All Questions
Tagged with tolkiens-legendarium nazgul
73
questions
28
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2
answers
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In 'The Lord of the Rings', are the Ringwraiths really alive?
In the book, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien often talks about the central concept of the Rings of Power, namely that the Great Rings preserve life.
Gollum, for one, is incredibly old, having possessed ...
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14
votes
3
answers
10k
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Could any of the other eight Wraiths be destroyed by man?
A prophecy
"He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." —Glorfindel, The Return of the King, Appendix A (iv)
has been interpreted by ...
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28
votes
7
answers
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How did the Witch King of Angmar get his sword back?
Spoilers for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:
The Witch King clearly has his sword in The Fellowship of the Ring. How and when did he get his sword back? Judging by the shape of the ...
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10
votes
2
answers
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Why does Sauron send Grishnákh instead of a Nazgûl to deal with Saruman's Uruk-hai? [duplicate]
This again is another strange decision on Sauron's part. We know from Grishnákh and the fact Legolas killed a Fell-beast that there is at least one Nazgûl on the eastern side of the Anduin, possibly ...
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5
votes
2
answers
595
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Were the Nazgûl invisible to Sauron when he did not wear the Ring?
When speaking about the Nazgûl The Silmarillion states:
And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows.
Does this mean that they ...
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7
votes
1
answer
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Why did the Ringwraiths wear cloaks?
To my understanding and what the movies seem to portray, the Ringwraiths are invisible to mortal men. This would almost assume that if they were to take off their cloaks they would become invisible.
...
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33
votes
1
answer
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Where were the Dúnedain when the Nazgûl entered the Shire?
The Dúnedain Rangers had been guarding the Shire for some time when the Nazgûl came and entered the land of the Hobbits during their hunt for the Ring. How did the Nazgûl get past the border patrols, ...
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9
votes
3
answers
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Do the Ringwraiths love Sauron?
Is it known in canon how the Ringwraiths felt about Sauron? They were his servants and he had complete control over them since he had the nine rings. My question is generally, do they have feelings ...
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16
votes
6
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Why did the Nazgûl not attack a second time at Weathertop?
Even Aragorn and the Hobbits are surprised at Weathertop that the Nazgûl did not try a second attack to take the ring. The following possible reasons are offered or implied:
The Nazgûl were ...
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9
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2
answers
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Could Sauron have created new Ringwraiths?
By the time of the War of the Ring, Sauron had retrieved and now held in his possession the Nine Rings of Men and (at least some of) the Seven Dwarven Rings. Since the Ringwraiths no longer possessed ...
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33
votes
5
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Who were the Nazgûl before they became wraiths?
I recall reading somewhere of the history of the nine riders, but I cannot remember where it was. (It seems perhaps they were from northern kingdoms?)
The leader of the Nine was the Witch-king of ...
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12
votes
4
answers
2k
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How did the Nazgûl survive?
It is settled pretty strongly that life is given by Ilúvatar and the Gift Of Ilúvatar to Men is death. And yet, we see the Nazgûl (and the Dead Men of Dunharrow) refusing the gift and have some sort ...
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4
votes
1
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Were the three Nazgûl of Númenórean origin Black Númenóreans? [duplicate]
We know that three of the Nazgûl are of Númenórean origin, and Khamûl was an Easterling; the origin of the other 5 are unknown.
Considering the Black Númenóreans rebelled against the faithful, is it ...
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25
votes
5
answers
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What is the creature that the Nazgûl ride called?
What are the dragon-like creatures that the Nazgûl ride in the later part of the series called?
Anything in relation to the books or movie and out of universe answers.
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31
votes
1
answer
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The Nazgûl are afraid of fire, but can they be harmed by it?
When Aragorn and the Hobbits are on Weathertop, just after seeing the Nazgûl below them and prior to inflicting Frodo's knife wound, Aragorn says the following:
Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, ...
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6
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2
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3k
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What are the differences between the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the Nazgûl?
The Dead Men and the Nazgûl were essentially both "undead" characters. While they were "undead" for various reasons, with the Nazgûl having been semi-resurrected and the Dead Men not properly dead ...
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27
votes
2
answers
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What exactly is the Witch-king of Angmar?
The movies tell you that the Witch-king is another just Nazgûl, albeit their king, but the books seemed to suggest that he was a man. And the fact that he was the Necromancer, briefly mentioned in The ...
