🤔 Want more answers? 👉 Check out the full video on the History of the Balrog on my channel: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/laigp9linc-7ppc.html

Cool fact: Tolkien based this bit off of Macbeth, who "could not be killed of woman born" And then he gets killed by some dude born by a C-section so technically he wasn't woman born

Witch King: no man can kill me All sorts of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves and Woman: we are not men.

Witch king: No Man Can kill Me Kid named: No Man 💀💀

Witch king: "No man can kill me!" _gets mauled by bear_

I believe Glorfindels prophecy was something like "far away lies his doom, and not by man will he meet it"

This proves confidence is the best defence, the Witch King was so confident he survived countless battles for thousands of years, all because he was confident a Man wouldn't kill him

I didn’t like how in the movie they really downplayed the importance of Merry’s knife and what he did. It was his blow that turned the witch king back into flesh and made him mortal.

Fun fact in the lord of the rings book glorfindel took the hobbits and Aragorn to Rivendell not Arwen

I appreciate that Glorfindel was mostly just trying to tell the last king of Gondor (until Aragorn) not to throw his life away pursuing a single foe singlemindedly -- which of course he eventually did anyway -- and the people of Middle-Earth basically all went, "You know, that Glorfindel guy said it, and he killed a Balrog in single combat and went to Mandos and came back, so it's probably true." The dude had too much street cred. Respect.

If the prophecy was that he “would” not be killed by a man, and he believed the prophecy, then technically he “knows” he “could” not be killed by a man.

My man blud immediately started walking around like he owns the place💀

Fact: The weapon Merry had used was looted from the Barrow-Downs all the way back in The Fellowship of the Ring.

In the book, Merry stabbed the Witch King behind his knee with an Elvish blade they had gotten from the Barrow Downs he was about to strike Eowyn. The blade was enchanted with Elvish spells against the Witch King from back in the 2nd Age. That plus him being a Hobbit fulfilled the prophecy

In retrospect, even if the Witch King couldn't be killed by a Man, in a world filled with Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits etc. The Witch King was really asking for it for hyping himself up when there are so many workarounds lol

Bet the other Nazgûl must have felt really awkward when they saw Eowyn kill their boss 👀👀

I remember being so aggravated that Jackson didnt elaborate on HOW Merry got his dagger like in the books.

Thank you for pointing out the magical nature of the dagger Mary used, as the films just sort of skipped that slightly important fact.

I love the idea that this dude spent thousands of years thinking he literally couldn't be killed by a man and everyone he fought simply failed to prove him wrong. Like it was some kind of magic feather bullshit and he could have been killed at any time, but he survived purely on unfounded confidence.

Nazgul are hard to kill as they technically exist as long as Sauron exists, as they’re bound to him But the Witch-King’s circumstances that lead to his demise were special that lead to his misunderstood prophecy to he fulfilled

I just want to point out that Eowyn is of the race of men. So technically yes Witch King was killed by a man but only because a hobbit lowered his defenses.

I can‘t explain it but this video and this entire series of videos make me happy, so thank you

Self fulfilling prophecy. He tried so much to avoid it, that it became fulfilled.

‘i am no man’ is one of the most badass lines in the entire legendarium. it’s up there with gandalf saying to denethor how if trees still flower after the war he will not have failed, ‘for i [gandalf] am a steward too. did you not know?’

"No man can kill me" "I identify as a woman."

I wish that was mentioned in the film because merries blade made him essentially mortal long enough for ewoyn to kill him. Boss battle moment.

Merry stabbed him in the leg with a magical sword made by the witch kings ancestoral enemies that broke the curse. The "i am no man" line was more to tell the reader who the characher was, bc in the book it wasnt revealed it wad her until that line. She was destribed as a small thin man that was riding with merry.

Yeah in essence my theory was that he took it too literally and the fear factor kinda helped out and his ego was ultra boosted. Still one of the coolest villains even if he is merely a henchman

He wasnt fighting Glorfindel but was so scared when Glorfindel arrived that he fled on sight. Also before Glorfindel was reincarnated he fought a balrog one on one and while dying himself in the battle killed it. He is truly a chad. He also was the one who took Frodo to Rivendell in the books. So sad he didnt get included in the movies.

The witch king thought he was a gangster for second 💀☠️☠️

Buddy went his whole life thinking he was just him 😭🙏

"proper grammar always matters" especially when the guy writing your story is a philologist with a witty sense of humor lol

I always felt like it was some sort of a monkeys paw, making a deal with a devil like Sauron granting him power, but not knowing the loopholes sounds more better than him just being hubris.

