The King's Witch

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Middle-earth: Shadow of War: The Witch-king is featured in the game. Voiced by Matthew Mercer, he serves as the main antagonist of the game. At the bidding of Sauron, he leads the siege on the city of Minas Ithil, making an adversary out of Talion, in whom he takes a particular interest. Ensnaring General Castamir by promising the safety of his daughter, Idril, the Witch-king conquers the city for the Dark Lord. Using a palantír within Minas Ithil - now Minas Morgul - he sees that Celebrimbor's New Ring is in Shelob's hands. The Witch-king reveals what he has learned to his master, who rewards his allegiance with the reins of Minas Morgul and sends him to retrieve the New Ring. [66] See also [ edit | edit source ] Hobitit: The Witch-king is shown without distinction of the other Nazgûl. He was portrayed through computer-graphics. Radio series [ edit | edit source ] The Witch-king, beaten, yet having successfully brought down the kingdoms of the former Arnor, fled the north. Angmar was now leaderless, and soon collapsed.

J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 210, (undated, written June 1958), p. 272 By now the northern Dúnedain realm of Arnor, sister-kingdom to the southerly Gondor, had already become split into three warring successor states – Rhudaur, Cardolan and Arthedain. It was into this febrile situation that the Lord of the Nazgûl reappeared in TA 1300 and began to fulfil Sauron's plan to bring down the North-kingdom altogether. Adjacent to its territories he founded the dark domain of Angmar – where, from his capital of Carn Dûm, he began his campaign of open war against the Dúnedain of Arnor. It was during this series of conflicts that they labelled their new enemy's undead sorcerer-chieftain with the title of "Witch-king, Lord of Angmar". Andy Serkis provided the voice of the Witch-king in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, " The Council of Elrond", p. 257 His precise identity is unknown, but he could be one of three noble lords of Númenor, who were corrupted by the Nine Rings of Power and thus became the undying Wraiths at the servitude of Sauron. After Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance, the Witch-king eventually reappeared in the Third Age's 14th century to found the evil realm of Angmar, where he gained his infamous epithet and ruled for almost seven centuries until the three successor states of Arnor were finally conquered.His more notable appearance is in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king which features Angmar's rise to power and eventual destruction, including new heroes such as Morgomir.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Second Age", entry for the year 3441, p. 1084 The Witch-king appears as a boss in the Wii and PS3 versions of The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, which depict Aragorn directly confronting this powerful foe. However, to stay true to the source material, Aragorn is unable to actually kill the Witch-king. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, citing from The Hunt for the Ring, p. 194 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, " The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", p. 841J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain, entry for King Malvegil, p. 1040 The first sighting of the Nazgûl in Middle-earth was reported in SA 2251. For the next 1200 years the greatest among them, known simply as the Lord of the Nazgûl, would serve Sauron as one of the commanders of his armies. He fought in the Age's climactic war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men between SA 3434 and SA 3441, when the Dark Lord was eventually defeated and the One Ring taken from him. With Sauron's spirit and power dissipated, the nine Nazgûl were no longer able to maintain their physical presence and they too disappeared – at least temporarily – from Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring: Witch-King is one the main "Hero" units for the Servants of Sauron, his signature ability is being able to turn Wights into Nazgûl. The evil campaign storyline shows him reclaiming Dol Guldur for Sauron.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, " Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor" Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", pp. 144-5; Index, 'Cardolan, last prince of'An undead witch-king named Þráinn appears in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar. It is possible that this was Tolkien's source of inspiration. [ source?] It is only in The Return of the King that the "Witch-king" is identified by this name and becomes an antagonist separate from the other Nazgûl. He is now identifiable by a distinctive helmet and armour, and wields a giant flail and flaming sword in battle. The Witch-king first appears in an introductory scene voiced over by Gandalf's description of him, and is later seen by Frodo, Sam and Gollum leaving Minas Morgul with a massive army. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 21 citing from the 'Oxford English Dictionary' In The Fellowship of the Ring, he appears unnamed as one of the nine Nazgûl. He is shown briefly as a king of Men in the prologue, and serves as one of the primary antagonists throughout the film alongside the other Ringwraiths. He is the Wraith who stabs Frodo with a Morgul-blade on Weathertop, although this is only revealed in The Return of the King by Gandalf. Gavin: The horse. Usually when sculpting mounted models, we try to design them so that both rider and mount are in sync with each other, each part working together as they ride into battle – a kind of symbiosis, if you will.