Nazgul

Sauron’s Deadly Servant – Part One

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Hail and Well Met Friends!

Earlier this month we did a poll for the website and asked you which topic of lore you wanted to hear about next.  Well, the results came in with the Witchking tying places for first and second, so a coin was flipped and guess who won?  So, for the next few weeks we will be taking a look into the history of the Witchking.

the_witch_king_by_moni158-d6dv6k1The first sighting of the Nazgul in Middle-Earth was reported in the second age around year 2251. For the next 1200 years, the Lord of the Nazgul would serve Sauron as his second in command. He fought in the war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. It was in the second age when Sauron was finally defeated and the nine Nazgul disappeared from Middle-Earth.

One thousand years into the Third Age, Sauron took a new form as the Necromancer, and founded the fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. This signaled the return of the Nine Nazgul to Middle-Earth.

minas_morgul_by_lucfonzy-d5g67f5The Lord of the Nazgul reappeared in the early part of the third age n the north near the lost realm of Arnor. There he founded the kingdom of Angmar. It was after the formation of Angmar and several conflicts with the Dunedain of the North that the Lord of the Nazgul received the title of Witch-king, Lord of Angmar.

He then began his open war campaign with the three divided kingdoms of Arnor (Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan). The Witch-king invaded the kingdom of Rhudaur and replaced the Dunedain king with a hill chief allied to Angmar.  King Argeleb of Arthedain was killed trying to defend Rhudaur against Angmar. In the year 1409 the troops of the Witch-King assaulted the fortress of Amon Sul and burned the tower, during which conflict king Arveleg of Arthedain was killed. The Witch-King then invaded and destroyed the kingdom of Cardolan. Then the Witch-King invaded Arthedain and came close to destroying it but King Araphor with the help of the elves of Lindon and Rivendell managed to defeat the invading forces.

Soon, the only resistance against the Witch-king’s forces was the western kingdom of Arthedain. The Witch-king continued his war for hundreds of years. In year 1636, the Witch-king sent wights to the Barrow-downs in Cardolan in order to prevent the rebirth of the kingdom. The Witch-king claimed ultimate victory in the north many years later, when his forces captured Fornost, the capital of Arthedain. With its capture, the final kingdom collapsed, and with it, the last remnants of the lost realm of Arnor were destroyed.

post-16935-1167230561The Witch-king gladly took his seat of power in the newly captured Fornost. But his glory did not last long, as general Earnur of Gondor landed at the harbours of the Grey Havens, leading an army of Gondor. His army was joined by the Elves of Lindon and the remnant of the northern Dunedain and marched on the Witch-king.

They did not meet the Witch-king at Fornost, but on the plains west of it toward Lake Evendim, home of the ancient kings of Arnor, Annuminas. The battle would forever be known as the Battle of Fornost. Earnur’s Dunedain army was later joined in the mists of battle by Glorfindel and his Elven army from Rivendell.

The Witch-king revealed himself and challenged Earnur. As Earnur attempted to attack, his horse was overwhelmed with fear of the Nazgul lord and bucked him off. The Witch-king, taunting Earnur, fled the battlefield. When Earnur attempted to follow, Glorfindel stopped him with a warning that would become prophetic in the future: “Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man shall he fall.” The Witch-king, having destroyed the North-kingdom, fled the North. Angmar was left leaderless and soon collapsed.

Until next weeks series, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!

 

 

 

The Nazgul – Part Three

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The Last time we left off we had just seen the Nazgul defeated at the Ford of Bruinen as they were pursuing Frodo to Rivendell.  Washed away and forced to flee we now regroup to see the fate that unfolds for the Nazgul and our final episode on them.

tumblr_lp8vvfyy4h1qg8i80o1_1280Fleeing to Mordor

Returning to Mordor in complete failure, the Nazgul were forced to abandon their hunt for the Ring.  The Nine received Fell Beasts as their new mounts which replaced the horses they had lost at the Ford of Bruinen.  Battle ready once again with their new mounts, the nine attacked the city of Osgiliath with an army of Orcs and swiftly held this location.

