From Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Gondor and the heirs of Anárion.Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall.
Let me see... That blade was made with specific purpose but can someone else kill the Witch King without that blade? I think that no one can kill him. But then the Nazgûl have specific kind of immortality. They are immortal till the One Ring forged by Sauron exist or other magic power broke spell that kept the Witch King alive (but that spell is the Power of the One Ring).Arvedui said:- Someone in Arnor made a blade with the specific purpose of being able to brake the spell that kept the W-K alive.
You really made me scratching my head.baragund said:One could suppose that after Merry's blow, the Witch King would have died of old age. Perhaps Eowyn's coupe de grace was not necessary.
Then this would imply that the wraiths have managed to rescue their rings from the waters of the Ford, after they were drowned.To maintain that power, their Rings must be worn.
I will have to dig out the actual quote tonight, but Tolkien wrote that Sauron held the Nine Rings himself. The Nazgul no longer wore them.baragund said:Ingwe, my impression is that the Nazgul got their power (longevity, strength, ruthlessness, ability to strike fear into others, etc.) from each of the Nine Rings that were given to them by Sauron. To maintain that power, their Rings must be worn.
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I mean, after Eowyn put the finishing touch on the Witch King, could his Ring have been left in the dirt, fully functioning, waiting for some poor slob to pick it up, put it on and become the newest Nazgul?
Hm, it may be that there is an inconsistency in Lotr; at the council of Elrond Gandalf says: (emphasis added):
So we have a direct statement from Tolkien that Sauron held the nine rings of the Nazgul; in keeping with Galadriel's statement tha Thorondor quoted above.Would they have been immune from its power if he claimed it as an instrument of command and domination?
Not wholly. I do not think they could have attacked him with violence, nor laid hold upon him or taken him captive; they would have obeyed or feigned to obey any minor commands of his that did not interfere with their errand -- laid upon them by Sauron, who still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills.
They were by far the most powerful of his servants, and the most suitable for such a mission, since they were entirely enslaved to their Nine Rings, which he now himself held; they were quite incapable of acting against his will, and if one of them, even the Witch-king their captain, had seized the One Ring, he would have brought it back to his Master
So we come to a conclusion that the Nazgûl were immortal and their immortality was given by the One Ring. They cannot destroy the Nine Rings because they are hold by Sauron.baragund said:To kill them, you would have to a) stab them with another Barrow Downs blade, b) somehow destroy their own Rings or c) destroy the One.
Discussion in next post.Earnur now rode back, but Glorfindel, looking into the gathering dark, said: "Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall!" Those words many remembered; but Earnur was angry, desiring only to be avenged for his disgrace. [Appendix A, ROTK]
"Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people," he said. "Sharp blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking, east, south, or far away into dark and danger." Then he told them that these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dum in the Land of Angmar. [Bombadil giving the blades to the hobbits in "Fog on the Barrow-downs" in FOTR]
"Look!" he cried; and stooping he lifted from the ground a black cloak that had lain hidden by the darkness. A foot above the lower hem there was a slash. "This was the stroke of Frodo's sword," he said. "The only hurt it did to his enemy, I fear; for it is unharmed, but all blades perish that pierce that dreadful King. More deadly to him was the name of Elbereth." [Aragorn to the hobbites on Weathertop in "Flight to the Ford" in FOTR]
"By Elbereth and Luthien the Fair," said Frodo with a last effort, lifting up his sword, "you shall have neither the Ring nor me!"
Then the leader, who was now half way 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 laboring. His sword broke and fell out of his shaking hand. The elf-horse reared and snorted. The foremost of the black horses had almost set foot upon the shore. [Frodo confronting the Witch King and the Nazgul at the Ford of Bruinen in "Flight to the Ford" in FOTR]
A sword rang as it was drawn. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may"
"Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!"
Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest, It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
The winged ceature screamed at her, but the Ringwraith made no answer, and was silent, as if in sudden doubt. [Eowyn confronting the Witch King in "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" in ROTK]
The face of their enemy was not turned towards him, but still he hardly dared to move, dreading lest the deadly eyes should fall on him. Slowly, slowly he began to crawl aside; but the Black Captain, in doubt and malice intent upon the woman before him, heeded him no more than a worm in the road. [Merry watching the encounter between Eowyn and the Witch-king in "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" in ROTK]
But suddenly he too stumbled forward with a cry of bitter pain, and his stroke went wide, driving into the ground. Merry's sword had stabbed him from behind, shearing through the black mantle, and passing up beneath the hauberk had pierced the sinew behind his mighty knee.
"Eowyn! Eowyn!" cried Merry. Then tottering, struggling up, with her last strength she drove her sword between crown and mantle, as the great shoulders bowed before her. The sword broke sparkling into many shards. The crown rolled away with a clang. Eowyn fell forward upon her fallen foe. But lo! the mantle and hauberk were empty. Shapeless they lay now on the ground, torn and tumbled; and 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, and was swallowed up, and was never heard again in that age of this world. [The destruction of the Witch King in "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" in ROTK]
And still Meriadoc the hobbit stood there blinking through his tears, and no one spoke to him, indeed none seemed to heed him. He brushed away the tears and stooped to pick up the green shield that Eowyn had given him, and he slung it at his back. Then he looked for his sword that he had let fall; for even as he struck his blow his arm was numbed, and now he could only use his left hand. And behold! there lay his weapon, but the blade was smoking like a dry branch that has been thrust in a fire; and as he watched it, it writhed and withered and was consumed.
So passed the sword of the Barrow-downs, work of Westernesse. But glad would he have been to know its fate who wrought it slowly long ago in the North-kingdom when the Dunedain were young, and chief among their foes was the dread realm of Angmar and its sorcerer king. No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will. [Merry after the destruction of the Witch King in "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" in ROTK]
But Aragorn came to Eowyn, and he said: "Here there is a greivous hurt and a heavy blow. The arm that was broken has been tended with skill, and it will mend in time, if she has the strength to live. It is the shield-arm that is maimed; but the chief evil comes through the sword-arm. In that there now seems no life, although it is unbroken." [Aragorn tending Eowyn in "The Houses of Healing" in ROTK]
"Do not be afraid," said Aragorn. "I came in time, and I have called him back. He is weary now, and grieved, and he has taken a hurt like the Lady Eowyn, daring to smite that deadly thing." [Aragorn speaking to Pippin about Merry in "The Houses of Healing" in ROTK]
For her shield-arm was broken by the mace of the Witch-king, but he was brought to nothing, and thus the words of Glorfindel long before to King Earnur were fulfilled, that the Witch-king would not fall by the hand of man. For it is said in the sings of the Mark that in this deed Eowyn had the aid of Theoden's esquire, and that he also was not a Man but a Halfling out of a far country, though Eomer gave hime honour in the Mark and the name of Holdwine. [Footnote about Eowyn in Appendix A of ROTK]
Aragorn commented on Frodo's mis-stab at the Witch King, which was not what saved him. Why then did the Witch King leave without the Ring? Because the name of Elbereth was deadly to him though Frodo's attack was not.Greenwood said:
You missed the later passage about Merry's blade, which I quoted on page 1 of this thread:- No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will.Greenwood said:Now, lets look at the famous passage about Merry's blade. It does not say Merry's stab destroyed the Witch-king. It does not say Merry's blade dealt a mortal wound; it says it dealt a "bitter" wound.
Alot of the knowledge and power of Numenor dissapeared with its fall, and not everything about it was known by Gandalf, Aragorn or Elrond. If the theory that one of descendants of Elros put a certain magic in the blade is correct, we shouldn't expect Gandalf to recognize it, since he wasn't able to recognize even the particular magic of the One ring.
Aragorn had already stated why the Witch-king retreated. It is found three paragraphs before he discusses Frodo's unsuccessful stab at the Witch-king:Eledhwen said:Aragorn commented on Frodo's mis-stab at the Witch King, which was not what saved him. Why then did the Witch King leave without the Ring? Because the name of Elbereth was deadly to him though Frodo's attack was not.
