The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - What are the wights of Barrow-Downs?

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What are the wights of Barrow-Downs?

It is something that i thought about when i first read the LoTR. Some questions I thought of were "What exactly are the wights, are they like wraiths?" and how they came upon the treasures placed upon the hobbits. If anyone could look at this thread and give me answers i would be very pleased. Thanks ahead of time.

From The Tolkien Companion, under Barrow Downs:

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There, the early Men had buried the noble among their dead. Their descendants, in the Dúnedain kingdoms of Arnor and Arthedain, therefore revered the mounds (which they knew as Tyrn Gorthad), and later princes of Arthedain and Cardolan inhumed their own royal dead there in similar months. But after the final fall of the North-kingdom, evil spirits from faraway Angmar entered the mounds and animated the long-dead corpses. These Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places among the stone-rings and the Downs became a place of dread in nearby lands.

In case you don't know, Arthedain and Cardolan are names of two of the three kingdoms into which Arnor was split after a dispute among the sons of Arnor's king Eärendur. Since these were burial mounds for the noble and royal, it makes sense (well, kinda) to be buried with some of their riches.

The Unfinished Tales says that the wights were sent to the Downs by the Witch-King. This would imply some relation to the Wraiths, though how these people became spirits is not known, while the Wraiths obviously became such from the evil powers of Sauron.

thank you for your reply, but do you mean that the wights were once held under the sway of the witch king, but Sauron was disinterested in their use, or were merely forgotten by sauron? Are the wights guardians of the treasures under the mounds, perhaps for the witch king's later use, or do they guard something of more importance to the witch king perhaps? Also, why would the wights take the treasures from the graves and clad their victims with them?

Tom Bombadil, as part of his song to battle the wight which captured Frodo and Co., says "Vanish in the sunlight!" so perhaps the Barrow-wights were stuck in their hills, and therefore couldn't be used by Sauron in his war.

The Nazgûl, when telling the Dwarves of Erebor they would be reimbursed for information about the whereabouts of "Baggins," could have been thinking of using the riches in the Downs. Otherwise, I can think of no reason to hording the gold and such. Perhaps it's related to dragons hording riches; they too will never use it, but have an insatiable lust for it.

It's also possible that the Wights stayed in the Downs as guardians of their master's fallen realm, just in case he ever came back.

I have no idea of the purpose of clothing the Hobbits in their finery. The purpose of sacrificing the Hobbits, I don't know. Don't even know who they were being sacrificed to, though that's probably just up to speculation.

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Originally Posted by Elianna

I have no idea of the purpose of clothing the Hobbits in their finery. The purpose of sacrificing the Hobbits, I don't know. Don't even know who they were being sacrificed to, though that's probably just up to speculation.

Ibelieve that they perhaps might have been sacrificing them, to create more bodies for other unanimated spirits, intersting point. But this is merely my oppinion and is up to speculation by anyone.

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Ibelieve that they perhaps might have been sacrificing them, to create more bodies for other unanimated spirits, intersting point. But this is merely my oppinion and is up to speculation by anyone.

I always wondered about this, I think that this is probaly the best reason I've heard, not that I've heard many mind you. It seems to make sense and fit nicely.

From In The House of Tom Bombadil:

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Suddenly Tom’s talk left the woods and went leaping up the young stream, over bubbling waterfalls, over pebbles and worn rocks, and among small flowers in close grass and wet crannies, wandering at last up on to the Downs. They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were bleating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all. Sheep walked for a while biting the grass, but soon the hills were empty again. A shadow came out of dark places far away, and the bones were stirred in the mounds. Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places with a clink of rings on cold fingers, and gold chains in the wind. Stone rings grinned out of the ground like broken teeth in the moonlight.

The hobbits shuddered. Even in the Shire the rumour of the Barrow-wights of the Barrow-downs beyond the Forest had been heard. But it was not a tale that any hobbit liked to listen to, even by a comfortable fireside far away. These four now suddenly remembered what the joy of this house had driven from their minds: the house of Tom Bombadil nestled under the very shoulder of those dreaded hills. They lost the thread of his tale and shifted uneasily, looking aside at one another.

Why aren't there wights anywhere else? Like the wights of osgiliath, i like that one. And thank you to celebuial for the compliment.

Wights of Osgiliath?

Perhaps another reason for sending the wights to the Downs was to scare the Hobbits into staying where they were and not messing with the outside world. Of course that would imply that the Witch-King knew and cared about Hobbits, which porbably isn't true.

haha, wights of osgiliath. Just random craziness i thought of. The wights perhaps were sent there due to lack of a better place to put them, they were possibly vassals of the witch king, and simply were placed in the closest grave yard. They could be just like the oath breakers, and would not have been released from the barrows until they did something for the witch king. I like the way you think Elianna, you keep me thinking.

I suppose I always imagined that the Wights were some sort of unquiet spirits; men who had something left on their souls when they died, and so were sort of doomed to eternally (or at least as eternally as Middle-Earth was to last, anyway) haunt their tombs.

But I'm actually more interested in the sacrifice.

Has it occurred to anyone else that perhaps it was a version of the religion that Sauron espoused on Numenor? The one that worshipped Morgoth as the Giver of All, or some such? (I don't have the books right to hand, so forgive me if I make silly comments.)

It seems to me that I remember the adherents of the Sauron/Morgoth, er, 'faith' sacrificing people to Morgoth, or something. Could it perhaps be related to that?

You just had to ask, didn't you?