- 134k
24
votes
3
answers
5k
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What did the Nazgûl do before Sauron rose again?
It is my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) that hundreds, if not thousands, of years passed between Isildur defeating Sauron, and Sauron's renewed rise to power.
Is there any detail in ...
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4
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Why did the Rings turn Nazgûl invisible and their clothes visible, while The One Ring turned both invisible?
Nazgûl themselves are invisible as human flesh, due to their 9 rings transposing them into the realm of shadows:
And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they ...
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86
votes
2
answers
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What's the big deal about the Nazgûl losing their horses?
I have only watched the movies and I am currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring (haven't finished it yet, I am at "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm").
A number of times we see characters such ...
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16
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3
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2k
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Who made the Nazgûl's swords?
In Mordor, who created the swords for the Nazgûl?
As they were kings of men from different places before the became wraiths I'd say that their swords were made by men, but I am not sure.
- 134k
10
votes
1
answer
662
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The storm of Mordor and the Nazgûl
In The Lord of the Rings, book IV (in The Two Towers), Frodo and Sam encounter a storm coming from the east towards the Emyn Muil. Suddenly, they hear the screech of a – what is presumed to be – ...
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11
votes
1
answer
747
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What were the other 8 Nazgûl doing while the Witch-king weakened Arnor?
While the Witch-king established Angmar and battled the 3 kingdoms of Arnor, what were the other 8 Nazgûl doing? Were they helping him or did they have other tasks? It seems like they could have been ...
- 134k
55
votes
5
answers
24k
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How powerful were the Nine really?
It is explained numerous times how powerful and deadly the Nazgûl are — however, on multiple occasions, they failed their master badly.
Some examples:
Frodo and the Hobbits escaped both during the ...
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49
votes
3
answers
7k
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Did the Nazgûl retain their Rings of Power?
In The Fellowship of the Rings, Frodo sees the true appearance of the Nazgûl:
He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, ...
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22
votes
5
answers
4k
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Are Ringwraiths the only Wraiths in Middle-earth?
After reading this answer to my question about wraiths, ghosts, and wights in Middle-earth, I understand that Ringwraiths are the result of people who have been corrupted by using the rings, but that ...
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44
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5
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Are the Nazgûl Harmed by Water? [duplicate]
So I'm watching the LOTR trilogy and I'm on Fellowship of the Ring. It seems as if the Nazgûl actively avoid water, such as at the Bucklebury Ferry and the river at Rivendell. Does water harm the ...
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33
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2
answers
8k
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What happened to the Nazgûl after they were swept away by the river?
In the book, The Fellowship of the Ring (chapter 12 "Flight to the Ford"), all nine Nazgûl were swept away by the waters of the river Bruinen, and their horses drowned. They show up later in ...
- 134k
11
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2
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3k
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If Sauron had triumphed, would the Witch King have been reincarnated?
If Sauron had managed to regain the One Ring and defeated the forces of the West, would the naked disembodied spirit of the Witch King of Angmar be given a new form after his corporeal/spiritual ...
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7
votes
1
answer
855
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What did the rings of the Nazgûl do? [duplicate]
The One Ring can corrupt its wearer and make them invisible (potentially with other powers?), but I'm unsure what the other rings of power could do. Were they only able to make the Nazgûl immortal, or ...
- 134k
38
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2
answers
10k
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How did Gandalf know the Nazgûl crossed the river in secret?
Our heroes in Middle-earth knew the Nine Riders were coming even though the riders were keeping their movements secret.
”I have an urgent errand,” he said. “My news is evil.” Then he looked about ...
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-6
votes
1
answer
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The Witch-king vs Gandalf [closed]
I've been reading answers to this question but none of them answer it. Who is stronger in magic and sword-fight? Who would win? People say Gandalf is equal to Sauron, but I find that extremely hard to ...
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41
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7
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Why are the Ringwraiths fearful of coming into contact with water?
At least twice in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Ringwraiths cower away from bodies of water.
The second time (the ford of Bruinen) can be explained away by their fear of some ...
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10
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2
answers
4k
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Witch-king ignoring Frodo's presence in Minas Morgul?
When Mordor's army is marching out of Minas Morgul and Frodo, Sam and Gollum are nearby, The Witch-king stops all of the sudden and starts looking around.
I remember reading somewhere that he indeed ...
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33
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7
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Why didn't the Nazgûl stab more people to create more wraiths?
