who are the nazgul?

[mhagain]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

I think it likely the Chief of the Nazgul was Numenorean. I don't have the citation, I'm lifting off the web, but Hammond & Scull, Reader's Companion, p. 20, a manuscript of notes, Tolkien [apparently] stated that the Witchking's name and background were not recorded, but that he was probably of Númenórean descent.

That's the note I've referred to above, and is so far as I'm aware the sole indication. In full:

In the manuscript of Nomenclature Tolkien notes that 'the name and origin of the Witch-king is not recorded, but he was probably (like the Lieutenant of Barad-dur [the Mouth of Sauron]) of Númenórean descent).'

Here "Nomenclature" is the work sometimes known as Guide to Names in the Lord of the Rings (and originally published as such in A Tolkien Compass), subsequently published as Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings in Hammond & Scull.

Even with the best of intentions this is shaky evidence. The work existed in 3 versions: an original manuscript, a subsequent typescript and a final professional typescript (which was subsequently corrected by Tolkien), and the reference to the Witch-king's origin is only noted to have been in the manuscript. It certainly doesn't appear in Hammond & Scull's edition (aside from the early reference to the manuscript, but it's not in the work itself) (I don't have A Tolkien Compass for cross-checking).

The reason for it's omission from subsequent versions could be rejection (maybe Tolkien felt it preferable to leave this matter vague), or it could be because it's not really relevant content here: it's a sign that the work was drifting away from it's original intention (to be a guide for translators) and towards introducing new story elements, after all.

Even aside from that, use of the word "probably" certainly should not be read as a definite indication.

So taken together the "evidence" amounts to:

• Use of the word "probably",
• In an earlier version,
• Which was subsequently removed,
• In a work that was intended for use by translators, not for public consumption.

None of this should be read as any kind of argument that the Witch-king was not Númenórean, of course. He could still be. It's just that the evidence for him being so is not actually very strong at all, so it's necessary to be careful about making statements or claims that depend on it.