Croaker
Member
"Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths!"
It's finally dawned on me that Sauron has other spirits under his sway than the Ringwraiths. I haven't realized just how terrifying the power of Sauron in general and the Ringwraiths in particular truly were until this class.
While listening to Episode 99, I was contemplating the kind of spirit that could fill out a hood and cloak, ride a horse, and knock on a door. A modern (or for Tolkien, medieval) conception of, for instance, a haunted house is a spirit that is so powerful it can impact the physical world to make noises or move objects or even assault someone, and how terrifying that is. We might feel this spirit's presence even if it's not impacting the physical world (certainly a medieval person would think of it this way). How much exponentially greater the fear of the Ringwraiths who are so powerful they can manipulate the physical world such that they ride horses, fill out cloaks, wield weapons, and smash doors?
Would the Ring give Sauron the power to command (not just sway) armies of wicked spirits even as physical creatures? If so, one could imagine Sauron calling an army of spirits like Aragorn does to terrify and oppress his enemies, but perpetually, not just to end a curse ...At any rate, truly terrifying for both the living and the dead. That gives me the shivers.
(I wonder if Sauron saw Aragorn's ability to control the spirit army as proof that Aragorn had the Ring... to be discussed in 2030, or whatever).
It's finally dawned on me that Sauron has other spirits under his sway than the Ringwraiths. I haven't realized just how terrifying the power of Sauron in general and the Ringwraiths in particular truly were until this class.
While listening to Episode 99, I was contemplating the kind of spirit that could fill out a hood and cloak, ride a horse, and knock on a door. A modern (or for Tolkien, medieval) conception of, for instance, a haunted house is a spirit that is so powerful it can impact the physical world to make noises or move objects or even assault someone, and how terrifying that is. We might feel this spirit's presence even if it's not impacting the physical world (certainly a medieval person would think of it this way). How much exponentially greater the fear of the Ringwraiths who are so powerful they can manipulate the physical world such that they ride horses, fill out cloaks, wield weapons, and smash doors?
Would the Ring give Sauron the power to command (not just sway) armies of wicked spirits even as physical creatures? If so, one could imagine Sauron calling an army of spirits like Aragorn does to terrify and oppress his enemies, but perpetually, not just to end a curse ...At any rate, truly terrifying for both the living and the dead. That gives me the shivers.
(I wonder if Sauron saw Aragorn's ability to control the spirit army as proof that Aragorn had the Ring... to be discussed in 2030, or whatever).
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