WiscLukeRadedir
New Member
In the last class we floated the idea that the siege of Minas Ithil was more of a spiritual battle, which I hadn't considered before. But after listening to the discussion on it, I'd have to say that I came around.
What I think turned me more towards the idea, though, is that the Wraiths came out of the pass of Cirith Ungol, rather than the Morgul/Ithil pass, which I am guessing is lower and easier to get through. Coming from the higher, more difficult pass, and long after "the watch on Mordor slept," I think it would seem more reasonable that the Crickhollow-method follows. You'd have to guess that Minas Ithil, being populated, still keeps a watch on the lower pass, but the higher pass, being unmaned, allows the Wraiths to pass unnoticed and set up around the city. I see it, if we're talking about how to advise a long-running TV series on the War of the Ring, as the Wraiths starting high up in the mountains, gradually coming down, the fear and dread on the city growing, and the citizens eventually succumbing to the Black Breath because nobody is quite aware of what is happening or why. Those that survive, if any, live to serve the Nazgul. There's more than one way to interpret "the dead city."
Once the "hour has come" the Nazgul simply come in and take over the city. This is also, in my mind, the most likely reason for the Palantir to be captured. If the city knew what was happening, wouldn't they have tried to get that away or call for help? It's not that Gondor has no aid to send, they were able to send a massive force to the Battle of Fornost just a few decades earlier that, while large to the Arnorians and people of Cirdan, was but a part of Gondor's army.
What I think turned me more towards the idea, though, is that the Wraiths came out of the pass of Cirith Ungol, rather than the Morgul/Ithil pass, which I am guessing is lower and easier to get through. Coming from the higher, more difficult pass, and long after "the watch on Mordor slept," I think it would seem more reasonable that the Crickhollow-method follows. You'd have to guess that Minas Ithil, being populated, still keeps a watch on the lower pass, but the higher pass, being unmaned, allows the Wraiths to pass unnoticed and set up around the city. I see it, if we're talking about how to advise a long-running TV series on the War of the Ring, as the Wraiths starting high up in the mountains, gradually coming down, the fear and dread on the city growing, and the citizens eventually succumbing to the Black Breath because nobody is quite aware of what is happening or why. Those that survive, if any, live to serve the Nazgul. There's more than one way to interpret "the dead city."
Once the "hour has come" the Nazgul simply come in and take over the city. This is also, in my mind, the most likely reason for the Palantir to be captured. If the city knew what was happening, wouldn't they have tried to get that away or call for help? It's not that Gondor has no aid to send, they were able to send a massive force to the Battle of Fornost just a few decades earlier that, while large to the Arnorians and people of Cirdan, was but a part of Gondor's army.