No Living Man

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Not owning the references I need, and not being inclined to google it to death, I'll leave your thoughts of opportunity for someone else to poke at (perhaps see if it wiggles). However, this is not an aimless post, as I wanted to include this one thought: where no opportunity arises, don't many characters/people make their own?

I imagine that if I wanted someone dead badly enough, rather than waiting for Fate to show me the crystal clear path and give me a swift kick down it, I'd [plan carefully first and then] just do it! Tosh to lack of opportunity... if you want something badly enough, you go after it. I think that's a law of life somewhere... I've a vague memory of that being called ambition.

Fea

[The Saucepan Man]

Fair enough. I shall re-phrase my answer.

Lack of opportunity and/or ambition.

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Now this may sound beside the point, but no-one seemed to have addressed the question of why no arrows could harm the Ringwraiths... Gandalf himself said that to Legolas after the elf shot down the flying beast that one of the Nazgul was riding on.

How queer: Aragorn said that any blade that pierces the old Witchking will perish. He probably had references to past instances where the old ghoul had been stabbed. Unfortunately though, none of those blades that had pierced the WK before had managed to wound him to any serious degree. Makes you wonder how many times the WK have been sticked before...

Now, given another situation where some Dunedain or Elf tried to assassinate our old zombie with an arrow through the eye (or throat for that matter). Can our cloaked chump be downed by an arrow? Nope; Gandalf said so. On the other hand, a little thrown Westerness dagger will work...

"Hinder me? Thou fool. No puny sword may hinder me! I should know... I got sliced 666 times... " - the Witchking to Dernhelm (Eowyn).

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Fea

But in the previous Ages, why wouldn't someone who wasn't a man try?

I think the reason nobody tried (and we don't know for certain that nobody tried) to kill the WK in an earlier age may again have something to do with his reputation. If he was a figure who many had already tried to despatch, and failed, then it is easy to imagine why there would not be many willing to try again. And it is likely that if anybody did try to despatch him then they would not live to tell the tale. In addition, it would be likely that the WK was difficult figure to locate, let alone to find in isolation without his fellow Nazgul or minions.

Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall

Words such as those which Glorfindel speaks might be enough to scare anybody off from attempting this feat, and note that he also says that his doom is far off. If anybody believed what Glorfindel had said, then they might be assumed to also think that it would not be worth the attempt if the WK's doom was 'far off'.

This makes me wonder whether Glorfindel was right to say what he did. Did he save lives by warning people not to attempt this? Or did he only serve to add to the fearsome reputation of the WK?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

This makes me wonder whether Glorfindel was right to say what he did. Did he save lives by warning people not to attempt this? Or did he only serve to add to the fearsome reputation of the WK?

Both. Lives were saved, depending on whether or not you want to include the lives that the Witch King took because he was able to. It also boosted his bad rep, because picture this:

davem is Glorfindel. Dave says that a newbie isn't worth wasting your time over. He's a bad poster, and reading his stuff will only lower your own IQ. When davem gives this reputation (think lil green boxes), it gives un-named newbie a reeeeally bad rep. That's because davem has a high reputation. A praise from the praiseworthy, so to speak, only opposite. If davindel says that King Newbie is bad, a lot of Downer/MElings are going to hear this, and avoid the newbie.

Now this is a good thing, in that nobody will be corrupted by said newbie, but it's a bad thing because it means that nobody will bother setting the newbie on the straight and narrow (which for the Wikkie is a nice jab to the knee), because we are too busy following davem's statement to think for ourselves.

Did this make any sense, or did I just severely bungle the point I was trying to make?

Fea

[Lalwendë]

No, you didn't bungle what you were trying to say (though you made me laugh, I admit, with that choice of example ).

Glorfindel must have had a good reputation himself if his words were taken in such earnest, and presumably they were also passed on through the generations of Men. What may have been, from him, a strongly worded comment intended to prevent one person from pursuing the WK in folly, may have ended up as what Men (and the WK) took to be prophetic words.

This is all assuming that Glorfindel did not know what he said to be the truth of course. If he was just using a bit of hyperbole to prevent one man's death, then looking at the results, he may have inadvertently caused the deaths of many (as the WK went on to wreak more carnage when he could have been dealt with sooner had Men not been so afraid of him). But if Glorfindel was speaking words of truth, then ultimately he did save lives; and also again added to the WK's reputation.

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

'And it is also said,' answered Frodo. 'Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.'

Sounds quite like those wicked witches in Macbeth ...

But when Glorfindel said that the ol' Witchking's doom is still 'far off', I agree that he was probably advising the puny mortal men not to pit themselves against something beyond their ability.

On the other hand, I wonder why the Barrow-wights (which are supposedly under the command of the ol' ghoul), should keep nasssty Westerness kitchen knives in their homes...