Photo: New Line Cinema
Nine facts about the Nine Nazgûl:
- The Quenya word for Nazgûl is Úlairi.
- Their leader is known as The Witch-King of Angmar.
- The only one of the Nazgûl whose name is given by the Tolkien is Khamûl. He was a lord of the Easterlings.
- The Nazgûl screeches in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies are mixed from his wife and partner Fran Walsh’s voice.
- According to the Silmarillion, not all the Nazgûl were originally kings: “Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing.”
- Characters who suffered the the Black Breath of the Nazgûl include Frodo, Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry; athelas counters the effects.
- Andy Serkis, the actor portraying Gollum in Jackson’s films, provided the voice for the Witch-King of Angmar in The Fellowship of the Ring.
- The Nazgûl ride not only horses, but also huge, featherless, stinky beasts.
- The Orcs called the Nazgûl “Shriekers”.
Nine facts about the Nine Rings:
- There is some controversy about whether or not the Nazgûl actually had possession of the Nine Rings at the time of The Lord of the Rings. However, according to Tolkien, “They would have obeyed . . . any minor command of his that did not interfere with their errand – laid upon them by Sauron, who still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills..” – Unfinished Tales
- Those wearing the nine rings not only became invisible–much like the One Ring’s wearer–and were also similarly granted longer life.
- Many people assume that Sauron crafted the Nine Rings. However, they were made by the Elves. Sauron only takes credit for corrupting the rings (the Nine and Seven) and crafting the One Ring.
- Unlike the Seven Rings–given to the Dwarves–the Nine were not destroyed, but rather kept by Sauron.
- The Men who wore the rings were easily corrupted and, after a time, became devoted servants of Sauron. They are also known as the Nazgûl.
- It is assumed that after the destruction of the One Ring, the Nine were rendered useless.
- The line about the nine rings is the third in the famed stanza. It reads “Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die”.
- The word Nazgûl, literally translated, is “Ring-wraith”.
- All the Elven rings were made by Celebrimbor, an elf, and the grandson of Fëanor. He was caught and tortured by Sauron, and revealed the locations of all the rings of power save the Three, before dying.
Nine facts about the Nine Members of the Fellowship:
- Peregrin “Pippin” Took returned to the Shire and inherited his father’s title as Thain of the Shire, head of the Took clan. However, he died in Gondor and was buried together with Merry, alongside Aragorn.
- Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck was not only considered to be the smartest among the hobbits, but rather literary. Upon the completion of his adventures, he settled down and wrote a series of books, including The Reckoning of Years, Old Words and Names in the Shire, and Herblore of the Shire.
- Though unexplored in the films, Samwise Gamgee was allowed passage to the Undying Lands, years after Frodo and Gandalf departed. Even though he held the ring for only a short time, he was still considered a ring-bearer.
- The names Gandalf and Thorin were originally switched in early versions of The Hobbit.
- Though Legolas lived among the Wood-elves, or Silvan Elves, he was actually one of the Grey Elves, a Sindar. He was also a prince.
- Gimli was the first–and presumably last–Dwarf to visit the Undying Lands, after the death of Aragorn.
- Frodo was originally named Bingo Bolger-Baggins.
- It took Boromir 110 days to reach Rivendell; half of the journey was made without a horse after he lost his crossing the Greyflood river. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien states that Boromir’s “courage and hardihood required is not fully recognized in the narrative”.
- Aragorn is called Longshanks and Strider–and with good reason. According to Tolkien, Aragorn was 6’6″.
