The Witch-king was the Lord of the Ringwraths. He
was also known as the Black
Numenorean in the books, or Murezor in the card game, sometimes called
Angmar as
he was lord of that place.
While still human, he lived in the Second Age as
a sorceror King. Once changed by his ring into a wraith, he
operated under Sauron, commanding his forces.
When Sauron was defeated, the Black Numenorean went
into shadowy limbo until Sauron recalled him a thousand years
later. Thus he rose again in 1300 of the Third Age as the
Witch-King of Angmar, constantly warring upon Arnor for about seven
centuries until 1974, the time of the destruction of Arthedain.
The next year, his kingdom of Angmar was destroyed in the Battle of
Fornost. This was not a great setback to his plans, as he was through
with the important business there of destroying the Dunedain's
North-Kingdom.
Then he turned his attention in the year 2000 to
the South-Kingdom of Gondor, taking Minas Ithil and renaming it Minas
Morgul, using it for his new base. For the next thousand years he
harried
the realm of Gondor.
In 3018, the most important work of all took his
attention. The One Ring of Sauron had re-appeared, the key to
victory
for his side. He led the other Riders to the Shire. At
Weathertop,
he wounded Frodo the Ringbearer, and chased him as far as the Fords of
Rivendell where the elves destroyed the Riders's links to the mortal
world
temporarily by using the river.
They were remounted on flying beasts of horror, no
longer requiring secrecy. The Witch King led the vast forces collected
at Minas Morgul along with the Haradrim allies to attack the
South-Kingdom. He slew King Theoden of Rohan, chief ally of
Gondor, just outside Gondor during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields,
by using the fear of his presence to terrify Snowmane, Theoden's horse,
so that it reared and fell on the king.
Glorfindel's prophecy stated that no man could
destroy the Witch-king, as mentioned by Gandalf to Denethor. On
the Pelennor Fields,
the Lord of the Ringwraiths finally met his end at the sword of the
Shieldmaiden of the Rohirrim, Eowyn, niece of Theoden, and the blade of
Meriadoc
Brandybuck, Hobbit of the Fellowship of the Ring, neither of whom were
of the race of Men.
Reference: Lord of the
Rings , Silmarillion
Image
of the Witch-King and Frodo, with some of the other
ringwraiths: Drawn by Ted Nasmith, from the Rolozo Tolkien site.
Image of the Witch-King entering Gondor, drawn by Mark Fletcher,
from Rolozo
Image of the Witch-king facing Gandalf at Gondor (1047k): drawn by
Douglas Beekman, from Rolozo
Image "The Lord of the Nazgul" on his winged beast in battle.
Artist Roger Garland, from Rolozo
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