The Nazgûl, also known as Ringwraiths and Black Riders, are some of the most terrifying foes in Lord of the Rings, both in the books and in the movies.
The Nazgûl started as the nine kings of men who were given rings of power by Sauron. Overtime, the rings consumed the nine kings, turning them into the terrifying beings we saw in the books and movies.
The Nazgûl are invisible to the eye, only able to be seen by anyone wearing the One Ring and Sauron himself. This is why they wear the black cloaks, in order to still be visible to the naked eye.
Their eventual consumption by the rings turned all nine kings into servants of Sauron, as they were forced to do his bidding for as long as they live, which as it turns out, is an incredibly long time.
Once the kings became the Nazgûl, they were stripped of their human names. Only two Nazgûl were even given new names, the Witch-King of Angmar and Khamûl the Easterling, whereas the other seven remained nameless for the rest of their existence.
Of the Nazgûl, the Witch-King was notably the most powerful. In fact, he is so powerful that even some of the rules and weaknesses placed on the other Nazgûl meant nothing to him.
As servants of Sauron, the Nazgûl had to do his every bidding, in addition to having to follow a number of rules and limits in their new forms.
With that said, here are the 15 Rules The Nazgûl Are Forced To Follow.
15. They Can No Longer Use The Rings Of Power
Once the Nazgûl had been completely consumed by the power of the nine rings they were gifted, Sauron took back the rings, forbidding the Nazgûl from using them again.
Not only was this bad for the Nazgûl because it drove them more insane, like Sméagol / Gollum after he lost the One Ring, but it also took away from the power of the Nazgûl.
One of the most alluring factors of the rings was that they granted the wearers extra strength. After the Nazgûl were stripped of these rings, they became noticeably weaker.
One can only imagine how differently the events of The Lord of the Rings could have gone had the Nazgûl kept the power of the rings.
14. They Can’t Touch Water
The Nazgûl had a number of fears that were never truly explained in depth in the books, one of which was a fear of water.
This fear of water became something of a guideline for the Nazgûl, with them even allowing the hobbit to escape simply because they passed through a body of water.
The books explained their fear best when they said, “… all, again save the Witch-king, feared water, and were unwilling, except in dire need, to enter it or cross streams unless dryshod by a bridge.”
Some fans have theorized that their fear of water was actually due to their connection to the elves, as Elven lore claimed that the spirits of a former elf king flowed through all of the bodies of water in Middle Earth.
13. They Cannot See During The Day
The Nazgûl had some seriously flawed eyesight, but it was the worst during the day.
During daylight, the light from the sun would seemingly blind the Nazgûl, making it almost impossible for them to see or operate.
Though they did sometimes come out during the day, it was very difficult for them to track or see anything.
The Witch King of Angmar made more than one appearance out in the daylight, but this was because he was the most immune to the daylight hindering his eyesight.
While it was still hard for him to see under the sun, he was better at it than any other Nazgûl, which is why he was usually the only one who would operate during the day.
12. They Are Destroyed If The One Ring Is Destroyed
Though the Nazgûl’s powers came solely from Sauron and not from the One Ring, their lives would still come to an end if the One Ring was destroyed in Mount Doom, as we saw in The Return of the King.
This is because Sauron’s power and life force comes directly from the Ring, so the destruction of the Ring would create a chain effect, thus destroying the Nazgûl in the process.
This weakness was also helpful to the Nazgûl on a number of occasions, though, as they were still connected to the One Ring, even if they didn’t serve it.
Like Sauron, the Nazgûl were able to track and see the Ring if someone was wearing it.
Thus, their connection to the One Ring was both a strength and a weakness for the Nazgûl.
11. If Someone Resists Their Aura Of Dread, They Become Essentially Powerless
The greatest strength that the Nazgûl have is their “aura of dread,” which essentially casts fear into the hearts and minds of anyone near them.
This is what they use when fighting off armies, causing men to flee at the sight of them.
Their terrifying screeches help with this effect as well.
However, as seen in The Return of the King, if someone is courageous enough to resist their aura of dread, the power of the Nazgûl becomes incredibly limited.
This is part of how the Witch-King of Angmar was defeated by Éowyn, who was courageous enough to show no fear in the face of a Nazgûl.
While the aura of dread is a powerful strength, if someone can overpower it with their courage, the Nazgûl don’t have much else that they can use.
10. Their Lives Are Seemingly Unending
When Sauron took hold of the Nazgûl, he rid them of their human bodies, which changed the way they lived and breathed forever.
They became practically immortal, on the same level as elves, which ended up being more of a curse than a gift.
Even after the original fall of Sauron, the Nazgûl still survived. The only thing that could seemingly end their lives was the destruction of the One Ring in Mount Doom, with one exception.
The only Nazgûl to lose his life before the destruction of the One Ring was the Witch-King of Angmar, who was defeated by Éowyn who used a Dúnedain blade that overpowered the enchantment keeping the Witch-King and the rest of the Nazgûl alive.
9. Their Powers Grow And Decrease With Sauron
As servants of Sauron, their power level is directly connected to that of Sauron’s. When Sauron is more powerful, so are the Nazgûl, and when Sauron is incredibly weak, so are the Nazgûl.
After the original defeat of Sauron, when Sauron was seemingly no longer present in Middle Earth, the Nazgûl disappeared.
