Aragorn and the hobbit’s camp at Amon Sul
Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin follow Aragorn to Rivendell where they pass through the trollwoods where Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf turn trolls into stone.
The hobbits and Aragorn camp at the ruins of Weather top also known as Amon Sul.
Amon Sul was once one of the major checkpoints of Arnor and Gondor and even held a Palantir.
The tower of Amon Sul or Weather Top was remnants of Arnor, the untold perished Northern Kingdom. However, the campfire that the hobbits lured the nazguls.
Aragorn’s song of Beren and Luthien – Aragorn and Arwen’s Love.
Aragorn would sing the sad songs of the love of Beren and Luthien when he and the hobbits camped through the night. Frodo asked what the song Aragorn sang and Aragorn replied that he sings the songs of Beren and Luthien.
Beren was the first human to love an elf during the 1st Age while Luthien was the elf-princess of Doriath ruled by the Sindar elf king Thingol and maia Melian. J.R.R. Tolkien implies that Aragorn was the resurrection of Beren while Arwen was the resurrection of Luthien.
Beren takes an impossible task by Thingol to recover a Silmaril from Sauron’s former master Morgoth (Melkor) to receive approval marriage to Luthien.
Beren and Luthien overcomes and accomplishes the impossible and made love. The story of Beren and Luthien implies that Aragorn must fuifill his destiny as the heir of Gondor and Arnor and take down Sauron before he could make love with Arwen.
Theme of the Nazgul – The Revelation of the Ringwraiths
The theme was inserted as part of a soundtrack in the Cinematic series of Lord of the Rings. The lyrics are original Adunaic language that was only used by Numenor.
The nazguls were once great humans that were kings, nobles and sorcerers but they became bound to Sauron after they received the ring of power from Sauron.
The theme of the nazgul imply that they refuse the divine Iluvatar, the creator of men and pledges loyalty to Sauron.
The Revelation of the Ringwraiths
Nêbâbîtham Magânanê
Nêtabdam dâur-ad
Nêpâm nêd abârat-aglar
îdô Nidir nênâkham
Bârî’n Katharâd
We renounce our Maker.
We cleave to the darkness.
We take unto ourselves the power and glory.
Behold! We are the Nine,
The Lords of Unending Life
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Identity of the Nazguls – Ring Wraiths and servants of Sauron
Nazguls were called the Nine, Black Riders and nazgul meant ringwraiths in Black speech. Sauron gave nine of the rings of power to powerful lords, kings and men including some humans from Numenor.
The rings of power eventually consumed these men and even banished their body forms to the dimension between death and life making them invisible to normal beings.
The nazguls became the muscle of Sauron when Sauron lost his body to Isildur. The nazguls gathered the old allies of Sauron and established a foundation for Sauron’s return.
A nazgul called the Witch King of Angmar even destroyed the kingdom of Arnor the Northern Kingdom and would become the leader of the nazguls.
The nazguls arrived near the Shire to chase Frodo Baggins and the One Ring after Sauron obtained intel from Gollum by torturing Gollum.
Sauron launched attacks on Mirkwoods and Gondor to conceal the departure of the nazguls to the Shire so the elf lords or humans couldn’t respond.
The Witch King of Angmar and the nazguls ambushed Frodo and Aragorn at Amon Sul where Frodo Baggins was stabbed by a Morgul Knife (Morgul Blade in the movie)
Morgul Knife / Morgul Blade and Athelas
The movie series of Lord of the Rings calls the Morgul Knife a Morgul Blade as if all the nazguls wielded one.
But in the novel, the Morgul Knife was more of a unique item of the Witch King of Angmar. The Witch King of Angmar stabbed Frodo Baggins with the Morgul Knife that permanently injured Frodo Baggins.
The sorcery of the Morgul Knife couldn’t be treated by ordinary remedy and Frodo had to be quickly shipped to Rivendell. (The movie somewhat exaggerates this)
Aragorn after quickly repelling the nazguls would find Athelas that was treated as weed by the hobbits as Athelas plant was the only way to soothe the pain of the Morgul Knife.
How could Aragorn defeat the nazguls easily
Aragorn was 87 years old already, which was the prime time for a descendant of Numenor blessed with long life.
Aragorn already had much combat experience and as a descendant of Numenor, he was one of the strongest humans on middle earth.
Also, the main weapon of the nazguls was fear, but as the royal heir of Arnor and Gondor and a descendant of Numenor, Aragorn didn’t fear the nazguls which made the nazguls much weaker.
The Witch King of Angmar stabbed Frodo with a Morgul Blade, the wound would have turned Frodo Baggins to another bewitched soul bound to him.
The nazguls weren’t interested in warding off Aragorn but rather get the hobbit and the One Ring that they were searching for by Sauron’s orders.
"They have no great physical power against the fearless, but what they have, and the fear that they inspire, is enormously increased in darkness" – J.R.R. Tolkien of the nazguls.
Why did Frodo see the nazguls when he put on the One Ring
At Amon Sul or Weathertop, Frodo Baggins ignored Gandalf’s advice as he was caught by his fear of the nazguls and used the One Ring.
However, Frodo could see the physical ghastly forms of the nazguls and Frodo realized the nazguls could also see him.
The One Ring didn’t turn the user invisible, but it rather took the user to a dimension between the dead and the living.
The nazguls were already cursed beings shackled to the rings of power that gave them power but also cursed them to serve Sauron.
The rings of power kept the nazguls that were once humans between the dimension of the living and the dead so they couldn’t die as well.
The physical bodies of the nazguls were permanently banished between the living and the dead so they could see Frodo even when he wore the One Ring.
Arwen and Glorfindel – Movie Adaption – Arwen takes Glorfindel’s role
In the movie, Arwen takes the role of another elf lord Glorfindel and comes to the rescue for Frodo. This seems to shorten the plot of the Lord of the Rings for the movie adaptation and emphasize Arwen and Aragorn’s love.
Glorfindel doesn’t appear in the movie, but in the original novel, Glorfindel was a major elf hero. Glorfindel fought in the Battle of Gondolin where he slayed the lord of all the balrogs Gothmog in a suicide attack.
Glorfindel was revived by the Manwe, the lord of the Valars for the sake of Middle Earth.
Glorfindel in the novel would convoy the hobbits and Aragorn to Rivendell and summoned the currents of shallow ford, the waters of Rivendell that would wash off the nazguls.
Glorfindel’s prophecy of the Witch King of Angmar
Glorfindel also fought in the Battle of Fornost, the old capital of Arthedain that descended from Arnor. Glorfindel was at the scene where the Witch King of Angmar escaped from Angmar before Angmar fell right after all the descending countries of Arnor perished.
Glorfindel made the prophecy of the Witch King of Angmar that “No Man could kill him.” Later, the prophecy completed by Eowyn and Merry at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields where most believed that the prophecy meant “a human cannot kill the Witch King of Angmar”.
As Eowyn and Merry slayed the Witch King of Angmar, the prophecy seemed to refer “man” as a male.
Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall. - Glorfindel
