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The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl, the Black Captain, and the Morgul-lord, among other names, is a fictional character from the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, set in the fantasy world of Middle-earth. Within Tolkien's legendarium, he is the chief of the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths), the chief servants of the Dark Lord Sauron. His true given name is not revealed in any of Tolkien's writings, nor are the names of any of the other Nazgûl save Khamûl.

Appearances

Literature

Within the context of Tolkien's legendarium, the Witch-king was originally a great king of Men. In the Second Age, he and eight others were given the nine Rings of Power by the Dark Lord of Mordor, Sauron. The Rings gave them incredible power, with which they furthered their own ambitions, but the Rings eventually corrupted them, turning them into the ghastly, undead Nazgûl.

The first sighting of the Nazgûl in Middle-earth was in 2251 of the Second Age. For the next 1200 years, the Lord of the Nazgûl served Sauron as second in command. He fought in the war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men between 3434 and 3441 of the Second Age. In 3441, when Sauron was defeated by Isildur the nine Nazgûl disappeared from Middle-earth.

One thousand years into the Third Age, Sauron resurfaced, now under the guise of "the Necromancer", and founded the fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. At this time the Nazgûl were reported to be active once again.

Angmar

The Witch-king of Angmar first appeared in 1300 of the Third Age in the north, near the lost realm of Arnor. There he was the ruler of the kingdom of Angmar. It is after the formation of Angmar and several conflicts with the Dúnedain of the North that the Lord of the Nazgûl became widely known as the Witch-king of Angmar, reflecting the fact that he practiced black sorcery^{[citation needed]}.

He then went to war with the three divided kingdoms of Arnor (Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan). In 1409 of the Third Age, the Witch-king invaded the kingdoms of Rhudaur and Cardolan and eventually destroyed both kingdoms. 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.{{fact} In 1636, the Witch-king sent wights to the Barrow-downs in Cardolan in order to prevent the rebirth of the kingdom.^{[citation needed]} The Witch-king claimed ultimate victory in the north in 1974 of the Third Age, when his forces captured Fornost Erain, 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.^{[citation needed]}

The Witch-king took his seat of power in the newly captured Fornost. But his glory did not last long, for in 1975, prince Eärnur of Gondor landed at the harbours of Mithlond, leading an army of Gondorians. His army was joined by the Elves of Lindon and the remnant of the northern Dúnedain and marched on the Witch-king.^{[citation needed]}

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, Annúminas. The battle would forever be known as the Battle of Fornost. Eärnur's army was later joined in the midst of battle by Glorfindel and an Elven army from Rivendell. The combined forces of Elves and Men brought utter defeat to the Witch-king and his forces. After the battle, the Witch-king fled south to Mordor and his kingdom of Angmar, without an able leader, was destroyed. When the Witch-king fled, Eärnur attempted to follow him, but Glorfindel stopped the prince and prophesied,

"Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall."^{[citation needed]}

Minas Morgul

The Witch-king returned to Mordor in the year 1980 of the Third Age. In 2000, the Witch-king led the Nazgûl on a siege of Minas Ithil. They finally captured it in 2002, in the name of Sauron. The city afterwards became known as Minas Morgul, the Tower of Black Sorcery. It was here that the Witch-king made his stronghold, giving him the title of Lord of Morgul.

In 2043, King Eärnil II of Gondor died and his son, the Witch-king's old enemy, Eärnur inherited the throne. Upon his coronation, the Witch-king challenged him to single combat, but Eärnur refused. However, seven years later in 2050, the Witch-king again challenged him, this time he accepted. Eärnur rode out of Minas Tirith to meet the Witch-king in Minas Morgul. He entered the city's gates and was never seen again, thus ending the reign of the Gondorian Kings and causing the beginning of the ruling Stewards of Gondor.

Twelve years after the siege of Minas Ithil, the Witch-king captured Osgiliath. He led hordes of orcs and Haradrim against the city. The city had already been devastated centuries before by a plague, and the Witch-king's forces ruined what remained of the city and destroyed the great bridge linking the east and west banks of the Anduin river.^{[citation needed]}

War of the Ring^{[citation needed]}

In circa 3018, Sauron learned from Gollum that the One Ring was located in an area called "Shire", and sent forth the Ringwraiths disguised. This was seen by many as the beginning of the War of the Ring. At this time, the Riders did not know the location of the Shire, but when they by chance came upon Gríma Wormtongue in Rohan, he told them what he knew of Saruman's plans, including his interest in the Shire, and its location.

