The creature Gothmog at the Siege of Minas Tirith

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

When I first read LoTR, or at least before I made any connection between the names, I assumed that Gothmog (TA) was a Nazgul. I also note that the actual quote from LoTR is "Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul" which also strongly suggests a Nazgul. Making Gothmog second in command for the Battle of the Pelennor is not necessarily inconsistent with Khamul being "second to the Chief [Nazgul]". Khamul may simply have had other duties in the battle. Also, as Khamul was resident in charge of Dol Guldur, the legions of Morgul may have been better inclined to follow a leader they were familiar with, the lieutenant of that city.

In fact, you could make a connection with the original Gothmog and Sauron in the First Age. For example, Sauron is second in command to Morgoth, but Gothmog is in charge of the armies. Maybe it is a similar case here, except that here the Witch-King actually participates in the fighting, unlike Morgoth most of the time.