Which Names Were Worth "1,000 Mail-Clad Knights?

[Forlong the Fat]

When the captains are planning the last "assault" on Mordor, Imrahil says something to the effect that Sauron is likely to laugh at the attack because the force is smaller than the van of Gondor's army at its height. Gandalf responds that Sauron won't laugh, and that there are names in the group "worth more than a thousand mail-clad knights." I've always been intrigued by that line, which I take to mean that there are individuals in the group, about whom Sauron knows, and whom he holds in such esteem that he would worry about them more than if the force had another thousand knights.

So the question is, who is on that list?

Gandalf, I think, is obvious.

Aragorn I think is fairly obvious, too, not only because of the threat he represents as Isildur's heir, with his sword, but also because of his ability to rally the whole of Gondor.

But who else?

Elrond's sons seem like a possibility, not only because they are powerful evles, but because their father was present when Sauron fell the last time (something Sauron might tend to remember)

Maybe Imrahil? I feel like we don't know enough about him to say for certain. But there certainly is a strong suggestion that he has a profound inner power (e.g., walking the walls with Gandalf undaunted when everyone else in Gondor was in terror of the Nazgul). I would put him down as a maybe.

Am I missing anyone?

And, as a related question, who else in Middle Earth at the time who was not present would have fallen in the same category?

My list:

Galadriel
Celeborn (maybe)
Elrond
Cirdan
Glorfindel
Some handful of High Elves remaining in Rivendell or the Grey Havens
Saruman
Radagast (this one's hard to accept--he seems to have made himself something of a joke)
The Blue Wizards, if they still were alive and hadn't converted to darkness
The Eagles

Anyone else?

[Inziladun]

Welcome, Forlong!

I think your list is pretty sound as to the names Gandalf would have had in mind. I might add Éomer as well, as the king of Rohan. The deaths of any his enemies' leaders would obviously have been a great achievement for Sauron.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I like your list - and this topic (and welcome to the 'Downs!). I would agree on most you have said, and mentioned on the list.

All the "obvious ones" are names which have the sound of "wow, what a powerful/ancient and wise/descended from incredibly legendary lineage/any other similarly good reasons guy". So, I think Gandalf, Aragorn, and Elrond for example are completely undebatable. Galadriel likewise (Sauron actually was supposed to really fear her) and even Celeborn, I think (even though did not seem so, hmm, how to say it, active at times, or as impressive, but still I think Sauron would not care and throw him in the same bag with Galadriel). Círdan would fit, too, if he was in that army, of course, as much as Saruman would.

I don't know about Radagast. Depends how much Sauron knew about him. If very little, he could fear him based on what he was (as in: "What is this? Another Gandalf? Perhaps weaker, but still similar in power? Then I should be afraid"). But I think from what Sauron was like, his reaction would be more similar to Saruman's: he would just laugh at Radagast. Though maybe if Radagast was a part of this large group of Aragorns, Gandalfs and others, it would add to his fears more than if there was, say, even a strong Gondorian general in there.

Speaking of that, Boromir would certainly qualify, had he been alive (he was a man with the reputation of a true warrior, and brave and all). Not sure if his brother had such a strong reputation as well, but maybe he would qualify as well. Which naturally leads me to concluding Imrahil might have qualified, if you count his blood too. We don't know what were his deeds otherwise - that is the only reason why I would doubt it. But if e.g. Imrahil used to be a feared foe of the Haradrim, then for sure. For that matter, your namesake seems to have enjoyed a rather good reputation, so even he might have been among those names (were he alive), if he was really e.g. a war hero or somesuch.

The Elves, however, probably mostly lack the fact of being known to Sauron for him to fear them. Glorfindel is one I am not sure about in this respect. I am sure that if Sauron knew about them, he would be freaked out maybe even more than about many of the others. (Well, maybe at least after the Fords of Bruinen he knew that there was something like that, from the Nazgul.) Elladan and Elrohir would be feared, for sure, just because of being Elrond's sons if nothing else, but also they seem to be well-known and also they are Orc-slayers and after joining Aragorn etc. they would be even more, so...

Eagles are something Sauron would deeply hate and yes, probably even fear on purpose (because of all the ancient stuff related to Thorondor being such a menace even for Morgoth etc.), but they won't probably count as "names" (I doubt Sauron knew the names of any Third Age eagles). That'd be the same with e.g. Ents (which he probably thought they didn't exist anymore just as much as Saruman did).

If we are speaking theoretically, people like Brand (from the lineage of the guy who had killed the dragon, if nothing else) or Dáin (a very famous Dwarf) would probably also fit. Maybe even Balin (again, had he lived).

