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Fell beasts

Flying steeds of the Nazgûl
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This article is about the winged steeds of the Nazgûl. For the vague term, see fell beasts.
Nazgul by John Howe
Race
Fell beasts
General Information
Other namesNazgûl-birds, Black Wings, hell-hawks
LocationsMordor
AffiliationNazgûl
Physical Description
Lifespan"Older world" - Third Age
DistinctionsA long neck and vast pinions
HairNone
SkinWebbed and plain
WeaponryHorned fingers, claws, and a beak
GalleryImages of Fell beasts

Fell beasts[1][2][3], also called Nazgûl-birds[4], Black Wings[5][6][7][8], and hell-hawks[9][10], were huge pterodactylic[11] flying creatures that served as steeds for the Nazgûl.

Description

Fell beasts were great winged creatures with a beak and claws[12] and were described as similar to great carrion birds[5][13], but monstrous looking[14][15] and greater than all other birds[16], including Eagles[9][17]. They were dark and appeared shadow-like even at night.[18][19] Their body was naked, lacking any quills or feathers. They had a long neck as well as vast pinions consisting of a web-like "hide between horned fingers".[1][20] They possessed a "fell speed" which allowed them to fly faster than the wind.[21][22] Furthermore, fell beasts also gave off a stench. In battle they swooped upon prey with their feet to drop foes from the sky,[9] crushed enemies under their sheer weight,[9] and used their vast wings to blow foul gusts of wind.[1]

History

A creature of an older world maybe it was, whose kind, lingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon, outstayed their day, and in hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and he gave it to his servant to be his steed.

The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" [23]

While their origins are uncertain, the fell beasts may have hailed from an earlier age of the world,[11] a diminishing number of which had clung to survival in the remote reaches of Middle-earth.[1] Under Sauron's care, these creatures were prepared for the use of his Nazgûl, who employed them in travel and in the uses of war.[1]

Following the destruction of the black horses used by the Nazgûl in their pursuit of Frodo Baggins, Sauron appointed his brood of fell beasts to serve as the Ringwraiths' new steeds.[1] These were glimpsed on several occasions before the Siege of Gondor, where they bore the Nazgûl to war and plagued the armies of Gondor and Rohan.[9][1]

As the Fellowship of the Ring travelled down the Anduin, a winged creature briefly attempted to assail the company before being driven off by an arrow from Legolas' bow.[18]

On Thursday 1 March, while Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, and Gollum were crossing the Dead Marshes, a Nazgûl borne on a winged creature passed overhead at midnight at "the speed of the wrath of Sauron."[21] On Sunday 4 March,[24] the party witnessed another Nazgûl, possibly "on some swift errand from Barad-dûr", pass overhead on a winged creature. On Monday 5 March,[24] an hour after midnight, a third winged creature flew overhead in the direction of Mordor.

Around dawn on Tuesday[25] 6 March, "a flying darkness in the shape of a monstrous bird" swooped over the hall of Meduseld in Edoras. To deter an attack, Gandalf counselled the Rohirrim to assemble at Dunharrow, in the valley under the mountains, rather than in the fields outside Edoras. Théoden was told of the sighting after returning from the Hornburg three days later.[14]

Five Nazgûl, aloft on winged creatures, assailed Faramir and his company as they retreated from Osgiliath. They were driven off by Gandalf, who caused a white light to be emitted from his hand, which the Nazgûl could not face.[9]

After the arrival of the Rohirrim to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-king of Angmar abandoned his horse for a fell beast. Upon this steed he confronted the host of the Rohirrim, and slew Théoden's horse from underneath him. Éowyn, casting away the guise of Dernhelm, leapt to the king's defense and killed the beast, and with the help of Meriadoc Brandybuck slew its rider.[1]

Etymology

As in the expression "fell things" occurring earlier in The Lord of the Rings,[26] the word fell in this sense is an archaic English word meaning "dreadful, terrible".[27]

The term "fell beasts" is not used solely for the winged steeds of the Nazgûl: it was also used as a descriptor for various evil creatures of Mirkwood,[28] and also a descriptor of a type of creature hunted by Oromë in addition to monsters.[29]

Other versions of the legendarium

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...there is much else that may be told.

Glóin

Inspiration

In a reply to a letter, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that he did not intend for the Nazgûl-bird[4] to be a pterodactyl, though he acknowledged that it was "pterodactylic" and "owes much to" the "mythology of the 'Prehistoric'". He considered that its description left open the possibility for it to be "a last survivor of older geological eras".[11]

Portrayal in adaptations

1978: The Lord of the Rings:

The Witch-king[30], carrying a mace, is shown riding on a winged creature. However, Bakshi's film only covers events up to the Battle of the Hornburg, so that is the only appearance of a Nazgûl-bird.[4].

1980: The Return of the King:

The Nazgûl ride winged horses. In the confrontation between Éowyn and the Witch-king, the latter is seen riding a plump black-grey dragon-like animal. Gandalf had called it a Carrion-fowl.

