Will of the Nazgul/Creating More Nazgul

[JeffF.]

It is stated several times in the LotR that the Nazgul had no will but Sauron's and/or they were enslaved to his will. Given the description of the Nazgul in Unfinished Tales, The Hunt For The Ring, it seems that this statement is not entirely accurate. After the unsuccessful hunt in the Vales of Anduin Sauron sends messengers whose words "fill even the Morgul Lord with dismay." In RotK Frodo and Sam see a Nazgul overhead which the narrative states is sending word to Sauron of the Lord of the Nazgul's demise.

The description that they had no will but Sauron's implies that everything they did even to the smallest detail, was Sauron's decision (which he would have to do if they truly had "no will" but his).

In the Hunt for the Ring and in the Siege of Minas Tirith/Battle of Pelennor Fields the Lord of the Nazgul makes many decisions as he deploys and redeploys his fellow Nazgul and/or armies.

A more accurate description would be that the Nazgul could not act counter to his will. They could not put on the One Ring if they found it if Sauron forbade them to do it and would return it but they could decide how they would return it if for example their steeds were killed. When acting as Captains on a field of battle, they would make the decisions like deploying Siege Towers against the Minas Tirith walls to tie down defenders, catapulting heads of the slain Gondor soldiers to demoralize the defenders and brining Grond to bear against the city's gates.


I've also wondered why Sauron did not 'make' more Nazgul since they were his greatest servants. The fact that he did not implies that Celembrimbor used some craft, art or skill that was beyond the ability of Sauron. Evidently Sauron could not simply re-give the Nine Rings for Men to a new set of Sorcerers, Kings and Warriors that he intended to enslave once the original holders were enslaved to his will. This implies that the Nine could only enslave one person at a time. It would seem that it would be to his great benefit for Sauron to create more Nazgul even if the cost was enslaving the original set to the new set or vice versa.

The Rings of Power seem also to have been made SPECFICALLY for either Men or Dwarves (or the Three for Elves). Sauron had recovered three of the Seven Rings for Dwarves. Finding they did not enslave Dwarves the way the Nine did Men he evidently did not have the option of simply giving these three Dwarf intended rings to Men to enslave them and create three more Nazgul .