Minas Morgul

Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery, is the corrupted fortress-city that once was Minas Ithil, the fair Tower of the Moon built by Isildur. After its capture by the Nazgûl in the Third Age, it became the primary stronghold of the Witch-king of Angmar and the staging ground for Sauron's war against Gondor, a place of sleepless malice and lidless eyes whose very light is a corpse-light that illuminates nothing.

Identity and History

Minas Morgul was originally Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon, built by Isildur son of Elendil on a shoulder of the Mountains of Shadow. It was one of the twin cities of Gondor, its sister being Minas Anor, the Tower of the Setting Sun. In the days of the kings, the city was fair and radiant, its marble walls welling with imprisoned moonlight. But in the wearing of the swift years, the watch upon the walls of Mordor slept, and dark things crept back to Gorgoroth. On a time evil things came forth, took Minas Ithil, and abode in it, making it into a place of dread. It was renamed Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery, and the two cities were ever at war thereafter. The palantír of the tower was captured by the Enemy, and the city became the seat of the Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths, who issued forth from its gates of horror.

Appearance and Atmosphere

The city is lit with a light that is paler than the moon ailing in some slow eclipse, wavering and blowing like a noisome exhalation of decay, a corpse-light that illuminates nothing. In the walls and tower, windows show like countless black holes looking inward into emptiness. The topmost course of the tower revolves slowly, first one way and then another, like a huge ghostly head leering into the night. The valley of Morgul is filled with a sickening charnel-smell, an odour of rottenness, and the water flowing beneath the white bridge is silent and steaming, its vapour deadly cold. The meads on either bank are covered with pale white flowers, luminous but horrible of shape, like the demented forms in an uneasy dream.

The Witch-king and the Host of Morgul

The Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, dwelt in Minas Morgul. From its gate he led his ghastly host to battle, a great cavalry of horsemen moving like ordered shadows, with the Witch-king at their head, a Rider all black save for a helm like a crown that flickered with a perilous light. The host that issued from the vale was so great that no such army had come forth since the days of Isildur's might. The city itself is filled with watchfulness; even when the host has marched out, the tower still grins across the valley, and the city falls back into a dark brooding shade, yet still filled with vigilance. The Silent Watchers, dreadful spirits of evil vigilance, abide in the city and on the road that climbs under its shadow.

Narrative Significance

Minas Morgul is the place from which the Black Captain leads the assault on Gondor, and it is the destination that Frodo and Sam must avoid on their quest. Faramir warns Frodo not to approach the citadel, for it is a place of sleepless malice, full of lidless eyes. The city is the source of the Morgul-knife that wounds Frodo on Weathertop, and its power is felt throughout the War of the Ring. The pass of Cirith Ungol, which leads into Mordor, lies above the valley of Minas Morgul, and the city's influence pervades the entire region. The city is also the site of the final confrontation between the Witch-king and Éowyn, though the battle itself takes place on the Pelennor Fields.