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Originally Posted by Aiwendil
Actually, once the prophecy has been made, presuming that everyone agrees it is true, it seems to me that there is no difference between condition and foresight. If Glorfindel has made the prophecy, then the Witch-king knows that he will not be killed by a living man.
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No practical difference perhaps, but a distinction should nevertheless be made. Assuming that the Witch-king learned of Glorfindel's words, it appears from his words to Eowyn that he misinterpreted them to mean that he
could not be killed by any man, whereas in fact they signified that he
would not be killed by any man.
As matters turned out, the practical effects were the same. But it is conceivable that his mistaken interpretation of the words caused him to act differently than had he interpreted them correctly. In seeing them as a statement on his invunerability, he might have intepreted the word "man" liberally to denote any member of the "humanoid" races, prompting him into more reckless behaviour on the battlefield whereas, had he understood that they were a prophecy, he might perhaps have interpreted the word more rigidly (since a prophecy, by its very nature, arises from a very specific set of circumstances).
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The winged creature screamed at her, but the Ringwraith made no answer, and was silent, as if in sudden doubt.
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Quite possibly, this marks a sudden realisation on the Witch-king's part of his erroneous intepretation of Glorfindel's words.