The Witch-king of Angmar and the other eight Nazgûl rode swiftly from Mordor to the lands of the Shire. They continued to search for "Baggins" until they tracked him to Buckland. Five of the Riders raided Buckland but could not find the Ring.

The Witch-king led three other Nazgûl to Weathertop where they discovered Frodo Baggins and the other hobbits, accompanied by the Ranger Strider. The Ringwraiths attacked the party and the Witch-king wounded Frodo with a Morgul-blade. Frodo's wound threatened to turn him into a wraith like the Nazgûl.

On the way to Rivendell, the realm of Elrond Half-elven, the company met Glorfindel, who lent Frodo his horse Asfaloth. Pursued by all nine, the horse bore Frodo to the borders of Rivendell, crossing the River Bruinen. Frodo defied the Witch-king and the other Nazgûl, who were on the other side of the river. The river however was under the control of Elrond, who released a great flood, augmented by Gandalf the Grey. The flood drowned the horses of the Ringwraiths, who were forced to return to Mordor empty-handed.

With their return to Mordor, Sauron provided the Nazgûl with great winged beasts as their new mounts. Sauron used the lesser eight Nazgûl for reconnaissance work. The Witch-king, however, returned to Minas Morgul and reassumed the role of commander of Sauron's forces. The soldiers of Gondor defending Osgiliath named him the "Black Captain". The final battle for Osgiliath was fought on March 13, 3019 of the Third Age against Faramir's Rangers.

Siege of Minas Tirith^{[citation needed]}

On March 14 the Witch-king, led massive numbers of Orcs, Haradrim, and Easterlings to besiege Minas Tirith. He was the first ever enemy of Minas Tirith to enter its gate and grounds. Riding on a horse, the Witch-king was prevented from entering the city further by Gandalf.

Théoden had just slain a leader of the Southrons when the Witch-king attacked him. The advancing Rohirrim's horses panicked as his fell beast attacked. Théoden's horse, Snowmane, became frightened, was struck by an arrow, and crushed his master.

As the Witch-king hovered over Théoden, Éowyn, disguised as a man, stood in his way. The Witch-king broke her shield and her left arm with a blow from his mace, but as he prepared to deliver the final blow, Merry plunged his enchanted sword into the back of the Witch-king's knee. Merry's sword had been forged by the men of Arnor long ago, when the Lord of the Nazgûl had been the sorcerer-king of their perennial foe, Angmar.Éowyn quickly rose and thrust her sword into the Witch King's face; as her sword shattered, his clothing fell to the ground and he vanished with a wailing cry,

Here the prophecy of Glorfindel was fulfilled; he had fallen not by the hands of a "man", but by those of a woman and a (male) hobbit.

About ten days later, Sauron himself was defeated when the One Ring was cast into the fires of Mount Doom.

Adaptations

File:Witchking.PNG

Lawrence Makoare portrays and Andy Serkis voices the Witch-king of Angmar in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

The original helmet for the Witch-king designed for the Peter Jackson film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was similar to that of an illustration by John Howe, and this original armour can still be seen in action in the game adaptation by Electronic Arts. However, confusion from crew members, who had not read the books, over whether it was Sauron or the Witch-king on the battlefield, prompted WETA to revise the design to make it more similar to the Black Rider look and then reshoot all his scenes during the 2003 pick-ups.

Names and titles

The title "Witch-king" does not appear in The Lord of the Rings until the Appendices, usually printed as part of The Return of the King. The character is referred to by his other titles during the actual story. His other titles include Black Captain, Lord of the Nazgûl, Lord of Minas Morgul, Lord of the Nine Riders, Wraith-king, Captain of Despair, First of the Nazgûl, High Nazgûl, Lord of the Úlairi (Úlairi is Quenya for Ringwraiths), and Chieftain of the Ringwraiths.

His true name is never given, and therefore among some Tolkien fans, the Witch-king is often simply called Angmar, after the name of the realm he founded and led. Many fans also identify him as one of the three Black Númenóreans Tolkien stated had become Nazgûl, or possibly Isilmo, a Númenórean prince and father of Tar-Minastir. In his notes for translators Tolkien stated that the Witch-king's name and background were not recorded, but that he was probably of Númenórean descent.

