They are among the most terrifying of
Sauron’s beasts. Great winged creatures, these hell-hawks would become the steed of choice
for the Nazgul. Bearing their dark masters, they would bring terror from the skies. Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we
cover the Fell Beasts of the Nazgul. While the Fell Beasts are mysterious
creatures and we don’t know their exact origin, we are given clues. We know
that, like his master before him, Sauron clearly saw the value of being capable
of aerial battle, in addition to aerial travel. Where Morgoth would create the winged
dragons that debut in the War of Wrath, Sauron brings about the fell beasts that
would be revealed during the War of the Ring. After a journey that began in secrecy, the ringwraiths' horses are killed when they
are swept away by the River Bruinen. Forced to return to Mordor on foot, Sauron’s servants
turn to their more speedy and deadly steeds. The first appearance of a fell beast, though we
don’t know it at the time, is on the night of February 23, when the fellowship is making its way
down the Anduin river after their stay in Lorien. [A] dark shape, like a cloud and yet not
a cloud, for it moved far more swiftly, came out of the blackness in the South, and sped
towards the Company, blotting out all light as it approached. Soon it appeared as a great winged
creature, blacker than the pits in the night.... Suddenly the great bow of Lórien sang. Shrill went
the arrow from the elven-string. Frodo looked up. Almost above him the winged shape swerved.
There was a harsh croaking scream, as it fell out of the air, vanishing down into
the gloom of the eastern shore. The sky was clean again. There was a tumult of many voices
far away, cursing and wailing in the darkness, and then silence. Neither shaft nor cry
came again from the east that night. It is not until chapter 3 of the The Two Towers
that we get a hint that Legolas had indeed shot down the mount of a Nazgul, and that these beasts
were far greater than mere means of travel. UGLUK: What's happened to your precious Nazgûl?
Has he had another mount shot under him? Now, if you'd brought him along, that might have been
useful-if these Nazgûl are all they make out.’ ‘Nazgûl, Nazgûl,’ said Grishnákh,
shivering and licking his lips, as if the word had a foul taste that he savoured
painfully. ‘You speak of what is deep beyond the reach of your muddy dreams, Uglúk,’ he said.
‘Nazgûl! Ah! All that they make out! One day you'll wish that you had not said that. Ape!’ he
snarled fiercely. 'You ought to know that they're the apple of the Great Eye. But the winged
Nazgûl: not yet, not yet. He won't let them show themselves across the Great River yet, not
too soon. They're for the War-and other purposes.’ Two chapters later, Gandalf would confirm to
Legolas directly the victim of his shot and that the Nazgul would no longer resort
to mere horses in the War of the Ring… 'The Winged Messenger!' cried Legolas. 'I shot at
him with the bow of Galadriel above Sarn Gebir, and I felled him from the sky. He filled
us all with fear. What new terror is this?' 'One that you cannot slay with arrows,' said Gandalf. 'You only slew his steed. It was a
good deed; but the Rider was soon horsed again. For he was a Nazgûl, one of the Nine,
who ride now upon winged steeds. Chronologically, Frodo, Sam and
Gollum are next to experience a nazgul on its fell steed as they
pass through the Dead Marshes: Then Frodo and Sam staring at the sky..., saw
it come: a small cloud flying from the accursed hills; a black shadow loosed from Mordor;
a vast shape winged and ominous. It scudded across the moon, and with a deadly cry went away
westward, outrunning the wind in its fell speed. They fell forward, grovelling heedlessly on the
cold earth. But the shadow of horror wheeled and returned, passing lower now, right above them,
sweeping the fen-reek with its ghastly wings. And then it was gone, flying back to Mordor
with the speed of the wrath of Sauron; and behind it the wind roared away,
leaving the Dead Marshes bare and bleak. Frodo and Sam got up.... But Gollum lay on the
ground as if he had been stunned. They roused him with difficulty, and for some time he would not
lift his face, but knelt forward on his elbows, covering the back of his head
with his large flat hands. 'Wraiths!' he wailed. 'Wraiths on wings! The Precious is their master.
They see everything, everything. Nothing can hide from them. Curse the White Face!
