He is a villain of many powers and forms. He is a shapeshifter, a master of both illusions
and deception, and the craftsman of one of the greatest artifacts in history. Among his many names and titles is one with
dark implications and possible power over the dead. Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover Sauron
the Necromancer. Throughout the First and Second ages of Arda,
Sauron shows many incredible abilities. We are told he is lord of werewolves - having
created the monstrous creatures himself. He is a shapeshifter - taking the form of
a werewolf, a serpent, and a vampire. He is a master of shadows and phantoms - using
illusions to deceive. He uses his fair form, and his cunning, to
manipulate great leaders of both men and elves, bringing about ruin and constructing his greatest
weapon. However, there is another title Sauron is
given in Tolkien’s text: the Necromancer. But why does Sauron during his time in Mirkwood
get the title of Necromancer? What powers over the dead does the dark lord
exhibit - or is Tolkien using a different meaning of the term? Does Sauron actually have any power over the
dead? For those answers, we will look within the
text, the real world outside the text, and venture into the realm of theory. After Sauron’s defeat at the end of the
Second Age, he abandons his physical form and goes into hiding for over a thousand years. Around 1050 TA, Sauron has not only begun
to retake his physical form, but has also returned to the western lands of Middle-earth,
settling at the long abandoned Amon Lanc in southern Greenwood and building the fortress
of Dol Guldur. Around 50 years later (1100 TA), the Wise
- that is, the greatest elves and wizards of Middle-earth, learn of this shadow, known
only as “the Necromancer”. For many long years, it is assumed that this
Necromancer was one of the Nazgul, which while concerning, is much less so than its master
returning. While we know a great deal about Sauron’s
actions and power during this time from things like the Lord of the Rings appendices, it’s
interesting to note that the title of Necromancer is used almost exclusively in The Hobbit - for
reasons we will outline in a few moments. We first hear of the Necromancer when Gandalf
and the dwarves are meeting in Bilbo’s home after the wizard reveals the map and key he
acquired from Thrain… “Your grandfather,” said the wizard slowly
and grimly, “gave the map to his son for safety before he went to the mines of Moria. Your father went away to try his luck with
the map after your grandfather was killed; and lots of adventures of a most unpleasant
sort he had, but he never got near the Mountain. How he got there I don’t know, but I found
him a prisoner in the dungeons of the Necromancer.” “Whatever were you doing there?” asked
Thorin with a shudder, and all the dwarves shivered. “Never you mind. I was finding things out, as usual; and a
nasty dangerous business it was. Even I, Gandalf, only just escaped. I tried to save your father, but it was too
late. He was witless and wandering, and had forgotten
almost everything except the map and the key.” “We have long ago paid the goblins of Moria,”
said Thorin; “we must give a thought to the Necromancer.” “Don’t be absurd! He is an enemy far beyond the powers of all
the dwarves put together, if they could all be collected again from the four corners of
the world. The one thing your father wished was for his
son to read the map and use the key. The dragon and the Mountain are more than
big enough tasks for you!” By this time, Gandalf knows the Necromancer
to be Sauron. He confirmed this some 91 years earlier when
he met a dying Thrain in Dol Guldur. But as we look at the publication of The Hobbit,
it’s noteworthy that the Necromancer didn’t necessarily have to be Sauron. Indeed, Tolkien did not originally intend
for The Hobbit to be part of his greater mythology which at the time was primarily the tales
we know today as The Silmarillion. Tolkien added this greater evil force - “far
beyond the powers of all the dwarves put together” - to give the world of The Hobbit a greater
level of reality for this fairy-tale. However, in his Dec 16, 1937 letter to Stanley
Unwin, he confesses that the tale of The Hobbit was drawn into his grander mythology. After acknowledging that a Hobbit sequel is
the prudent move, he states: Mr Baggins began as a comic tale among conventional and inconsistent
Grimm’s fairy-tale dwarves, and got drawn into the edge of it – so that even Sauron
the terrible peeped over the edge. With the later publication of The Lord of
the Rings, Sauron as the Necromancer is solidified within the greater tale - primarily in Appendix
B - The Tale of Years. It is here that we learn more of Sauron’s
actions within Mirkwood. After first arriving in Greenwood around 1000
TA, the Necromancer’s presence would slowly turn it into a dark and dangerous place - earning
it the name Mirkwood. The dark and evil effects of Sauron’s presence
are not new by this point in the story. Indeed, there is a forest in the First Age
that suffers similar effects when Sauron takes control of a nearby fortress in his service
to Morgoth. That forest is named “Taur-nu-Fuin”, meaning
“Forest under Nightshade”. And later, after Sauron’s defeat at the
jaws of Huan, Sauron would flee to Taur-nu-Fuin in vampire form - filling it with horror. Interestingly, the name Mirkwood is a mannish
name derived from what Greenwood is now called in Sindarin…Taur-nu-Fuin. While there would be a period of 400 years
when Sauron would flee Mirkwood rather than be discovered by Gandalf, he would directly
plague the forest and surrounding areas as the Necromancer for a total of over 1500 years. During his time in the forest, many evil creatures
are drawn to him and the surrounding lands. The children of the great spider Shelob would
infest Mirkwood. And it is during his time as the Necromancer
that orcs come to inhabit the realm of Moria and the Witch-king’s kingdom of Angmar rises,
causing the eventual downfall of Arnor. Not only are his effects seen through his
