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  • Updated 29 July 2019
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Pale King

Frodo’s description of the Lord of the Nazgûl

"The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown."
Frodo's vision of the Pale King
The Fellowship of the Ring I 11
A Knife in the Dark

On their journey to Rivendell, Strider led Frodo Baggins and his companions to the old ruined fortress on the hill of Weathertop. There they were assaulted in the night by five of the Nazgûl, led by their Lord the old Witch-king of Angmar. Their presence filled Frodo with an irresistible temptation to put the One Ring on his finger, and when he did so he saw the Ringwraiths as they appeared in their own realm, the Wraith-world. While the Nazgûl could not normally be seen, the power of the Ring revealed them as tall pale-skinned beings, grey-robed and silver-helmed. Among them one crowned figure stood out, bearing a crown on his head, a sword in one hand and a glowing knife in the other.

This Pale King attacked and wounded Frodo, but he and his followers were driven back by Strider and perhaps by Frodo's own prayer to Elbereth. Satisfied to have injured the Ring-bearer, the Pale King was content to wait for his Morgul-wound to draw him into the Wraith-world. This plan would indeed have worked, if help had not arrived out of Rivendell that brought Frodo to Elrond in time to be healed.


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About this entry:

  • Updated 29 July 2019
  • Updates planned: 1

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