In the first part of the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, The Nazgûl can be observed chasing Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring on what appear to be horses. However, in the universe created by author JRR Tolkien, things are not so simple, and the creatures that the Nazgûl ride are not simple nags, but horses with prestigious origins.
The Riddle of the Nazgûl Horses
In The Lord of the Rings, The Nazgûl are known by many names, including the Black Riders. They are so called because they are dressed in tattered black cloaks and ride on what appear to be black horses. They also pursue Frodo and his companions on horseback during the first stages of the quest. of the Ring’s destruction, before the Bruinen River overflowed and swept them away (and thanks to Arwen in the films, as detailed here).
In Peter Jackson’s film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Nazgûl’s horses are almost as terrifying as their riders: They appear to have dark blood oozing from their hooves, and their eyes glow a deep purple-red. They also wear dark armor that appears to have the Eye of Sauron engraved on it. However, none of the films The Lord of the Rings does not really bother to explain the origin or nature of the Nazgûl horses. It is only possible to understand, from their appearance, that they are not quite ordinary horses. Indeed, The film leaves the audience to wonder whether these creatures have transformed into ghosts. at the same time as the men who ride them.However in The Lord of the Rings as written par J.R.R. Tolkien, The author explains more clearly the unexpected origin of the Nazgûl horses. Tolkien also involves a whole group of characters who become much more important in the rest of the story, particularly in the second volume of the saga: The Two Towers. On the other hand, Sauron’s choice to give these black horses to his nine most fearsome servants even reveals, in reality, a little more about the Dark Lord’s personality.
The Origin of the Nazgûl Horses
In the novel, the Nazgûl mounts do not actually have red eyes or mutilated hooves; They look almost like ordinary black horses, except that they are large and of a particularly dark black. In the chapter “Many Encounters” of The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo asks Gandalf why they are not “invisible” like their riders, and Gandalf replies: “Because they are real horses; just like black dresses are real dresses that [les Nazgûl] carry to give form to their nothingness when they interact with the living.” But although they are not supernatural or like the specters that ride them, There is something special about the Nazgûl horses, though. In the books, it is noted that animals are normally terrified of the Nazgûl and flee from their presence. However, these nine black horses, although real, do not fear the wraiths.
These horses are the product of Sauron’s design and are “born and bred in the service of the Dark Lord in Mordor.” They had to undergo specific training to cooperate with the Nazgûl. Sauron does not use many ordinary animals in his armies, preferring monstrous creatures like the Wargs. So, The fact that the forces of Mordor bred horses is relatively surprising. and unusual.Of course and without surprise, we quickly discover that Sauron acquired the horses for his Nazgûl through unscrupulous means.. This is what we learn from the character Éomer in the chapter “The Riders of Rohan” of The Two Towers. When Gimli accuses the Rohirrim of working with Sauron, Éomer replies: “We do not and never have… A few years agothe Lord of the Black Land wanted to buy horses from us at a high price, but we refused, because he uses them for bad purposes.”Obviously, a master of darkness cannot be satisfied with a quick negotiation, whether it succeeds or not, moreover. Therefore, When the Rohirrim refused to deal with Sauron, he then sent Orcs to steal the horses in Rohan. Interestingly, they only took the black horses, and their raids became so frequent that‘There are now very few horses of this colour left in Rohan at the time of The Lord of the Rings. The Rohirrim are very attached to their horses, so these thefts have made them even more hostile to Sauron and the Orcs who serve him.
The horses of the Nazgûl themselves are not the stolen horses, but the descendants of those horses, who have been trained and perhaps even corrupted to be loyal to the cause of Mordor and the Nazgûl.
The most fearsome horse in Mordor does not belong to the Nazgûl
When the Bruinen overflows into The Fellowship of the Ring, All the Nazgûl, except the Witch-king, lose their horses. This slows them down considerably and temporarily prevents them from hunting the One Ring. According to the very official The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Witch-king had to return to Mordor alone to ask Sauron to send help to others. In fact, when the Nazgûl reappear in The Lord of the Rings, they have brand new mounts: the huge flying creatures called winged beasts.
In Jackson’s films they look like dragons, butIn the novel, they are closer to featherless birds or pterodactyls. In both cases, they are entirely black, just like the horses of the Nazgûl. Unlike the black horses of the Nazgûl whose origin is known, oNot much is known about winged beasts. In the chapter “The Battle of the Pelennor Fields” of The Return of the King, Tolkien wrote: “Perhaps it was a creature from an ancient world, whose kind, surviving in cold forgotten mountains beneath the Moon, survived his time, and in a hideous lair, spawned this last and fatal broodproper to evil.More The Nazgûl are not, however, the only servants of Sauron to ride surprising mounts, In The Lord of the Rings. In the chapter “The Black Gate Opens” of The Return of the King, Tolkien wrote a strange passage about the Mouth of Sauron and his mount :”At its head rode a tall and evil figure, mounted on a black horse, if that was what it was; for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a fearful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the eye sockets from his eyes and in his nostrils burned a flame.This description is more in line with the monstrous depiction of the Nazgûl horses in Jackson’s films. This creature, with the appearance of a horse but of unknown nature, is very much part of the Lore, which likely inspired Peter Jackson to assign similar mounts to his version of the Nazgûl.
Nazgûl horses provide insight into Sauron
In the novel, the Witch-king rides a horse during the first part of the Siege of Minas Tirith. before moving on to a winged beast; in Jackson’s film, he directly mounts a winged beast upon his return. Thus, The Nazgûl horses highlight a somewhat amusing aspect of Sauron’s personality. Although he is a cunning and ruthless strategist, not all of his decisions are necessarily wise.
Sauron relies heavily on “staging” to achieve his ends. He seems to like to maintain his appearance as the new great Dark Lord (after Morgoth). Everything from his armor to his fortress to the wall protecting Mordor is black. It should be remembered, however, that before arriving in Middle-earth and being corrupted by Morgoth, Sauron was a pupil of Aulë, the god of crafts and forging. This therefore implies that he understands and knows how to use an artistic dimension in what he createswhether it’s a series of magical rings or the appearance of his cavalry.The horses of the Nazgûl are not the only example showing thate Sauron cares about the appearance of his army and equipment ;since he took the time to model Grond, the ram tribute to Morgoth, in the image of a ferocious wolf, and personalized the armor of his orc soldiers with a red symbol representing his Eye. Thus, in the end, The Nazgûl horses are a reflection of Sauron himself. : a combination of beauty and horror, with a particular attention to the artistic dimension and a “passion” for all things dark.And if you liked this article, you can continue the experience by discovering 8 facts that you (maybe) didn’t know about the Witch-king of Angmar or the Mouth of Sauron, as well as everything you need to know about the winged mounts of the Nazgûl right here.
