And returning to Elrond he said: True, alas, is our guess. Therefore on a time Mithrandir at great peril went again to Dol Guldur and the pits of the Sorcerer, and he discovered the truth of his fears, and escaped. Now the Shadow grew ever greater, and the hearts of Elrond and Mithrandir darkened. This event is discussed in more detail in “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” in The Silmarillion, which states: He finds Thráin and receives the key of Erebor. Gandalf again enters Dol Guldur, and discovers that its master is indeed Sauron, who is gathering all the Rings and seeking for news of the One, and of Isildur’s Heir. It may be conceivable that the Nine Rings could have been hidden in some deep vault overlooked by the Elves and Numenoreans but that requires an assumption on the reader’s part - Tolkien never implies anything like this.Īccording to “Appendix B: The Tale of Years” in The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf entered Dol Guldur (for the second time) in Third Age year 2850, discovering then: Barad-dur, his fortress, was taken and razed to the ground (the only time it was destroyed by the work of his enemies). Had the Nazgul returned their rings to Sauron in the Second Age, though, where would Sauron had kept them? The One Ring alone was cut from his hand - he apparently wore no other rings.
It is almost certain that he only began collecting the Dwarven rings in the Third Age. However, it cannot be established when Sauron took back any of the Rings of Power he gave to Men and Dwarves. In some arguments people suggest that perhaps Sauron gave a Ring of Power to the Mouth of Sauron. One must assume that all Black Numenorean groups were conquered, absorbed, or otherwise died out - and such assumptions may support circular logic but they don’t agree with Tolkien’s story. There are references to other Black Numenorean groups in “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” but their specific locations and fates are not mentioned. The missing intermediate destruction and reconstruction must be completely assumed without any support from the texts. However, Tolkien says it was only built twice and only destroyed twice. Some people insist that means the Dark Tower was raised at least three times. We can see in the text cited above that the Mouth of Sauron entered the Dark Tower’s service “when it first rose again”. Those readers who conclude that the Black Numenoreans no longer existed at the end of the Third Age argue that Umbar was their last refuge, but Tolkien neither says nor implies that. The only Black Numenorean city that is named, however, is Umbar - which Gondor conquered in Third Age year 1050. He does say that the Black Numenoreans (who were descended from the Kings Men, Numenoreans loyal to the Kings of Numenor) had settled in many lands along the coasts of Middle-earth. However, Tolkien never says any such thing. Some people insist that there were no more Black Numenoreans left by the end of the Third Age. The book also states that the Mouth of Sauron was a Black Numenorean. The book states clearly that the Numenoreans had not devised the means of lengthening their lives hence, to conclude that the Mouth of Sauron was able to do this flies in the face of Tolkien’s statements regarding the knowledge and abilities of the Numenoreans. The question therefore arises why some people insist that he must have been thousands of years old. And he entered the service of the Dark Tower when it first rose again, and because of his cunning he grew ever higher in the Lord’s favour and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron and he was more cruel than any orc. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: ‘I am the Mouth of Sauron.’ But it is told that he was a renegade, who came of the race of those that are named the Black Númenóreans for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron’s domination, and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge. The rider was robed all in black, and black was his lofty helm yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man.
Hence, based solely on what is published in The Lord of the Rings the reader is left to infer that the Mouth of Sauron was a mortal man just like Aragorn, Denethor, and Eomer.Īt its head there rode a tall and evil shape, mounted upon a black horse, if horse it was for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a frightful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the sockets of its eyes and in its nostrils there burned a flame. ANSWER: The text states that he was a living man, not a Ringwraith.
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