Ulmo and the Ring War

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Well, at least for the Sea of Núrnen, my personal belief is that this was a place where he really didn't have much, if any influence. Not only was it as close to Sauron as it could, but it was also an inland sea with seemingly no connection to the Belegaer. So no rivers, no flows connecting its waters to the Great Sea - it was probably a lake whose waters, from most part, evaporated and that was the only way the water got away from there.

I have often wondered if the Sea of Núrnen wasn't Tolkien's nod to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea at least has the River Jordan feeding into it, but if I'm not mistaken, it is believed that the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gammorah were located near its shores (possibly to explain its incredibly high salinity, which does not support much in the way of anything but some microbial life). There's just something there that feels similar, at least to me. I could see Sauron cutting off all tributaries to Mordor's inland sea to prevent Ulmo from having any way of "spying" on him, or "whispering" to his slaves and vassals.

It also makes me wonder about the Nazgul and their aversion to water. While it smacks of the old tale about witches and vampires and their inability to cross flowing water, it differs in that the Nazgul can cross them; they just don't like to. I have wondered if this is because of their aversion to something as inherently clean and pure as free-flowing water, or if it still contains traces of Ulmo's presence, which they might well have reason to fear. I grant you, Tolkien admitted that the whole idea of evil creatures being repelled by water was difficult to sustain (the Anduin would provide a pretty secure barrier to them, if that were the case), but if one considers untainted water as a connection to Ulmo, it might work. Though I suspect Tolkien either didn't care for that notion or it didn't occur to him, since he didn't use it.

And about the eagles: at least during the time of The Hobbit and LotR, every instance I can recall that involves the eagles also somehow involves Gandalf. Even the remaining Fellowship seeing an eagle flying high up during their journey down the Anduin happened because Gandalf asked Gwaihir to scout ahead for him. Though I don't believe he actively summons the eagles -- if that were the case, why would he have spent so long a time stranded atop Orthanc? -- I tend to think that sometimes he does (as before the Black Gates) and the rest of the time, "fortune," probably in the form a nudge from Manwe, sends them where his servant needs them. I might be forgetting some appearance of the Third Age eagles in which Gandalf is nowhere on or behind the scenes, but I can't recall such an instance, if there is one.