We Nine Kings of....where? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Meneltarmacil · 12-03-2004, 04:35 PM

Let's see what we've got here.

One Easterling and three Numenoreans would still leave five wraiths unaccounted for. As for the Witch King, I don't think Tolkien ever mentioned where he was originally from, only that he was sent to Angmar after he became a ringwraith. So he might be one of the Numenoreans or from somewhere else entirely. I think a couple of them are probably from Harad, and it's possible that one of the ancestors of the Rohirrim (who were living in the upper vales of Anduin at the time, as I think I remember) may have been one.

This leads me to an interesting theory: I think that the Witch King may have been from the line of kings that eventually led to Eorl the Young. Before moving to Rohan, that race of people originally lived in the upper vale of Anduin, in the foothills of the Misty and Gray Mountains. The Witch King, after turning ringwraith ,was sent to command Angmar, a region that included part of that area. If Sauron wanted to control that area, I think that he'd probably send someone familiar with the land. However, this is only speculation since we're not given much information about where the Witch King was from. And in fact, Angmar includes more territory to the west that the early Rohirrim wouldn't have gone into.

Gil-Galad · 12-03-2004, 06:14 PM

i remember somewhere where all the nazgul names were written down now i totally forgot...

Estelyn Telcontar · 12-04-2004, 03:41 AM

Names for all nine Nazgûl were invented for a game, so there are lists, but I wouldn't recommend naming them as "correct" or "original" on a Tolkien board like this one - too many people know the source material well here!

Gil-Galad · 12-04-2004, 12:06 PM

funny.... it was in a game i noticied the names, well i thought they were made up, thanks for the input estelyn

Meneltarmacil · 12-05-2004, 04:29 PM

I appear to have made an error in my previous post. I found out that the Rohirrim did not live in the upper vales of Anduin at the time the Nine Rings were given. It seems they were actually living east of Greenwood the Great (later Mirkwood) in Rhovanion and didn't move to the vales of Anduin until later. So the whole theory I put forth about Angmar is definitely wrong. Still, one of the kings/leaders of Rhovanion may have become a ringwraith.

So the possible homelands of the Nazgul are:

Numenor and colonies (3 confirmed)
Rhun (1 confirmed, Khamul)
Harad
Rhovanion, or future Rohirrim
...and possibly more, but these are the only ones that I think could have had kings or lords at the time.

12-03-2004, 04:35 PM	#1
Meneltarmacil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: The bottom of the ocean, discussing philosophy with a giant squid Posts: 2,254	Let's see what we've got here. One Easterling and three Numenoreans would still leave five wraiths unaccounted for. As for the Witch King, I don't think Tolkien ever mentioned where he was originally from, only that he was sent to Angmar after he became a ringwraith. So he might be one of the Numenoreans or from somewhere else entirely. I think a couple of them are probably from Harad, and it's possible that one of the ancestors of the Rohirrim (who were living in the upper vales of Anduin at the time, as I think I remember) may have been one. This leads me to an interesting theory: I think that the Witch King may have been from the line of kings that eventually led to Eorl the Young. Before moving to Rohan, that race of people originally lived in the upper vale of Anduin, in the foothills of the Misty and Gray Mountains. The Witch King, after turning ringwraith ,was sent to command Angmar, a region that included part of that area. If Sauron wanted to control that area, I think that he'd probably send someone familiar with the land. However, this is only speculation since we're not given much information about where the Witch King was from. And in fact, Angmar includes more territory to the west that the early Rohirrim wouldn't have gone into. __________________ I ♣ baby seals. Last edited by Meneltarmacil; 12-03-2004 at 07:54 PM. Reason: Forgot to add my usual post icon, as well as a missing comma. Funny how you don't realize these things until later.

12-03-2004, 06:14 PM	#2
Gil-Galad Psyche of Prince Immortal Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Above a Parapet Obvious exits are: North, South, and Dennis Posts: 4,734	i remember somewhere where all the nazgul names were written down now i totally forgot... __________________ Love doesn't blow up and get killed.

12-04-2004, 03:41 AM	#3
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Names for all nine Nazgûl were invented for a game, so there are lists, but I wouldn't recommend naming them as "correct" or "original" on a Tolkien board like this one - too many people know the source material well here! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

12-04-2004, 12:06 PM	#4
Gil-Galad Psyche of Prince Immortal Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Above a Parapet Obvious exits are: North, South, and Dennis Posts: 4,734	funny.... it was in a game i noticied the names, well i thought they were made up, thanks for the input estelyn __________________ Love doesn't blow up and get killed.

12-05-2004, 04:29 PM	#5
Meneltarmacil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: The bottom of the ocean, discussing philosophy with a giant squid Posts: 2,254	I appear to have made an error in my previous post. I found out that the Rohirrim did not live in the upper vales of Anduin at the time the Nine Rings were given. It seems they were actually living east of Greenwood the Great (later Mirkwood) in Rhovanion and didn't move to the vales of Anduin until later. So the whole theory I put forth about Angmar is definitely wrong. Still, one of the kings/leaders of Rhovanion may have become a ringwraith. So the possible homelands of the Nazgul are: Numenor and colonies (3 confirmed) Rhun (1 confirmed, Khamul) Harad Rhovanion, or future Rohirrim ...and possibly more, but these are the only ones that I think could have had kings or lords at the time. __________________ I ♣ baby seals. Last edited by Meneltarmacil; 12-05-2004 at 04:32 PM. Reason: Adding an "I don't know" clause to the list of places, editing typos