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Originally Posted by littlemanpoet
Whereas the Mouth is lieutenant of Barad-Dur, the Witch King is 'field marshall', for all practical purposes, of the armies of Mordor, and lieutenant at Minas Morgul; so they are equal in rank, having different kinds of roles. The Mouth's is 'political', whereas the Witchking's is military. Both are slaves of Sauron. Who is more powerful? I'm not sure. The Witchking is single-minded, having no more self-will (though he is self-conscious enough to understand the prophecy about himself), and is therefore a very effective tool. The Mouth is vain and ambitious and a coward for all his dubious control over evil spirits, and still wears his "mortal coils", and for all his power still loves his life, which in a certain sense translates as a weakness and lack of singlemindedness. Will he die for the sake of Sauron if offered his life in exchange for betraying him? One has to wonder.
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And to add to LMP's post, in the Silmarillion, the champions of Morgoth (Gothmog & Sauron) were referred to as the High Captains, as in captain-generals of the old; now that was telling of their prestige and rank.
A lieutenant of antiquity was simply a subordinate that represented a superior.
So back to topic on sorcery, magiks and oaths. Kudos to Mister Raynor for enlightening us on why the touch of a King could heal. May I submit that the same half-elven lineage of Aragon also applied to Isildur (infact the bloodline would be stronger) and that as such, the Oath of Isildur had in itself some sort of power in sorcery?
Do not think of me as stubborn! I have read the link to Davem's marvellous thread and it did not establish the basis of the binding powers of oaths. As such I still wonder. Isildur as half-elven and possessing to a degree the power of the firstborn might shed some light on this matter.