Q: How Did Aragorn’s People Seal the Ringwraiths in Tombs?
ANSWER: In the J.R.R. Tolkien books the Ringwraiths (Nazgul) are never sealed in tombs. Not only did the Dunedain lack the power to accomplish something like that, it would not have been very effective. If Peter Jackson and his co-writers don’t explain their thoughts behind the tombs of the Nazgul, fans will just have to debate and speculate endlessly.
In Tolkien’s books the Ringwraiths were no longer living men. They had faded in the Second Age — essentially becoming disembodied spirits that were held within the circles of the world against their wills. They were enslaved by the One Ring. As long as the One Ring existed (containing the greater part of Sauron’s natural power) the Nine Ringwraiths were incapable of fleeing Middle-earth, even while Sauron was dead and unable to control them directly.
Tolkien says that after Sauron’s second death at the end of the Second Age the Nazgul fled into the wilderness. They apparently remained idle for a thousand years until Sauron rose again. The Lord of the Nazgul founded the Witch-realm of Angmar a few hundred years later. For nearly seven hundred years the Lord of the Nazgul led a great struggle against the Dunedain of the north until he finally overthrew their last kingdom; but his own realm was destroyed. Soon after all Nine Ringwraiths led an army out of Mordor that laid siege to and eventually captured Minas Ithil, which was subsequently renamed Minas Morgul.
The Nazgul had held Minas Morgul for over a thousand years by the time of the War of the Ring. At no time in the literary story were the Nazgul ever imprisoned or restrained by the Dunedain. Because they were spirits they would hardly be restrained by tombs anyway. And if the Dunedain really had sufficient power to restrain the Nazgul magically then how could the Lord of the Nazgul have threatened the Dunedain of Eriador for so many centuries?
As far as the cinematic story goes, we’ll just have to wait and see how Peter Jackson and his team explain Gandalf’s visit to the tombs of the Nazgul (as noted by fans who have seen this in a preview). On screen, this is Peter Jackson’s story to tell. It’s best to just remember that the movies are not the books and the books are not the movies.
DISCLAIMER: No Rhosgobel rabbits were harmed in the making of this post.
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