Gothmog (Third Age)
| Gothmog | |
|---|---|
| Tolkien's legendarium character | |
| Aliases | Lieutenant of Minas Morgul |
| Book(s) | The Return of the King |
Gothmog is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears briefly in The Return of the King, the third volume of The Lord of the Rings as originally printed.
The only reference to Gothmog in The Lord of the Rings is one sentence in The Return of the King.[1] He served in Sauron's army during the War of the Ring, as the lieutenant of Minas Morgul, second-in-command to the Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the nine Nazgûl (Ringwraiths). He took command of the forces of Morgul during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields after the Witch-king is slain by Éowyn and Merry. His fate is not described, although Tolkien writes almost all of the servants of Sauron that fought before the gates of Minas Tirith were killed. Tolkien writes nothing else about Gothmog — not even what race of beings he belonged to.
Gothmog shares his name with another of Tolkien's characters, Gothmog Lord of Balrogs, who is featured in The Silmarillion.
[edit] Adaptations
In the 1977 SPI board game War of the Ring, Gothmog is described as the second-most powerful Nazgûl and chief lieutenant of Minas Morgul.
In Middle-earth Collectible Card Game by Iron Crown Enterprises Gothmog is depicted as a half-troll, wielding a flail.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film, Gothmog is portrayed by Lawrence Makoare (who also portrays the Witch-king of Angmar and Lurtz) and voiced by Craig Parker (who also portrays Haldir).[2] Here Gothmog's role is significantly expanded to the point that he is one of the film's main antagonists alongside the aforementioned Witch-king, Sauron, Denethor and Gollum. Gothmog is interpreted as a deformed Orc general with a stunted arm. According to Peter Jackson, Gothmog's affliction is an elephantiasis-type disease; he dubbed him "the Elephant Man Orc".[clarification needed] Jackson asked the Weta Workshop designers to make Gothmog look diseased. Knowing his penchant for outrageous creatures, they piled elephantiasis growths onto a model in such a way that they hoped even he would find it excessive. However, to their surprise, Jackson deemed it to be 'just about right', thus giving Gothmog his "Elephant Man"-type appearance.[3] In the theatrical release of the film, he is assumed to be killed when the riders of Rohan stampeded the front lines of Mordor; in the extended edition his death is shown to be at the hands of Aragorn and Gimli while he is moving to attack the wounded Éowyn.
He is also a playable Mordor hero in Electronic Arts' real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king, based on Jackson's films as well as Tolkien's writings; Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings: Tactics; in the Evil Mode of Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age; and in the 2nd downloadable upgrade for Lord of the Rings: Conquest. In the Fantasy Flight board game "Middle-earth Quest", he is one of five minions of Sauron.
[edit] References
- ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", ISBN 0-395-08256-0
- ^ "Craig Parker interview by SF-Radio". Craig Parker.net. http://www.craig-parker.net/articles/sfradio.php. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
- ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Special Extended DVD Edition
[edit] External links
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