[SpaceWeavil]

This has come up in my research for my LACE trim challenge story and I am a bit stumped – according to the Tale of Years, the Ringwraiths first appeared in ME in the Second Age, somewhere around 2150 or something. But as far as I can figure that is the last mention of them until the Third Ages.

What I have been trying to find out is what, if anything, did the Ringwraiths do during the Last Alliance and specifically during the Siege of Barad-dûr? Is this mentioned anywhere in the literature at all? So far I have looked through everything I have here at home but can’t find any mention of them.

I just wondered if those more familiar with HoME might know of something or even if there is some fanon about it, so I can decide if I have them or not.

Many thanks in advance for your help

[Saralitazie]

I would assume that they went out and terrorized, like always... or tortured prisoners...or both. Hm. That is a very interesting question, and I'll have to defer to the people that actually have HoMe!

[Andreth]

Hey Jess,

The last entry in the Tale of Years for the Second Age says that Sauron is defeated and the Ringwraiths return to the shadows, or something along those lines. In the draft of Tale of the Years in Peoples of Middle-earth it makes it sound like the Ringwraiths didn't disappear until Isildur lost the Ring. "He is slain by Orcs near the Gladden Fields and the Ring is lost in the River. The Ringwraiths fall into darkness and silence. The Second Age ends."

I've not seen much said about them in the Second Age, other than the time of their appearance and those statements about their disappearance. Although that's not to definitely say there isn't possibly something else there - I just can't remember anything else. But I would assume that they were definitely around and fighting in the Last Alliance.

If you haven't read it yet, the chapter The Hunt for the Ring in Unfinished Tales has some information on the Nazgul. Some specifics on them, who some of them were and some of their traits.

Makes you wonder, though, if they would have been different in the Second Age than they were in the Third Age since they were only a thousand or so years old, as opposed to being 4,000+ years old at the time of the War of the Ring. Methinks you'll have fun with all the potential possibilities.

Anna

[SpaceWeavil]

Thank you for all your help. I have The Hunt for the Ring on my ‘check-details’ list for when I come to the Ringwraiths part in my story, since I haven’t read it since I was writing about Khâmûl the Ringwraith ages ago. I’ve checked three different reference books so far now and none of them mention the Ringwraiths doing anything at the Last Alliance, and since at least one of those books does draw on HoME in places I’m going to safely assume that it isn’t specified.

Interesting thought though about their appearance etc. maybe being different. Since they’re undead things maybe they would be different. I’ve only ever thought about it for that story mentioned above, which was set just after they’d been given the Rings, so they were still technically alive and human, just enslaved, if that makes sense.

I’m glad I picked the Last Alliance now as this is turning out to be the most interesting story research-wise that I’ve done so far.