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

The Fell Beasts are said to likely be "distant relatives of ancient Cold-drakes", and "grow to lengths of 30 feet (with 30-35-foot wingspans)". In the middle Third Age they live in mountainous areas of Mirkwood, presumably because of the Necromancer's presence at Dol Guldur. They are used as steeds by both the Nazgûl and a few Olog-hai warlords.[31][note 1]

1995-8: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:

Fell Beast increases the number of strikes of one Nazgûl hazard-creature. Wild Fell Beast is a Drake which attacks with three strikes. With the card "Fell Rider" the Ringwraith may move to a non-Darkhaven site, but without allies and followers.

2001-3: The Lord of the Rings (film series):

The fell beasts are depicted as more Dragon-like and serpentine. As opposed to having beaks, they have lipless mouths full of jagged teeth, fins running along their spine, long whip-like tails and dark gray scales. This depiction is heavily influenced by John Howe, who was one of the concept artists for the films.
In the films, the fell beasts are used for attack much more often than in the books, with the Nazgûl usually swooping down and screeching, making the defenders at the gate of Minas Tirith run away, leaving Gandalf alone to face the Witch-king as he enters.
Although on screen the films never make this mistake, sometimes cast or crew members (Lawrence Makoare and Richard Taylor most notably) on the commentary tracks and the documentaries refer to the fell beasts as Nazgûl; this is incorrect. The fell beasts are the creature that the nine Nazgûl ride, and the mistake probably arose because fell beasts are always seen with a Nazgûl atop them.

2001-: The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game:

The Fell Beasts are portrayed without beaks, reminiscent of the depiction in The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy.[32]

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game):

A Nazgûl mounted on a fell beast (depicted as a dragon-like creature) appears in the Amon Hen stage of the PC and console versions of the game, where it serves as the final boss. In the first phase of the battle, the beast crawls on the ground and fights Aragorn (armed with his sword). During the second and final phase, it flies into the sky and shoots green fireballs from its mouth down at Aragorn (who shoots back at it with his bow), until it is weakened and finally shot down by Legolas in the game's ending cutscene.

2002-5: The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game:

Hell-hawks, employed as mounts by the Ringwraiths and found wild in southern Mirkwood and (after the War of the Ring) in Gondor, resemble a "cross between lizards and featherless birds". They were bred by Sauron in mockery of the Great Eagles.[33]

2011: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North:

Agandaûr has several Fell beasts under his control. At the end of Chapter 1, Agandaûr flees on the back of one of them.[34]

2023: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria:

Fell beasts are among the monsters infesting Moria. The female dragon Narag-Shazon claims that Sauron forcibly employed her to breed the creatures.

Notes

  1. ↑ In the supplement, Creatures of Middle-earth, the Fell beasts are said to be "presumably bred from Winged-drakes" and to have a body between 15-25 feet and a wingspan between 30-40 feet.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
  2. ↑ LR 5.06.031Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 31
  3. ↑ LR 5.06.042Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 42
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 100, (dated 29 May 1945)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Black Gate is Closed"
  6. ↑ LR 4.03.066Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Two Towers", "The Black Gate is Closed", Paragraph 66
  7. ↑ LR 5.04.039Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Siege of Gondor", Paragraph 39
  8. ↑ LR 6.03.033Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "Mount Doom", Paragraph 33
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Siege of Gondor"
  10. ↑ LR 5.04.033Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Siege of Gondor", Paragraph 33
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211, (dated 14 October 1958)
  12. ↑ LR 5.06.019Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 19
  13. ↑ LR 4.03.064Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Two Towers", "The Black Gate is Closed", Paragraph 64
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Muster of Rohan"
  15. ↑ LR 5.03.017Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Muster of Rohan", Paragraph 17
  16. ↑ LR 5.06.006Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 6
  17. ↑ LR 5.04.030Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Siege of Gondor", Paragraph 30
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River"
  19. ↑ LR 2.09.055Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Great River", Paragraph 55
  20. ↑ LR 5.06.006Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 6
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes"
  22. ↑ LR 4.02.079Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Two Towers", "The Passage of the Marshes", Paragraph 79
  23. ↑ LR 5.06.006Digital Tolkien Project Citation SystemsJ.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The Return of the King", "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Paragraph 6
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 The Chronology of The Lord of the Rings, p. 62
  25. ↑ The Chronology of The Lord of the Rings, p. 64
  26. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Three is Company"
  27. ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 110
  28. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Breaking of the Fellowship"
  29. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta: Of the Valar"
  30. ↑ Twitter, The Witch-King of Angmar. Original production cels from #LOTR are now back at our ebay shop by Ralph Bakshi
  31. ↑ John David Ruemmler, Susan Tyler Hitchcock, Peter C. Fenlon (1995), Mirkwood (2nd edition) (#2019)
  32. ↑ Winged Nazgûl at Games-workshop.com (accessed 10 June 2011)
  33. ↑ Scott Bennie, Mike Mearls, Steve Miller, Aaron Rosenberg, Chris Seeman, Owen Seyler, and George Strayton (2003), Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic, pp. 30-31
  34. ↑ The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Chapter 1: Fornost, Citadel Tower
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