Who killed the Witch-King of Angmar?

[Serin]

I would personally have to say that it was some random vortex in the plot that killed the unkillable! When I was reading it there really was no clear cut reason as to why he died although most of this forum seems to agree with Peter Jackson when they say that Eowyn kill him.

[Macbeth]

Yet Aragorn said that "Destroyed are all the weapons that strike that terrible king", and Frodo's sword broke when he tried to fight off the ringwraiths...

Yes, but Frodo's blade never touched the King of Angmar. In the cave near Weathertop, Frodo only pierced the King's cloak. At the ford, the Witch King broke the sword with his magic. So I believe that Merry's blow was what lowered whatever mystical defenses the Witch King had, and Eowyn finished him off.

[Burb Lulls]

I've always thought that it was neither of them; their joint effort scared the guy off at that battle, but the One Ring's destruction and thus weakening of the other rings was what did him in properly. If it didn't, surely when the Eagle was saving Frodo and Sam from Mount Doom the Nazgul would have killed them even if the Ring was gone.

[Elliott]

Didn't Merry's (and Eowyn's, too) blade melt away after their respective blows to the Witch-King? In the books, it appears the Nazgul's weapon-shattering works, but isn't quite as instantaneous as it is in ToME.

[LordBucket]

Along this line...I've never actually received the 'You shall never die by mortal hands" fate, but I've often wondered. Does it prevent mortal creatures from injuring you at all, or simply from landing the killing blow?

[Falconis]

Ask in the spoiler forum. I would say, but fear being eaten by the spoiling monster.

[SilmarilianReader]

In the Silmarillian, it is explained that the bodies burried in the Barrow Mounds were of great kings and warriors of legend, slain in the wars between the Elves (led by Glorfindel, sadly overlooked in the movies) and the Witch King of Angmar (the only one of the Wraiths "named" by Tolkien).

The weapons that the hobbits took from the mound had "magic" in them, as they were from the wars with the Witch King (perhaps they held some memory of the evil Man's deeds, or somesuch - magic for Tolkien was very subtle, dealing more with stories than power). This enabled the strike by Merry to wound/distract him, and then allowed Eowen the killing blow.

It was not a circumvention by Peter Jackson; Tolkien explicitely wrote that into the story. No "man" could slay him, therefore a woman was able to do so. Much like "speak 'friend' and enter". Words had power, and the interpretation can mean the difference between success and failure.

[LogrusMage]

IIRC the Witch-King was said to die because both Eowyn and Merry weren't mortal men (but a woman and hobbit). But I wondered recently whether he died truly or was just banished for some time, as when the Nazgul were flooded.

the blow initially discorporated him, which is still being killed for the fate's purposes. remember, the wraiths are extensions of their Rings, so to say that he was destroyed completely is to say that it destroyed his Ring. the conditions of what could or could not destroy one of the Nine, the Seven, the Three, or the One, are well established, and do not include the wearer getting stabbed, regardless of weapon type or mortality/"man"ness of the stabber.

doesn't matter much anyway, as recovering from such an event would take a fair bit of time, which Witchy didn't have. the time from when he got stabbed until the unmaking of the One was just too short to allow him to recorporate.

[Falconis]

I don't think that's necessarily the case at all. Tolkien never mentions that the ringwraiths are invincible and come back after you've killed them. Killing the ringwraith in no way necessitates the destruction of a ring.

I'm surprised that Tolkien didn't mention what happened to the Witch King's ring after the battle though.

[Maeglin_Dubh]

"Destroyed are all the weapons that strike that terrible king"

That doesn't mean that all the weapons that -can- strike him are destroyed. It means all the weapons that strike him are destroyed. Which is shown, in the book and the movie, by the swords of both Merry and Eowyn being unmade after striking the blow.

[LogrusMage]

I don't think that's necessarily the case at all. Tolkien never mentions that the ringwraiths are invincible and come back after you've killed them. Killing the ringwraith in no way necessitates the destruction of a ring.

i think gandalf said something to that effect, about them being tied to their rings. but finding exactly where will have to wait, as i can't find my copy of the book at the moment.

[Maragon]

While I am ok with ''I am not a man'' plot I think they just want us trolled.I was very disappoint when I saw they Killed the Witch King like he was made of cracker on deep sea pressure. I was looking for awesome swordfight

[Faeryan]

Wow! Nearly full 7 years of thread necromancy.

[Yottle]

Someone needs to resurrect the Balrog wings discussion. (No they don't.)