Hello Alphack,
Regarding
Barrow-Wights, I posted this elsewhere, but it ought to answer a mountain of questions. The questions were posed by Amandil on another forum.
Question:
1.) Who were the Wights? We know they were sent by
Angmar, but what were their origins before they passed into the shadow world? Could they have possibly been the
men of Carn Dum, who were killed in the siege of Cardolan. Could Angmar have used these
evil spirits to haunt the Barrows in order to keep anyone from ever settling in that region again?
A) This is my personal opinion, based on one quote only. They are certainly the tortured souls and spirits emanated from
Angband, though they are neither
Elvish, nor or they corrupted
Maiar spirits.
For they revealed themselves to
Merry in their true form;
quote:
'The Men of Carn Dum came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!' He clutched at his breast. No! No! he said, opening his eyes. What am I saying, I have been dreaming
I beleive this quote in itself signifies the origin of these spirits as Men, captured, tortured and corrupted by
Melkor/
Sauron, died in captivity, spirits then subject to Sauron, master of phantoms that he was, and the irony being that they were sent to inhabit the barrows of their own kind. A mockery in itself that they re-animated the bones of the
Kings of old, haunting the
places that were esteemed by the
Numenoreans, who the
Witch-king was charged with destroying. My thoughts and always up for debate.
Question:
2.)
Bombadil told the
hobbits to pass the barrows on the west (in the direction of the Lords of the West-Valar/
Aman). When the hobbits reached the hill with the saucer shaped hollow on it's crown, they fell asleep on
the east side (in the direction of the Lord of the East-Sauron/
Mordor) of the standing stone. Is this, along with the Witch King's visit to the downs, what initiated their capture? Had they heeded
Tom's advice and slept on the west side of the stone, would they have escaped the Downs unharmed? Was thier capture by Old Man Willow initiated by the Witch King's visit? Why wasn't Bombadil aware of the evil presence of Angmar, especially since his presence aroused that which was evil in
The Old Forest? Bombadil apparently knew a bit about the people of Cardolan and about th Wights themselves. If this was the case, why would he be clueless about Angmar, the being that initiated the fall of Cardolan and the haunting of the Barrows?
A) No matter which side they slept on, they were destined to be captured. They had followed the path as best they could, the fact however remains that they dwelt too long in a place that was still under the spell of the Wights. They had become disorientated in the fog, which was deliberately set as a method of confusing them. The sleep, which might be explained by the journey, the
food, the warmth, was still most likely an enchantment, for they had rested beside a stone, and this Tom had warned them about.
As far as Old Man Willow goes; he was black in his heart either way and had long been set in his ways, long before even the Witch-King had visited the region.
quote:
Tom says; 'The countless years had filled them with pride and rooted wisdom, and with malice. But none were more dangerous than the Great Willow; his heart was rotten, but his strength was green etc.
Trees were not subject to the evils of Melkor, Sauron or the Witch-King, their spite was nurtured and cultivated by very different reasons, mainly filled with a hatred of all things that go free on the earth, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning; destroyers and usurpers. This would ensure that trees, would be subject to no-one but themselves, disliking any who threatened them, and even for Old Willow-Man, those who didnt.
Question:
3.) What's the deal with the gold and jewels? It is more than likely that the Lords and Kings buried in Tyrn Gorthad were entombed with their possessions, but why, when Tom placed them on top of the barrow, was the spell of that barrow broken?
A) It is clear from the burial rituals of humankind (Germanic, Celtic, Norse and actually most civilisations in history) that people, especially warriors and Kings are prepared for their journey to the afterlife. On many occassions it has been found that these higher beings are buried with their families,
dogs and even servants, who themselves may have been killed in order to accompany the warrior or King on their journey; which in itself is pretty crap for those who were related! Though this was a great honour?
As far as the Wights were concerned, their preparation of their sacrificial subjects depended heavily on the adornment of jewels, trinkets and circlets; this is possibly because the sacrifice itself was to Sauron, therefore they needed to be prepared in a way that would satisfy their master. One doesnt make an offering to their
God without first ensuring it is of the highest quality, if it was unsuitable, would this not risk the wrath of their God? Opening the barrow to sunlight and scattering the possessions of the dead would render this useless to any spirit thereafter, for this tomb was already sullied and any sacred meaning it had was lost. Yet the very fact they sacrifice anyone is in mockery of
Eru and a victory of of his opponents, I cannot relate it any other way than via a passage from the bible;
quote:
The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. Deuteronomy 12:29-32
Question:
4.) If the Wights were evil spirits, what was up with the long arm and the hand?? Could it be possible that the arm was the arm of the deceased occupant of the barrow?
Who knows the ways of these phantoms? If they can manipulate the bones of the dead, there is no reason why, in the dark, they can extend their evil arm beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals. Yet, we know they also had form outside the barrow, for
Frodo noticed it just before his capture.
A) Originally, Barrow-Wights were similar to the
Nazgul in Tolkiens mind, even related one could say. In 'The Return of the Shadow (HOME)', CRT noted some of Tolkiens scribblings whereby his intention was that the Nazgul were 'horsed' Barrow-Wights. Actually, that varied a number of times, for the Barrow-Wights who had attacked the group on the downs were horsed. It is intriguing to see the development of the story and the characters at the early stage. Though thankfully it did, for we may have had Bingo as Frodo and Trotter as
Strider!!
However, as he progressed thru writing this chapter some significant changes were introduced that dispelled this idea. The problem is that there is no real reference to who they were in his earlier writings, nor does he elaborate on their demise which is what we really want.
Yet, the more I searched other references the more I began to understand that the truth is simple enough to find. This lies in
Tom Bombadil's verse that he sings when he opens the roof of the Barrow;
quote:
Get out, you old Wight! Vanish in the sunlight!
Shrivel like the cold mist, like the winds go wailing
It is exactly this that destroys the Wight, possibly combined with the command of Tom's words, but most likely the power of the clear sunlight that fills the tomb, the Wight becomes as a mist and its screams fade into unmeasureable distance. Why use magic where none is indeed required, Tom knew the power of the sunlight and that in itself was the power he needed for this task.
Regarding Tom stamping on the 'spider-like hand'. There is no clear reference that he does this. Stamping and Thumping could simply describe Tom's 'bull in a china shop' approach to searching the tomb for treasure. Because Frodo thought he saw it, does not mean that Tom stampped upon it. However, if he did, it may be that this 'severed' hand remained in shadow, while the main part of the body was destroyed by the flow of sunlight. This strengthens my belief that it was the Sunlight that destroys the wight more than the verse, if the verse was so powerful, then surely all, even the hand would simply have disappeared.
Question:
5.) Tom said that only folks with hearts that never falter would be able to avoid the dreaded spell of the Barrow-wights. Obviously, Tom was one of these particular folk. Why was Frodo able to wake up while
Sam, Merry, and Pippen were not? Was Frodo too strong hearted to fall under the spell? Did the Wight think that by sacrificing his friends, that Frodo would become so terrified that he would loose stregnth of heart and succumb to the spell?
A) I think it is more to do with the way they were caught by the Wights; From the account of Merry and the trailing scream cut short that Frodo heard, it seems they were attacked more vigourously than Frodo. Frodo was already feint and had fallen to the ground, then was gripped by an icy touch that froze his bones, he remembered no more. This suggests that Frodo did not need to be subdued in the same way the others were, Merry states that they were worsted, come upon with what seemed to him a spear in his heart. This attack, which one must imagine was how
Pippin and Sam were also worsted, was more severe both mentally and physically than Frodo dropping to the ground, almost swooning before being gripped by the cold-ironlike hand.