servants, but we also see examples of Sauron’s own power stretching far beyond his location. In 1635, Sauron causes the Great Plague - a
terrible epidemic that kills hundreds of thousands of people and effects the lands of Middle-earth
for hundreds of years. While certainly impressive in power, none
of these things display what we typically think of when it comes to necromancy. While necromancy is most commonly associated
with summoning the dead, a less common meaning is simply general dark or black magic. Indeed, many over the years have come to the
conclusion that Tolkien’s use of Necromancer is in a more general dark magic sense. One of Gandalf’s lines points to this as
he warns Bilbo of the peril of alternate paths for their quest: “There is, if you care to go two hundred
miles or so out of your way north, and twice that south. But you wouldn’t get a safe path even then. There are no safe paths in this part of the
world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild
now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go. Before you could get round Mirkwood in the
North you would be right among the slopes of the Grey Mountains, and they are simply
stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description. Before you could get round it in the South,
you would get into the land of the Necromancer; and even you, Bilbo, won’t need me to tell
you tales of that black sorcerer. I don’t advise you to go anywhere near the
places overlooked by his dark tower!” So there we have it - Sauron as Necromancer
is simply a matter of his dark magic being evident, right? Well, not necessarily. While we aren’t told of any such dealings
during his time in Mirkwood - there are other instances that point to Sauron’s power over
the dead. There are certainly instances in Middle-earth
where death is delayed - most famously we see the Nazgul who live for thousands of years
- far beyond the lifespan of men. We also see the Oathbreakers - who were cursed
not by Sauron, but by a mortal man - Isildur. Though, the true power behind that curse was
the Oath they swore - the power of Oaths a great topic for a future video. The Oathbreakers and the Nazgul are both described
as Wraiths - undead beings clinging to life long after their time had passed. In the First Age, we also find that Sauron
created werewolves by trapping evil spirits within the bodies of wolves. And like his master, we see the Witch-king
employ a similar skill in the creation of the Barrow-wights. These undead-like creatures are made when
the witch king sends evil spirits to the burial mounds of men from the Angmar Wars. These spirits inhabit the bones of fallen
men creating these bone-chilling creatures. The true nature of the spirits themselves
is unknown - though theories include that they were lesser maiar, or the souls of orcs,
fallen elves, or evil men. While we could extrapolate Sauron’s potential
skill based on his servants creation of the barrow-wights, there’s a more overt mention
from Tolkien’s text that seems to solidify the dark lord's abilities with the dead. In The History of Middle-earth Volume 10:
Morgoth’s Ring, it talks about the separation of Fea and Hroa - that is soul and body. It mentions how when a being is “Unbodied”
- for example when an elf is killed in battle, the spirit is summoned to the Halls of Mandos,
where it can in time be re-embodied. However, there were indeed some who refused
this summons of Mandos… But it would seem that in these after-days
more and more of the Elves, be they of the Eldalië in origin or be they of other kinds,
who linger in Middle-earth now refuse the summons of Mandos, and wander houseless in
the world,* unwilling to leave it and unable to inhabit it, haunting trees or springs or
hidden places that once they knew. Not all of these are kindly or unstained by
the Shadow. Indeed the refusal of the summons is in itself
a sign of taint. Interestingly, while we see many cases of
wraiths, where men have their existence in Middle-earth prolonged unnaturally, their
summons to the Halls of Mandos - then to the unknown that awaits them beyond - is not optional. For unlike the elves, men are not bound to
the world itself - thus the gift of men, true death, would seem to prevent their spirits
from lingering after their demise. As mentioned in the previous quote - a spirit
who rejected the summons of Mandos indicates there is some level of taint upon that soul. And as may be expected, those souls would
seem to be susceptible to Sauron and his master: For the Unbodied, wandering in the world,
are those who at the least have refused the door of life and remain in regret and self-pity. Some are filled with bitterness, grievance,
and envy. Some were enslaved by the Dark Lord and do
his work still, though he himself is gone. They will not speak truth or wisdom. To call on them is folly. To attempt to master them and to make them
servants of one own’s will is wickedness. Of note here is that Tolkien highlights that
these spirits will not speak truth or wisdom and that to call on them is folly. Necromancy, in some of its oldest iterations,
was specifically referring to the act of divination by communication with the dead - meaning people
would attempt to commune with the dead in order to foretell future events. As Tolkien says, this is folly, and he goes
on to say… Such practices are of Morgoth; and the necromancers
are of the host of Sauron his servant. Deeper still into Tolkien’s writings, we
find in an earlier version of the story of Beren and Luthien, when Sauron’s name was
Thu, he was called a Necromancer, who held his hosts of phantoms and of wandering Ghosts
in Tol-in-Gaurhoth. So while Sauron’s time when he is known
as the Necromancer is not marked by any obvious instances of summoning or utilizing the dead,
we can see as we dive deeper into Tolkien’s works that Sauron was indeed a master of dark
magic - an alternate definition of Necromancy. And in the more commonly-used sense, using
the souls of departed beings was something Sauron most certainly could - and did - use
for his evil purposes. As always, I want to say a huge thank you
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