However, after the return of Sauron centuries later, the Nazgûl returned as well.
During the events of The Return of the King, Sauron had become incredibly more powerful than he was during The Fellowship of the Ring, and thus the Nazgûl were also more powerful.
Whereas Aragorn was able to fight off all nine Nazgûl at once in Fellowship of the Ring, the Nazgûl were powerful enough to take on entire armies in Return of the King, which was a huge improvement in power.
8. They Can’t Operate Properly Under The Sun
Not only is the sight of the Nazgûl incredibly hindered under daylight, but all of their powers and abilities are affected as well.
The one exception to this is, again, the Witch-King of Angmar, who could operate under the sun, but still wasn’t as powerful, considering the fact that he lost his life during the day.
“All except the Witch-king were apt to stray when alone by daylight,” said the books, clarifying this rule.
While the Witch-King of Angmar was not effected nearly as much as the others under the sun, Khamûl the Easterling is even more hindered by daylight, making him even more scared of the light than the other Nazgûl.
7. They Cannot Touch Fire
While the Nazgûl are certainly afraid of water, their fear of fire seems to be even greater for them for inexplicable reasons.
During The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn used a flaming torch to ward off the Nazgûl in order to protect Frodo and the rest of the hobbits.
Later, the hobbits used fire to not only ward off the Nazgûl, but to force the Nazgûl to actually flee into the water, proving that their fear of fire outweighs their fear of water.
Even the Witch-King of Angmar is gravely afraid of fire, despite the fact that he is not nearly as scared of water as the other Nazgûl.
While one would try to explain that their fear of fire may be because of their black cloaks, the fact that the cloaks are literally just clothing surrounding their true forms seems to disprove this theory.
6. They Are Usually As Powerful As Normal Men
Despite being practically immortal creatures, their power level is still typically as strong as regular men, especially if their aura of dread is out of the picture.
While this wasn’t particularly true for The Return of the King, or any other point in time that Sauron had become incredibly powerful, when Sauron is at a regular power level, they are just about as strong as a regular man.
During their brief fight against Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring, they were about as powerful as regular men, which is why they decided to flee.
For centuries, the Nazgûl had to be limited by this restriction, which made it rather difficult for them to conquer as Sauron demanded them to.
5. Their Eyesight Is Almost Completely Gone
Not only is it difficult for the Nazgûl to see during the day, but it is also difficult for them to see at all.
While they can still see better during the night than during the day, it is still not an easy task.
Even the Witch King of Angmar has difficulty seeing overall.
Most of their vision is based on light, but details are all a blur to them. This is how they managed to spot the hobbits after they lit a fire in The Fellowship of the Ring.
If someone were to put on the One Ring, however, the Nazgûl would be able to see them clearly, as they did when they stabbed Frodo.
4. Their Powers Diminish During Warmer Seasons
For whatever reason, the Nazgûl were more powerful during the winter than during the summer. This is likely due to the fact that most of their power comes from fear, and the cold makes people feel more vulnerable.
This rule about the Nazgûl was made clear by a particular quote from the book. “…stay here till the Witch-king goes home. For in summer his power wanes; but now his breath is deadly, and his cold arm long.”
While this does seem like a ridiculous rule for the Nazgûl to follow, it did help the heroes of the books on a number of occasions. However, it also goes to show that you would never want to encounter a Nazgûl during the winter.
3. They Are Always Able To Be Seen By Sauron
If you ever worked at a job where your boss never took his eyes off of you, you certainly know how terrible of a rule this is.
Since the power of the Nazgûl is directly connected to Sauron, and they are sworn servants to him, the eye of Sauron has the ability to watch and see the Nazgûl at all times.
This is similar to how Sauron can see the One Ring if someone is wearing it. There is a direct connection between the Sauron and the rest of the Nazgûl, making the Nazgûl essentially the eyes and ears to the evil, ancient leader.
While this doesn’t particularly mean that Sauron is watching all nine of the Nazgûl at all times, it does mean that he has the ability to watch them at all times if he so chooses.
2. The More They Use The Rings, The More They “Fade”
Before the nine kings of men became the Nazgûl, they would use the power of their nine rings to their advantage.
However, just like Sméagol, Bilbo, and Frodo with the One Ring, the rings would start to take hold of the Nazgûl over time, especially the more that they used them.
Unlike the characters we saw who used the One Ring, though, the nine rings that the kings had would cause them to “fade.”
Gandalf described it best by saying that one who uses the rings too much “becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings. Yes, sooner or later – later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last – sooner or later the dark power will devour him.”
1. They Can Have No Will Except Sauron’s
The books once described the Nazgûl as having “no will but [Sauron’s] own, being each utterly subservient to the ring that had enslaved him, which Sauron held.”
However, this doesn’t mean that they were complete slaves with no independent thoughts, but rather that their intentions and actions were completely controlled by Sauron.
A number of times in the books, the Nazgûl were described as showing fear and doubt. All in all, this fate might be worse than having their bodies be completely possessed by Sauron.
Rather than just being empty bodies that Sauron controls, the Nazgûl have rational thought, including fear, but have to witness as Sauron constantly bends their will for his own personal gain.
Can you think of any other rules that the Nazgûl are forced to follow in Lord of the Rings? Sound off in the comments!