My understanding is that those stabbed by a Morgul blade slowly turn into a wraith.
Is there a reason the Nazgûl and the Witch King of Angmar did not go around stabbing people and turning them into ...
38
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2
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8k
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Why didn't the Witch-king of Angmar conquer The Shire?
The Shire was formerly a part of Arnor (it later became a part of Arthedain after Arnor fragmented). The Witch-king's sole objective was to destroy the North Kingdom (Arnor).
Eventually the Witch-king ...
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37
votes
2
answers
9k
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Are all Ringwraiths called Nazgûl in LotR?
I knew before that the Black Riders and Ringwraiths and Nazguls are one and the same. But even before that, when I was little and saw the movies when they first came out, I thought the Nazgul referred ...
CommunityBot
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54
votes
4
answers
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Why did Peter Jackson add the Nazgûls attack scene in Bree when it was not present in the original story, nor very important for the plot?
Although it's a very good scene from the film, I don't see why Peter Jackson added it to the story (remember).
In the books, the Hobbits do not meet the Nazgûl in Bree, and that does not really ...
CommunityBot
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46
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4
answers
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Who stabbed Frodo?
In The Lord of the Rings there are five Nazgûl that remain behind and attack the Hobbits on Weathertop.
Which Nagûl stabbed Frodo? Was it the Witch-king or was he one of the four that pursued Gandalf?...
CommunityBot
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2
votes
0
answers
129
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Do the Nine Kings of Men still wear the rings after turning into Nazgûl? [duplicate]
Sauron gave several rings of power to many species that inhabited Middle Earth. The men were the most gullible and had been transformed into wraiths that are loyal to Sauron. After this transformation,...
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4
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How does one fight the Nazgûl?
In Fellowship of the Ring, it is said in several places that Aragorn, Glorfindel, and perhaps even a few other people, were able to fight off Nazgûl; they can't fend off all nine at once, but if they ...
CommunityBot
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1
answer
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If somebody stole the nine rings from Sauron, could that person control the Ringwraiths?
This came up in the comments to another question.
According to Letter #246 of J. R. R. Tolkien,
Sauron ... still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills. (...
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1
answer
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How did Sauron continue to hold the Nine after he was defeated in the Second Age?
The Nazgûl appeared during the Second Age. Long after that, Númenor was destroyed along with Sauron's physical form, and relatively shortly after that, Sauron was again vanquished by Isildur and his ...
CommunityBot
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6
votes
1
answer
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Would a Nazgûl in possession of the One Ring seek to use it? [duplicate]
All who came to possess the One Ring after Sauron, who possessed ambition for great deeds (basically not hobbits) have sought to master the Ring and use its power to serve their cause. Few, such as ...
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3
votes
2
answers
517
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Meaning of the text about the death of the Witch-king
After the Witch-king is stabbed by Merry and Éowyn Tolkien writes..
a cry went up into the shuddering air, and faded to a shrill wailing, passing with the wind, a voice bodiless and thin that died, ...
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30
votes
1
answer
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How Was the Sound of the Nazgûl Composed?
Yes, yes, I am a complete freak. I think the screech/scream of the Nazgûl is both AWESOME and terrifying at the same time. I love it even though it makes me shiver!
How was the sound of the Nazgûl ...
- 77.5k
7
votes
2
answers
324
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Why was the realm of shadows impenetrable to vision but not hearing?
Did Tolkien ever explain why those in the realm of shadows (Nazgul, Frodo, Bilbo) were not visible from the normal realm; and yet could hear and be heard (Nazgul could speak to humans, and hear their ...
- 39k
9
votes
1
answer
968
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Are the 9 Nazgûl rings visible when worn?
We know that the Ring-wraiths themselves are invisible in the flesh:
And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. - The ...
CommunityBot
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2
votes
1
answer
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How did Eowyn kill the Witch King? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How Did Éowyn Slay the Witch King of Angmar if He Wasn’t Alive?
I've watched The Lord Of The Rings trilogy so many times, but I have never actually read the books. In the ...
CommunityBot
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3
votes
0
answers
319
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How does Aragorn defeat the Wraiths on Weathertop so easily? [duplicate]
I'm showing my ignorance here, but in the Fellowship of the Rings movie Aragorn seemed to drive away the Ring Wraiths away from Weathertop relatively easily. Were the Nine weaker at that point in the ...
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