(edit: cross-posted with Inzil)

[Mithalwen]

I think Imrahil might qualify because he seems incorruptable and unafraid. i
In all things that we see of him provides an example of the leadership and indeep with regard to Faramir the paternal care Denethor is unable to give because of his despair. He has no inclination to seize power for himself but acknowledges seemingly instinctively Aragorn for who he is and acts accordingly. He is his own man and yet maintains respect for the appointed order. You cannot imagine him aver agreeing to be suzerain of a thrall state as per the offfer made at the parley.

He has wisdom and wit and maybe, as in some more than others of the same lineage the blood of Numenor ran truer, maybe he has more than his entitlement of Elvish longsight.

[Forlong the Fat]

Thanks for the comments and the warm welcome.

I have my doubts whether Sauron would consider any "mere" man (someone without at least some elvish or Numenorean blood) as a real threat. So I'm not convinced that Eomer or even possibly Boromir (in whom Gandalf noted the blood of Numenor did not run true as in Faramir) would catch his attention.

As for his knowledge of Glorfindel, I suspect that Sauron would be well aware of him. Recall that Saruman seemed to know all about even Gimli. Whether that knowledge came from the Palantir or some other method is not clear, but I would assume that Sauron had at least as much knowledge of the denizens of ME, particularly those few who could present a real threat to him.

[Boromir88]

Hello Forlong, welcome to the 'Downs. You've actually drawn me out of my Books' forum hibernation and have me thinking about your ideas in this thread.

One thing to remember, is I don't think the only measure of who Sauron would view as "worth more than 1,000 mail-clad knights" is a person's "power." I'll use Saruman as an example. Simply because Saruman would have been more powerful than Eomer, or Aragorn, does not mean Sauron would have viewed Saruman as a bigger threat to him. For Sauron knew Saruman was much like him:

Sauron had, in fact, been very like Saruman, and so still understood him quickly and could guess what he would be likely to think and do, even without the aid of palantiri or of spies; whereas Gandalf eluded and puzzled him~HoME X: Morgoth's Ring; Myths Transformed

Sauron knew and understood Saruman well, because Saruman, in fact becomes more like a cheap knock off, or a "Sauron lite" if you will. Where Gandalf, he could never figure out, suggesting he had more reason and cause to fear Gandalf. Similar to how Aragorn revealing himself to be Isildur's heir in the palantir, surprises and causes Sauron to doubt his plans. Doubt enough that leads to him launching his attack against Gondor sooner than planned.

"Over confidence" (at least Sauron as he is in Lord of the Rings) really isn't one of his vices. He was pragmatic, and rational, preferring order, coordination, knowing how best to employ his resources and not waste them. A very different Dark Lord/villain from Morgoth. He was perfectly fine with ruling and dominating the wills of people, I would even say he preferred it to spending resources to destroy people. An ultimate control freak.

So, I would add Gimli (and in general the dwarves) to the list. Dwarves were a resilient race, who were impossible for Sauron to tame. Gimli and Gloin go to Rivendell to report messengers have come from Sauron demanding information, but also a bribe to stay out of Sauron's business, and don't get involved. The Dwarves might have been a withdrawn race, but Sauron certainly remembered Durin's House always stood against him. And Sauron feared their involvement enough to try to bribe them into staying in their mountains.

I would not rule out a person's power as one of the criteria, but it wouldn't be the only one, and I don't even know if it would be the most important one, because of how Sauron conducted his business. He was more concerned about powerful individuals whose minds he did not know (Gandalf), or people who, in a sense, were beyond his ability to corrupt/manipulate into subjugation (Aragorn, Imrahil, the Elves, Durin's House...I can see an argument for Eomer, but not Rohan on it's own. I think the main fear Sauron had with Rohan was allying and bringing troops to Gondor's aid - and hence, why he was still leaving Saruman in Isengard.). Because if he couldn't manipulate subjugation that meant he had to spend resources to force subjugation, and Sauron did not like being wasteful unless necessary.

[Morthoron]

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was one dangerous broad. I can see her now, wielding her bumbershoot, crying "Get off my lawn!" as she despatched Orcs until they lay in great heaps in a circle about her.

[Forlong the Fat]

The dwarves are interesting. They would never submit to him, and that would certainly bother him very much. Even if he regained his ring he could not have brought them within his dominion, and probably would have to resort to genocide. On the other hand, they probably weren't a direct threat to him. They could not have meaningfully assaulted him, and were unlikely to even try. This makes them very different from Aragorn or Glorfindel, say, who could presumably even challenge him in single combat, as Elendil and Gil-Galad did.