hurt, not killed, by Sam.