[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Debate currently rages in the N & N forum concerning that mysterious Tolkien character, Gothmog of the Third Age. The aim is to discover who this Gothmog was, for Tolkien gave us but small scraps of information concerning him (or indeed her - though I shall use the term 'he' henceforth). He was lieutenant of Morgul. He assumed control of Sauron's army after the death of the Witch-King. These are givens, and the rest is clever detective work.

For many suppose he was either Orc, Man, or Ringwraith. I think that Gothmog was none of these.

I believe he was neither orc nor (ordinary) man because he had to command orcs and men. Orcs would dislike following a man and vice versa. For such a major role a bigger character is required. Sauron surely thought this too.

Some believe that the answer is now simple: to lead the army, in the event of the Witch-King's death, another Ringwraith is needed. But I find this unlikely too. An interesting point concerns the name itself. No other Ringwraith is named personally; the Witch-King is a title; Khamul is mentioned but not in a finished work. This is probably to make the Ringwraiths more detached and impersonal; possessions of Sauron.

But what also gets me thinking is that Gothmog was not described at all. There would be no reason not to mention that another Ringwraith took the Witch-King's place. The compiler loved Ringwraiths, as is shown by other chapters of the book. I believe Gothmog was left out of the story as much as possible due to a grudge on the part of the compiler of the story (biased Hobbits).

Whom do Hobbits hate, and are powerful enough to lead armies of Orcs and Men? Gothmog was a Warg, I deem. We know that Witchy was Sauron's favourite, that's probably why Gothmog did not have full command regardless. Or it could be that Gothmog was actually a weak, wretched, corrupted Warg, able still to lead Orcs and Men but actually below the level of the top Ringwraith.