And they tell Him everything. He sees, He knows. Ach, gollum, gollum, gollum!' Again, they experience a winged Nazgul,
but this time it was on other business… [Frodo, Sam, and Gollum] had not gone far before
they felt once more the fear that had fallen on them when the winged shape swept over the marshes.
They halted, cowering on the evil-smelling ground; but... the menace passed, high overhead, going
maybe on some swift errand from Barad-dûr. Gandalf and the three hunters would go on to
assist the Rohirrim in the Battle of Helm’s Deep and then come to Isengard to parley with Saruman.
However, on their way back to Edoras, they would once again feel the dread of the Winged Nazgul.
While reading the book, this comes before Sam and Frodo’s moment, we discover that this is actually
the same Nazgul making his way to Isengard. At that moment a shadow fell over them. The
bright moonlight seemed to be suddenly cut off. Several of the Riders cried out, and crouched,
holding their arms above their heads, as if to ward off a blow from above: a blind fear and a
deadly cold fell on them. Cowering they looked up. A vast winged shape passed over the moon like
a black cloud. It wheeled and went north, flying at a speed greater than any wind of Middle-earth.
The stars fainted before it. It was gone. Gandalf would face off against
what Beregond of Gondor calls “hell-hawks” as Faramir is making
his escape back to Minas Tirith. But now the dark swooping shadows were aware
of the newcomer. One wheeled towards him; but... he raised his hand, and from it
a shaft of white light stabbed upwards. The Nazgûl gave a long wailing cry and swerved
away; and with that the four others wavered, and then rising in swift spirals
they passed away eastward vanishing into the lowering cloud above; and down
on the Pelennor it seemed for a while less dark. The fell beasts we meet in The Lord of the Rings
have beaks and claws. They are featherless and have bat-like wings, it is hinted that their
heads are somewhat bird-like. The most physical description we get of these winged monstrosities
comes later in The Return of the King… The great shadow descended like a falling cloud.
And behold! it was a winged creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was
naked, and neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of hide
between horned fingers; and it stank. A creature of an older world maybe it was,
whose kind, lingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon, outstayed their day, and in
hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed
it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and
he gave it to his servant to be his steed. It is this dreadful description of the
winged shadow that precedes Theoden’s fateful encounter with the Lord of the Nazgul. And one aspect that comes up in many of these
quotes is the stench of the Fell Beasts - a trait that understandably wasn’t communicated as
strongly in the films as the fear they inspire The Witch King of Angmar rides his foul steed
into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and shoots Theoden’s horse Snowmane with a dart, crushing
the king. It is in this moment that Eowyn defends her dying uncle, and with a great swing of her
sword, decapitates the winged terror of Mordor. Once again, Frodo and Sam witness the flight
of a Nazgul, (March 15) but this time, it was not seeking for the ring, or on a mission of
Sauron’s, but delivering tidings to the Dark Lord… ...and then they saw a shape, moving
at a great speed out of the West, at first only a black speck against
the glimmering strip above the mountain-tops, but growing, until
it plunged like a bolt into the dark canopy and passed high above them. As it went it sent out a long shrill
cry, the voice of a Nazgul; but this cry no longer held any terror for
them: it was a cry of woe and dismay, ill tidings for the Dark Tower.
The Lord of the Ringwraiths had met his doom. The Winged Terrors are unleashed once
again at the Battle of the Black Gate. However, the great eagles
would come to the battle, bearing down upon the Nazgul. In that moment, a
terrible call emanated from the Dark Tower, for Frodo had claimed the one ring for his own, and
Sauron was aware the ring was now at Mount Doom. The Winged Nazgul move with all speed
to Orodruin, however, they are too late. The ring is destroyed when Gollum slips
into the fiery depths of the mountain, and in the ensuing eruption, the Nazgul and
their steeds are destroyed. Never to return. We know now what happened to these winged beasts,
but what of their origin? This will be a theory video for another day, but I want to hear what
you think. Were they some descendant of dragons? Or perhaps eagles that were mutilated
into foul beasts bound to the dark lord? were some other dreadful creature
entirely, twisted by Sauron into their final monstrous form. Let
me know what you think in the comments!