 

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The Battle of Pelennor Fields

After this, they made way for the assault on Minas Tirith.  Sauron once again unleashed his deadliest servant The Witch-king to lead his forces at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.  During the battle, the Witch-king confronted Gandalf the White when attempting to enter the city.  Before the Witch-King could engage the great wizard, the forces of Rohan arrived. The Witch-king fled attacking Gandalf immediately to deal with the new threat against his masters forces.  The Witch-King turned his focus upon King Theoden on the battlefield.  As Theoden was crushed by his horse, the Witch King prepared to finish him off but Eowyn and Meriadoc Brandybuck rode out on the battlefield before the Witch King and Theoden’s niece confronted Saurons deadly servant.

 

Cory Godbeyhttp://corygodbey.com/ Death of the Witch-King

Engaging the Witch-King in battle, Eowyn killed the Fell beast. The Witch-King, however, was unaffected by this and attacked Eowyn with his mace.  After breaking her arm, the Witch-King readied the killing blow, but Meriadoc stabbed him in the leg from behind with his Barrow-blade.  Injured, and now off-guard the Witch-king screamed in pain.  Eowyn standing with no fear stabbed her sword into the Witch King’s crown and body killing the lord of the Nazgul and fulfilling the prophecy of Glorfindel.

 

images (1)The Fate of the Remaining

During Battle of the Morannon the remaining eight Nazgul, mounted on Fell beasts, attacked the Army of the West. The Nazgul were confronted by the Eagles, led by Gwaihir. During this time Frodo claimed the Ring near the fires of Mount Doom.  Sauron becoming immediately aware of Frodo, as well as his own folly. Enraged and frantic, Sauron ordered the Nazgul to capture the ring from Frodo.  However, the Nazgul failed; the Ring was cast into the fires of Mount Doom when Gollum bit Frodo’s finger and fell into the Cracks of Doom, with the ring.  Sauron was defeated by the loss of the Ring, and Mount Doom exploded with gigantic volcanic eruptions engulfing all eight of the remaining Nazgul destroying them, their form, and power dissipating forever.

Though this wraps up our series on the Nazgul and the lore behind them it sets us up for our next episode of the Shirelings Weekly Bugle.  Until next time; I am your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a farewell.

 

The Nazgul – Part Two

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Back in action this week and when we left off last time we had just seen the return of the nine in the Third Age.  This week we pick up with the Nazgul in search for the One Ring.

 

NazgulFinalBLOGThe Hunt for the One Ring

Near the beginning of the War of the Ring in 3018, Gollum, who once had the Ring in his posession, was captured and tortured in Mordor.  This lead Gandalf to think the Enemy had now heard and learned of hobbits, the Shire, and even the name Baggins.  He was absolutely correct and knew the Ring Wraiths would soon be on the doorsteps of The Shire looking for the Ring.  Gandalf knew the only thing to do was advise Frodo to leave the Shire and make for Rivendell, taking the Ring with him.

When the Nine entered the Shire, they learned the Ring was in the possession of Bilbo Baggins’ nephew, Frodo Baggins.  While searching for Frodo, one of the Nine, Khamûl the Easterling, had his first encounter with him.  As Frodo and his friends, Sam, Merry and Pippin, took Bucklebury ferry to reach Crickhollow, The Wraith Khamûl, who had missed them at the ferry, was forced to go around to the Brandywine Bridge. Shortly after this, the Nine arrived at Frodo’s new home in Crickhollow.

Though Frodo had already left for Bree by the time the Nine arrived, they were soon given information regarding Frodo’s whereabouts by Bill Ferny, a spy of Saruman.  This being the cause of the Nazgûl attacking Bree, where Frodo was awaiting Gandalf.  However, during the time it took the Nazgûl to reach Bree, Frodo and his friends were hidden away by Aragorn for protection against the Nazgul.

tumblr_lk49n0SoPE1qj19qpo1_500The Journey and Battle at Weathertop

Unable to find the Hobbits, the Nine left Bree, and several days later they encountered Gandalf at Weathertop who was searching the area while on his way to Rivendell to meet up with Frodo.  This lead to a massive battle between Gandalf and The Nine which Gandalf escaped but four of the Wraiths pursued him.  The other five Wraiths remained near Weathertop.  Several days later,  Frodo and his group made camp at the base of the ruins of Amon Sul.

