[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Gordis

MOS was high in rank, but surely below the WK and the other nazgul. He was not sent to the Pelennor to serve as WK's second. We have no evidence that he was a warrior. I doubt he was in command at the Black Gate. Sauron saw him as expendable messenger and sent him to the Parley.

Expandable messenger? Oh my, you are underrating him. No, he wasn't a warrior from what we know, but we are talking about rank, and that was high. A Prime Minister does not normally go into war personally, but his rank is high nonetheless. And a one of the Ministers in a state ruled by Sauron could be named Gothmog, why not? Even if he weren't a Nazgul.

By the way, I think Minas Morgul fortress did have someone like MOS - a mortal, probably a Black numenorean, who looked after the fortress when the nazgul were away, who made sure the supplies arrived, orcs didn't sleep on duty and cleared the latrines regularly. But it doesn't make him Second in command to Morgul Lord at Pelennor.

Do you really believe MoS cleared latrines in Barad-Dur?!!

And yes, I believe there was such a person - the Lieutenant of Minas Morgul. And who was that? Gothmog, of course. No problem with this one.

Do you really see other nazgul under the command of a mortal? I don't.

I never spoke about Nazgul. I spoke about the armies. I always believed the Nazgul to be flying around on Sauron's direct orders, ordered to scare people and oversee the battle and eventually report on what's happening. I never counted the Nazgul above Pelennor to be under command of the general, and if they were, then the WK and later they'd leave (among other things to inform Sauron that the First Nazgul is dead, as we read in RotK. Also, WK couldn't have commanded them anyway for example when he was at the Gate).

I never said it was Sindarin or Quenia. But when "Khamul" is mentioned, "The Easterling" or the "Black Easterling" comes as an explanation, likely translation.

Oh, I thought that you take the "ul" part as in the word "úlairi", wraiths. Never mind.