Some sources name the Witch-king Murazor or Er-Murazor, and also give names for the other Ringwraiths. However, these names are found solely in the now-defunct Middle-earth-themed role-playing and trading card games produced by Iron Crown Enterprises, and are therefore non-canonical except as noted above, Khamûl, the name of the second highest Ringwraith which was only revealed in Unfinished Tales.^[1]

Cultural references

An undead witch-king named Þráinn appears in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar. It is possible that this was Tolkien's source of inspiration.^{[citation needed]}

The prophecy of Glorfindel also echoes Shakespeare's Macbeth, in which one of the witches foretells that "none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth" (Act IV, scene i). Macbeth is eventually slain by Macduff, who "was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd [that is, was born by a crude caesarean section, and thus was not "born" in the sense of going through the birth canal ]." (Act V, scene viii).

References

^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980). Christopher Tolkien (ed.). Unfinished Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. "The Hunt for the Ring". ISBN 978-0-395-29917-3.

External links

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Witch-king of Angmar at The Thain's Book

[1] Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980). Christopher Tolkien (ed.). Unfinished Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. "The Hunt for the Ring". ISBN 978-0-395-29917-3.

[1]

@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 ===Adaptations===
 [[Image:witchking.PNG|thumb||200px|[[Lawrence Makoare]] portrays and [[Andy Serkis]] voices the Witch-king of Angmar in [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings film trilogy|The Lord of the Rings]]'' film trilogy.]]
-In [[New Line Cinema]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', directed by [[Peter Jackson]], the actions of the Witch-king and the other Ringwraiths differ from that in the book.
-They attack the [[Inn of the Prancing Pony|''Prancing Pony'' inn]] of Bree themselves and wreck the hobbits' rooms, whereas in the book their local accomplices do the deed.
-They also engage in an extended swordfight with Aragorn at Weathertop, in which some of the former are set on fire. In the book, Aragorn faces them with burning brands, since his sword is still broken (the film Aragorn uses a different sword at this point), only one of them is set aflame, and they withdraw quickly.
-At the ford of Bruinen, the Ringwraiths face [[Arwen]], to whom the Witch-king demands "''Give up the Halfling, she-Elf!''", before she summons a flood. In the book, Arwen is not present in this scene, Frodo is alone on the Rivendell side of the ford, and the flood is summoned by Elrond, assisted by Gandalf who conjures the waters of the flood into the shapes of horses (also, the horses of the Nazgûl do not enter the water until Glorfindel comes from behind and frightens them, having appeared in a glowing form that Elves assume only in Valinor).
-In ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', the Witch-king's encounters during the [[War of the Ring]] also differ from that told in the book.
-First, he appears in [[Minas Morgul]] on a fell beast instead of leading the Morgul host on a black horse. He does not sense the Ring as he does in the book, but Frodo recognises him as the Ringwraith who stabbed and nearly killed him, as he cries out in pain, "''I can feel his blade.''"
-Later the Witch-king orders [[Gothmog (Third Age)|Gothmog]] to "''send forth all legions. Do not stop the attack until the city is taken. Slay them all.''" When Gothmog asks him of Gandalf's fate, he replies, "''I will break him.''"
-During the [[siege of Minas Tirith]], the Witch-king is constantly wreaking havoc from the air while mounted on his fell beast, whereas in the book he does not come forth on his horse until the battering ram Grond is at the gate. In the film the first enemies to enter Minas Tirith's grounds are orcs from siege towers, and the first to enter the gate are trolls.
-As Gandalf races to the upper levels of the city on [[Shadowfax (Middle-earth)|Shadowfax]], he unexpectedly runs into the Witch-king on his fell beast. In a duel of "wills", the Nazgûl prevails and shatters Gandalf's staff, knocking the wizard off his horse. However, their confrontation is interrupted, as in the book, by the arrival of the Rohirrim. The scene is only in the extended version of the film.
-Later still, during the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], the Witch-king wields his sword and a huge [[Flail (weapon)|flail]] (rather than the [[Mace (club)|mace]] mentioned in the book) the latter of which he swings at Éowyn several times before finally striking her and breaking her shield.
 The original helmet for the Witch-king designed for the Peter Jackson film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' was similar to that of an illustration by [[John Howe]], and this original armour can still be seen in action in [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game)|the game adaptation]] by [[Electronic Arts]]. However, confusion from crew members, who had not read the books, over whether it was Sauron or the Witch-king on the battlefield, prompted WETA to revise the design to make it more similar to the Black Rider look and then reshoot all his scenes during the 2003 pick-ups.