“Come at me bro” “I am no bro”

Couldn't be killed untill he had been slid up on and shanked by a hobbit.

Not only that, but Merry's sword was specifically made to fight WK's undead army during the war in which WK and Glory Fiddle (lol) fought. I also like to think that he WK was permanently killed after that fight, poetically speaking.

I appreciate this clarity

“Eowyn, War is the province of MEN,…!”

The problem is that Tolkien stated that the barrow blade severed the spell thatbound the Witch King's body to his will. This is archaic language that means that Merry's dagger dealt the killing blow.

‘Proper grammar always matters’ That’d be “correct” there, friend.

It was a dagger in a back that killed him, Aragorn gave each hobbit a blade that can hurt nasguls. Stabbing in the face was just like a spit in the face while he was dying.

Lovin' that background music for the Witch King! _He's been spendin' most his life_ _Livin' in a Morgul Paradise!_ _Tell me why-y is he_ _So ha-a-ard to see?_ _His armor appears_ _To be e-e-empty!_

Tolkien loved word play. In old English “man” meant humans.

Heheheheheheheheheheh this is one of my favorite nuggets of Middle Earth lore

"No man can murder me!" "Then I leave you in the hands of fate"

"I am no man." Such a badass line before stabbing him in the face.

Elven bread can feed a man in one bite. But not a habit, yet I never see them eat. I wish someone would do a deep dive on this

The music in this short is hilariously on-point. Good "video"

"Not by the hand of Man shall he fall."

Apparently, both swords were enchanted elven artifacts so they were not big old ordinary sword. :)

Had it not been for Merry, Eowyn would have been killed.

Ok, now I need to know why the witch king and that elf were fighting.

Bro needed a lawyer to look over the prophecy

Excellent summary. It makes a little more sense why the witch king thought he couldn't be killed when you remember he was basically an undead. When the ringwraiths were caught up in the turmoil of the greyflood, they would have died as mortal men. However they theoretically should have been immortal and unkillable as long as the one Ring was around. Tolkien never really explains why the spell on Merry's sword was able to make the witch king vulnerable. You'd think if the Northern kingdom had such powerful wraith killing weapons, that they wouldn't have been destroyed by Angmar.

Witch King: I'm immortal! I'm immort- Witch King: *trips in the stairs and dies*

When in doubt, read. Best advice I've ever got

Your edits got me dying dude, just discovered this channel today and am loving it

Love your edits. This might be my favorite

Can I just say how much I love your choice of music? 😂

Technically though, he wouldn't have even been killed on the Pelennor Fields by Merry and Eowyn because The Witch King is bound like all the other Ringwraiths to The One Ring and Sauron. So he essentially would've just respawned back in Minas Morgul or Mordor until the One Ring and Sauron were destroyed.

Im so glad I’ve decided to finally get into Tolkien. An actual storyline Im cookin up was inspired by Tolkien. You do the best at making the lore easy to understand. 😊

Eowyn actually says "I am no man" before the big fight. And the Witch King actually took pause and became very cautious.

Lol, imagine walking to a battlefield thinking you were bulletproof and dying from insect bites

fun fact: eowyn dipped her sword in the stew.

Funny thing, Merry and Eowyn _are_ technically both Men. Merry isn't of the race of Man, but he is male. Eowyn isn't male, but she is of the race of Man.

The movie did a Hollywood version of his death. It was ten times more badass in the book.

The fool thought he maxed out his defense level and panacea. But forgot to bring his phoenix down

Another interesting tidbit: In the Rankin-Bass film, the Witch-King of Angmar was voiced by the late legendary voice actor John Stephenson, who also voiced the Goblin King and Bard in the Hobbit film by the same company. Stephenson is best known for his voiceover work in various Hannah Barbera cartoons, namely as Mr. Slate from the Flintstones, and various characters in the original Transformers series. Personally, my favorite performance of his was as Kup from the Transformers episode “Chaos.” Great episode.

There was an old English saying that "Those who are fated to hang need not fear drowning." This prophesy appears to be along the same lines.

Love this. If it weren’t for Merry with the barrow-wight anti-Angmar blade, Eowyn’s strike would have done nothing. I think Glorfindel’s words are one of those examples of unknowing prophecy in Tolkien’s work. Words that will become manifest not because they have power, but simply because that is how it will come to pass pursuant to the musical score of creation set in motion by the Valar, the Maiar, and Elu Ilivatar’s creation song. Time is a flat circle.

