Nazgûl: Difference between revisions

{{race

|image=[[File:Nick Deligaris - Nazgûl.jpg|250px]]

|name=Nazgûl

|dominions=[[Angmar]], [[Dol Guldur]], [[Minas Morgul]]

|languages=[[Black Speech]], [[Westron]]

|height=Man-high

|length=

|skincolor=

|haircolor=

|feathers=

|distinctions=Without physical form

|lifespan=Indefinite

|members=[[Witch-king|Witch-king of Angmar]], [[Khamûl]]

For many years the bearers used the rings to gain great wealth, prestige and power, becoming "''mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old''". The effect of the rings caused their lives to be prolonged, and to see things of the [[Unseen]]. But over time their bodily forms faded until they became [[wraiths]] entirely, slaves under the domination of Sauron's [[One Ring]].<ref name=Rings/>

They were dispersed after the first overthrow of Sauron in {{SA|3441}} at the hands of the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]],<ref name=AppB1>{{App|B1}}</ref> but re-emerged around {{TA|1300}} of the [[Third Age]]. The Lord of the Nazgûl, the [[Witch-king|Witch-king of Angmar]], led Sauron's forces against the mannish kingdom of [[Arnor]] in {{TA|1409}}. He was eventually defeated in battle in {{TA|1975}} and returned to [[Mordor]], gathering the other Nazgûl in preparation for the return of Sauron to that realm. In {{TA|2000}}, they besieged [[Minas Ithil]] and captured it after a two-year siege. The city thereafter became the stronghold of the Nazgûl, from where they directed the rebuilding of Sauron's armies, also acquiring a ''[[palantíri|palantír]]'' for the Dark Lord.<ref name=AppB2>{{App|B2}}</ref>

In {{TA|2942}} Sauron returned to Mordor and declared himself openly in {{TA|2951}}. Three of the Nazgûl were sent to his fortress at [[Dol Guldur]] to garrison that outpost.<ref name=AppB2/>

Given form only through the attire of black cloaks and hauberks of silver mail, their original form was completely gone and invisible to mortal eyes. Their hypnotic eyes could be plainly distinguished from their dark clothing, and in a rage they appeared in a hellish fire. Mortal men could not touch them (unless blessed by weapons or tools of the ancient [[Elves]] of the [[First Age]] or by the [[Dúnedain]], such as the barrow-blade used by [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] on the [[Witch-king|Witch-king of Angmar]]). The Ringwraiths had many weapons, which included long swords of steel and flame, daggers with venomous properties, and black maces of great strength.

An [[Elvish]] name given for the Ringwraiths is '''''Úlairi'''''.<ref name=Rings>{{S|Rings}}</ref><ref>{{PM|Akallabeth}}, p. 153 (§30)</ref> Linguists have remarked that it is a [[Quenya]] plural name of unknown meaning and etymology.<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Helge Fauskanger]]|articleurl=http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/eng-quen.rtf|articlename=English-Quenya Wordlist (Quettaparma Quenyanna)|dated=|website=Arda|accessed=25 June 2011}}</ref><ref>[[Ruth S. Noel]], ''[[The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth]]''</ref> [[Michael Martinez]], analysing the word, have tentatively suggested that:  

File:The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Ringwraiths.jpg|he Nazgûl in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]</gallery>

:The Nine are skull headed demons, who ride winged horses. The Witch-king himself rides a dragon-like creature, and has no face. Only a suspended crown and two red eyes can be seen. The Nazgûl have the [[Red Eye]] of [[Barad-dûr]] rather than the emblem of [[Minas Morgul]].  

:All the Nazgûl are named - The Witch-king of Angmar, The Dark Marshal, Khamûl The Easterling, The Betrayer, The Shadow Lord, The Undying, The [[Dwimmerlaik]], The Tainted and The Knight of [[Umbar]].

:After the death of the Witch-king, the other eight are taken out by [[eagles]] and debris from [[Mount Doom]], however, nothing is told of their individual fates.  

*Úlairë Attëa (from ''[[atta]]'' = 2); Black Predator, Keeper of Dol Guldur, Second of the Nine Riders, The Easterling.  

'''2006: ''[[EA's The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''

:A new Ringwraith is introduced in the expansion pack, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king|The Rise of the Witch-king]]''. Morgomir is the "Lieutenant of Carn-Dûm", the right-hand man of the Witch-king, of [[Black Númenóreans|Black Númenórean]] descent. The design is similar to that in [[Peter Jackson]]'s films: he is hooded and cloaked when he works for the Mordor faction, and white and ghostly when he fights for Angmar.

:The Nazgûl appear several times throughout the game. Hobbit characters first witness the Black Riders in the Shire during the Prologue. Early in the game one of the Nine wounds a Dunedain Ranger Amdir with a Morgul blade, who is later transformed into a Wraith himself, despite the bess efforts of Free Peoples. Later, the player attempts to resist the troubles the Nine are spreading in Bree-Land. Various people along their path - from Hobbits, to Men of Bree, to people east of Amon Sul - note how the local wildlife became unusually aggressive lately, though few connect it to the influence of Nazgûl.

:As stated in ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', only eight horses of the Wraiths were found along the shores of Bruinen. Glorfindel, Elrond and his sons all enlist you to find the missing one - and while the horse is eventually found, it is clear the the Nazgûl himself escaped. The player foils his attempts to organize the Trolls of the Trollshaws and pursues him into the [[Misty Mountains]], where the severely weakened Wraith is finally defeated, with his spirit send back to Mordor.

:During the Fellowship's stay in [[Lothlorien]], the Galadhrim Elves launch a military strike against [[Dol Guldur]], to draw the attention of the Eye from the company departing down the Shores of Anduin. At this point, three Nazgûl reside in the fortress, their names are given as "The Black Blade of Lebennin", "The Gloom of Nurn" and the strongest of them three "The Lieutenant of Dol Guldur". A large force of players confronts the Lieutenant and his Fell Beast at the chief tower of Dol Guldur.

:During their travel down the waters of the Great River, Legolas shot and killed a fell shadow in the sky, not knowing it to be a Nazgûl. The player is later able to find the corpse of the fell beast in the [[Brown Lands]] and it becomes clear that a Nazgûl is not far - only this time the player cannot receive help from Elrond or Galadriel, who helped him survive two last encounters. At night, the Wraith ambushes your friends, but the player manages to drive him away with the use of fire. A girl named Nona is wounded in this fight, but the Free Peoples managed to bring her to Lady Galadriel in time to heal the wound.