Discovering them, the five Nazgûl attacked and as they confronted the four Hobbits, Frodo put on the Ring and attempted to resist the Nazgûl. The Nazgûl leader The Witch King of Angmar stabbed Frodo with a Morgul-blade.  Aragorn arrived and was able to drive off the Nazgûl with fire.  Aragorn realizing Frodo didn’t have long to live he knew they needed help and that the Nazgul would be back.

flighttothefordCrossing The Ford of Bruinen

The Nazgûl, now regrouped continued the pursuit of Frodo and his company. They caught up with Frodo who was riding the horse of Glorfindel and making his way to Rivendell.  The Nine chasing Frodo to the Ford of Bruinen demanded Frodo hand over the Ring.  Frodo refused and defied them, the Nazgûl began crossing the river to take the Ring.  However, the water, enchanted by Elrond and Gandalf, formed a great wave and swept the Nine away, killing their horses.

Lacking the means to successfully attack Rivendell, where Frodo and his companions took refuge, the Nazgûl were forced to retreat to Mordor on foot and stop their hunt for the Ring.

We are getting close to wrapping this series up as next week we will take a final look into the demise and fall of the Nazgul.

Until next time.

The Nazgul – Part One

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After taking a break from writing this past week and finishing up the Newbie Blogger Initiative event for the month of May I have been itching to get this new post out so I hope you enjoy.

We’re taking a look at Sauron’s dark servants The Nazgûl or also known as the Ring-Wraiths, Black Riders, or The Nine which is my favorite name for these menacing enemy’s of Middle-Earth. They were the dreaded ring-bound servants of Sauron who served him through the second and third ages.

Ringwraiths_by_COVENS_OZ

Once nine great Kings of Men, they were all given Rings of Power. The Nine took them without question and subsequently, after the forging of the One Ring, became slaves of Sauron and later his lieutenants.  Centuries later the effect of the rings left the kings spectral, invisible to all but Sauron and whoever wore the One Ring.

Only two of the Nine were ever named: You have the Witch-King of Angmar which I will be doing a series on later this month, and you also had Khamul, the Lieutenant of Sauron.

The Nazgul in the Second Age

During the Second Age of Middle-earth the Elven-smiths of Eregion forged the Rings of Power, nine of which were given to great and powerful kings of Men.  For many years the nine kings used these rings, which gained them great wealth, prestige and power. However, the effect of the rings made their bodily forms fade over time until they had become wraiths entirely, and served only the second Dark Lord Sauron.

The nine, were first seen around 2251 of the Second Age, and soon became established as Sauron’s primary servants, though they were temporarily dispersed after Sauron’s downfall in 3434 at the hands of Isildur in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

nazgul-the-lord-of-the-rings-movie-hd-wallpaper-1920x1080-1709When the Nine Returned 

Because the One Ring was not destroyed, the Nazgûl re-emerged around 1300 of the Third Age. It was around this time that the Witch-king of Angmar started war against the kingdom of Arnor. The first target was the realm of Rhudaur. After conquering Rhudaur and replacing the Dúnedain king with one of the native Hillmen, possibly descended from the kin of Ulfang, in the year TA 1356 the Witch-king moved against Arthedain, resulting in the death of King Argeleb I.

Arthedain hadn’t been defeated just yet, it still managed to hold a line of defense along the Weather Hills.  The attack came on Cardolan around TA 1409 and during this time, the forces of the Witch-king burned and destroyed the watchtower of Amon Sûl. With the fall of Cardolan, Arthedain’s capital Fornost followed, and with that the last kingdom of Arnor was destroyed.  A year later, a prince of Gondor named Eärnur arrived with the intention of aiding Arthedain.

Discovering that he was too late, he and his army marched against the forces of the Witch-king, utterly destroying them at the Battle of Fornost. The Witch-king escaped and retreated to Mordor, as Angmar had served its purpose.  At some point, the Witch-king sent Barrow-wights to the Barrow-downs to prevent Cardolan from being resurrected. Upon his return to Mordor, the Witch-king gathered the other eight Nazgûl.  Around the year TA 2000 the Nazgul attacked and after a two year long battle finally took Minas Ithil.  They renamed it Minas Morgul, and also acquired a Palantir for the Dark Lord.

It was from Minas Morgul that the Nine directed the rebuilding of Sauron’s armies and the preparation of Mordor for their master’s return. In 2942 Sauron returned to Mordor, and declaring himself returned by TA 2951. He sent two or three of the Nazgûl to garrison his fortress Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. They were led by Khamul, the second most powerful of the Nazgul behind the Witch-King.

Be prepared as next week we will continue our story and finish out what happens to the Nazgul in the Third Age and discover the critical role they play in Sauron’s great plan to overtake Middle-Earth.