The Witch-king withdrew becuase he had succeeded in stabbing Frodo with his Morgul blade. He thought he had now only to wait for Frodo to succumb to the wound. In the meantime, he would reunite all the Nazgul for another attack. The Witch-king showed no fear of the supposedly deadly blades from the barrow."I think I understand things better now," he said in a low voice. "There seem only to have been five of the enemy. Why they were not all here, I don't know; but I don't think they expected to be resisted. They have drawn off for the time being. But not far, I fear. They will come again another night, if we cannot escape. They are only waiting, because they think that their purpose is almost accomplished, and that the Ring cannot fly much further. I fear, Sam, that they believe your master has a deadly wound that will subdue him to their will.
["Flight to the Ford", FOTR; emphasis added]
I did not miss that passage. It is the very passage I am primarily discussing and you will find it with all the other passages from LOTR I included in my post # 34 above.Eledhwen said:You missed the later passage about Merry's blade, which I quoted on page 1 of this thread:
1)The Narrator is ultimately Frodo (and his heir Sam and his heirs) since the book is supposed to be based on the Red Book of Westmarch. There is no infallible Narrator (within the context of the story). 2) No, the passage does not say that. It says no other blade would have dealt such a "bitter" (read painful) wound. It does not say that no other blade could have killed the Witch-king. Eowyn's clearly did. The passage must be read in context with the rest of what is written in LOTR. If the power of the Witch-king had been destroyed by Merry's blade, why was Eowyn's blade destroyed when she stabbed the Witch-king? How could she be suffering from the same malady as Merry which came from stabbing the Witch-king? If the blades from the barrow were so deadly to the Witch-king, why was this never mentioned by Aragorn, Gandalf or Elrond?Eledhwen said:This quote was not the opinion of a character in the story (and therefore fallible) but spoken by the Narrator. It states very clearly that Merry's blade undid the ability the Witch King had to prevent damage to his own body (note he has sinews, so he is not pure spirit, just invisible).
The blades from the barrow have nothing to do with Numenor. They are products of Arnor in Middle Earth when Arnor fought Angmar and its Witch-king some 1500 years after the destruction of Numenor. Wild, unfounded theories about descendents of Elros making the blades are irrelevant. This is just another example of your habit of postulating some theory to suit yourself and then treating it as a fact.Thorondor said:Alot of the knowledge and power of Numenor dissapeared with its fall, and not everything about it was known by Gandalf, Aragorn or Elrond. If the theory that one of descendants of Elros put a certain magic in the blade is correct, we shouldn't expect Gandalf to recognize it, since he wasn't able to recognize even the particular magic of the One ring.
"When did I first begin to guess?" he mused, searchig back in memory. "Let me see -- it was in the year that the White Council drove the dark power from Mirkwood, just before the Battle of Five Armies, that Bilbo found his ring. A shadow fell on my heart then, though I did not yet know what I feared. I wondered often how Gollum came by a Great Ring, as plainly it was -- that at least was clear from the first."
["The Shadow of the Past", FOTR; emphasis added]
I misinterpreted the passage "so passed the sword of the Barrow-downs, work of Westernesse"; I stand corrected.They are products of Arnor in Middle Earth when Arnor fought Angmar and its Witch-king some 1500 years after the destruction of Numenor
I disagree; chapter 1, TTT, emphasis added: "They were borne by the hobbits. Doubtless the Orcs despoiled them, but feared to keep the knives, knowing them for what they are: work of Westernesse, wound about with spells for the bane of Mordor"Wild, unfounded theories about descendents of Elros making the blades are irrelevant
No, we do not come to any such conclution, even if perhaps you do.Ingwë said:So we come to a conclusion that the Nazgûl were immortal and their immortality was given by the One Ring. They cannot destroy the Nine Rings because they are hold by Sauron.
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