What's the Significance of Nine in LOTR Fellowship?

[Sarah]

A question came up among my friends:

Is it just a coincidence that there were nine members of the fellowship and nine wringraiths, or is there a deeper meaning to that?

 

[GuardianRanger]

I remember a great thread from years gone by on a bunch of the numbers that appear in Tolkien's mythology.

Click here to read it.

 

[Urambo Tauro]

In The Ring Goes South, Elrond explains:

The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil.

 

[Ingwë]

>>>Added to The Links-thread

We can find everything in the Rings of Power: Three Rings for the Elven Kings, Seven for the Dwarf lords, Nine for the Mortal men.
These are speficic numbers in the Works of Tolkien and probably not only in his books.

In The Ring Goes South, Elrond explains:

The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil.

But are the fellows as powerful as the Nine Riders?

 

[Gothmog]

But are the fellows as powerful as the Nine Riders?

At the end of the War, how many Riders were left and how many of the Fellowship

 

[Hammersmith]

At the end of the War, how many Riders were left and how many of the Fellowship

Eight and eight! Goodness! You're onto something here!
Or did you mean post-ring destruction?

 

[Gothmog]

Eight and eight! Goodness! You're onto something here!
Or did you mean post-ring destruction?

Well the war did not end until the destruction of the ring. However, you have noticed that before its destruction both parties were indeed reduced to eight

 

[Firawyn]

*thoughtful* I wonder if that's just a coinsedence or of Tolkien meant anything by that as well...I know there's significance to 7, and to nince, and to 3, but what of eight?

The only other eight I cant think of was the eight nasty legs on Shelob!!

 

[Hammersmith]

*thoughtful* I wonder if that's just a coinsedence or of Tolkien meant anything by that as well...I know there's significance to 7, and to nince, and to 3, but what of eight?

The only other eight I cant think of was the eight nasty legs on Shelob!!

And the Sender of the Eight...hate...ate....

*Here* are some eights for us all to contemplate on. Did Tolkien think about any of them? I doubt it. Are they relevant? I further doubt it.