Have you done videos on Tom Bombadil? I’m new to the channel and love the style.

Maybe just cause no man had YET killed the witch king so he was feeling all high on himself. He had a reputation.

"No man can kill me." Cue every non-man race in Middle Earth lining up to rock the Witch-King like that slapping scene from 'Airplane'.

What do you mean the witch king got it all confused? Did he hear glorifindel when he told the prophecy? I don't think so.

My reading of that is that Glorfindel was a professional troll and very loudly shouted his prophecy specifically to make the Witch King think that he was invincible so that he'd be careless and walk right into his death.

I'm not sure what's confusing, tbh. "[N]ot by the hand of man will he fall." A real prophecy of "will not" _necessarily_ requires "could not." Fate cannot be changed.

Remember the weapon moved on it’s own accord… The

I was under the impression that he was very much killable however difficult it might be. The saying that no man can kill him was first made by a demoralized ancient king who met him in single combat and lost. But you know what happened in the centuries or millennia after? His armies were defeated and driven back. He vanishes from the world for some time before the events of the hobbit and LOTR. I really think he took that statement, personified it to create even more fear and hopelessness, and convinced the race of men that it was true.

It’s really fascinating how much stock the Witch King put into Glorfindel’s prophesy. He also was terrified of Glorfindel and fled at the sight of him because he is THAT powerful.

The music is perfect!

Witch King: No man can kill me. Middle Earth: So, like 10% of the population?

Question: People have suspicion that Frodo doesn’t know Legolas’s name, and Legolas hasn’t had real contact with him. Is this true?

The music for this was just 10/10

Theres also the whole thing that by the time (and especially nowadays) it can easily be mistaken as "no man can kill me" as in, no dude can kill him. But with Tolkien, "The race of men/the race of man" was meant for humanity as a whole. So by that original logic, being stabbed by Merry, a Hobbit, not a human, the prophecy was fulfilled. Even if Merry did not deal the killing blow himself, it was Merry that allowed the killing blow to happen at all, for had he not done so, Eowyn's heroic thrust-to-the-face likely wouldve dont absolutely nothing to the lord of angmar

Yk what they say you can't fix stupid but a sword sure can

It wasn’t a “curse” that no man can kill him. It was a prophecy that a man will not be his downfall

ah yes,merry not a man brandybuck,such a legendary hobbit

Hearing coolio and seeing the “ original sound” label makes me start thinking yeah. That should have been in the movie

Alright second clip of yours I’ve seen, worthy of the sub homie 🤣

What’s with all the prophecies in fantasy? There’s always some random person that makes a prophecy. “But why must this be, m’lord?” “Because it has been prophecized!”

Lol my favorite thing about this is the grammar 🤣

By technicality he is right he cannot be killed by a man considering in his universe fate has written for him to die by a woman’s/a non man’s hands on therefore no man can kill him

The gangsters paradise background music 😂

That Coolio music was a nice touch 😄

Fun fact: Glorfindel was not fighting Witchking personally. He just was in same fight in Battle of Fornost. He just stopped Earnur for not to chase Witchking to most surdain trap. Extra fact: Witchking was laughing at Earnur but suddenly was needing to flee away when Glorfindel showed up.

A proper Grandma can indeed save lives. 😅

Bro forgot to check his own wiki. Seripusly, this means that the Witch King didn't knew his own powers? I mean, he didn't even understood his own profecy.

This is one of the juiciest lotr trivia nuggets ever 😂

It's worth noting that Merry's Barrow-wight blade, which Eowyn just happened to pick up and fight the Witch-King with, was probably THE ONLY WEAPON IN THE WORLD that could have harmed him because the Witch-King created the Barrow-wights with dark sorcery, and their blades could harm wraiths. So the whole thing was just pure luck (or fate).

It wasn't a grammatical error, but how prophecies and curses work in Middle-Earth. Magical being cursing promises carry permanent fortune. Glorfindel stated "Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." Doom in lotr means "how one ends". It wasn't a true prophecy until the magical being The Witch King himself proclaimed "Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!" which sealed his 'doom' as fate. The literacy irony comes from the fact he could die, just not by a man and instead by a woman, but more specifically a sword created to kill him, the Barrow Blade, made by the magic-enchanting smiths of Arnor, later lost and found by Tom Bombadil and given to Merry. The sword would have never been made if the Witch King never attacked Arnor. This whole story of the Witch King sealing his own 'doom' is a double-triple layer of irony and fantastic writing.