The Names of Sauron

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

This is one question I have been thinking about several times in the past. We are told that Sauron did not use the name "Sauron" for himself, for obvious reasons, however still it seems that the name was far more spread than any other names he might have made for himself - and that is, not only among his enemies (where it makes sense), but also among his own soldiers and followers. Let us make a quick recapitulation:

Originally Posted by TT, The Departure of Boromir

"S is for Sauron," said Gimli. "That is easy to read."
"Nay!" said Legolas. "Sauron does not use the Elf-runes."
"Neither does he use his right name, nor permit it to be spelt or spoken," said Aragorn.

Okay, so reputedly Sauron does not use his "right" name - that's one interesting point, since, is really "Sauron" his "right" name? More about that later. Secondly, let us note that Sauron does not even "permit it to be spelt or spoken". That is probably the most interesting contradiction.

Sauron is being referred to by his enemies as Sauron, or "the Enemy", or, more scarcely, "the Dark Lord". Of course Sauron's servants are not calling him "Enemy". The most "affectionate" term for Sauron is probably "the Great Eye", such as in:

Originally Posted by TT, The Uruk-Hai

"Is Saruman the master or the Great Eye?" said the evil voice. "We should go back at once to Lugbúrz."

Sauron is also being often referred to as "Him" by the Orcs. I think whereas "Great Eye" implies a show of honest admiration and respect in front of the authority (as in "O Great Caesar"), "Him" is just a colloquial form used while referring to Sauron in short, yet respectful enough tone, perhaps out of slightly metaphysical fear (like "we cannot call him anything else, because he would surely know and we'll have the Nazgul on our back in no time" - something similar to, say, using "You-Know-Who" instead of Voldemort in Harry Potter). This is exactly the case of for example Gorbag and Shagrat:

Originally Posted by TT, The Choices of Master Samwise

"But don't forget: the enemies don't love us any more than they love Him, and if they get topsides on Him, we're done too."

I could note that "Him" is a quite good neutral term (obviously, because of its simplicity), used also by Gollum and even Sauron's enemies sometimes.

So this far, it would all be very nice. For the Free Peoples, Sauron is mostly "Enemy" or "Sauron" for those, who have the Harry Potter syndrome and are not afraid to speak his name aloud, even though, as we heard from Aragorn, he really does not approve of that. Sauron's servants, on the contrary, call him "Great Eye" or simply "Him". But what to make of...

Originally Posted by ROTK, The Black Gate Opens

The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: "I am the Mouth of Sauron."

This guy had been the closest to Sauron - yet he dared to use the name of his master, the name his master had forbidden to use, as part of his own name?? And there actually are two problems with his usage of the name Sauron, not just one, both could be explained, but that only raises other "but"s.

First question: all right, let us say, if this guy was really Sauron's right-hand man, perhaps he was such a favourite that Sauron did not mind that this guy would use his right name. This would, however, make sense let's say (to stick with the example I have already been using) in the case of Voldemort. But Sauron does not call even himself "Sauron", so why should he allow anybody to call him that? Aside from that, the etymology of the name Sauron (I assume everybody knows, but this is essential of course for this whole post):

Originally Posted by Valaquenta

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel.

Originally Posted by Silmarillion, Index of Names

Sauron - "The Abhorred" (in Sindarin called Gorthaur); greatest of the servants of Melkor, in his origin a Maia of Aulë.

Originally Posted by Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names

thaur - "abominable, abhorrent" in Sauron (from Thauron)

I think it is clear why nobody would want to use such a name for himself. By the way, that's another interesting aspect - Sauron called himself "Annatar" when dealing with the Elven smiths, to appear "nice"; apparently after that he ceased to care to make names for himself, just as long as he was not being called "Sauron" (but, see our problem with his Mouth). It would be also interesting to know what was Sauron's name "in the beginning" (as Aulë's Maia), but that we might possibly never learn...

Anyway, back to the original topic - definitely calling oneself "Mouth of Sauron" does not make sense. Well, I think we could still attempt to save it by saying that it was a "diplomatic title" - although that is the second problem, I really don't think the solution is perfectly "clean" either.

What I mean is, "and he said: 'I am the Mouth of Sauron'" could mean that the Mouth of Sauron used it only on the outside, i.e. while presenting himself (and his master) to the "outworlders". He was a diplomat, after all, and he was definitely using his master's "right" name in the negotiations:

Originally Posted by ROTK, The Black Gate Opens

"But this time thou hast stuck out thy nose too far, Master Gandalf; and thou shalt see what comes to him who sets his foolish webs before the feet of Sauron the Great."

It is necessary to note here that this is the first time in the whole dialogue when the name "Sauron" is said. Even the daring call of Gondor's herolds appeals on "the Lord of the Black Land" to come and surrender, so very "politically correct" approach, so to say (not like "you disgusting Sauron, crawl out of your hideout"). Speaking of that, "Sauron the Great" does not seem to be a title of respect, or if it was, I would be seriously worried - because the very same term is used by Gandalf the first time when we even hear Sauron's name:

Originally Posted by FOTR, The Shadow of the Past

"But last night I told you of Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord."

I guess "Great" here just refers to the fact that Sauron is the lord of half of the Middle-Earth, stating the fact, not saying whether it's positive or negative. I think it might be also possibly a translation of the Elvish term for Sauron, where "sauron" after all does not need to be a personal name (although most people probably know who they are talking about), but "the Great" is just used to signify that we are speaking about THE Sauron, and not just "my abhorrent neighbor, you know how I despise him".

Nevertheless, calling Sauron "Sauron" in diplomatic talks is slightly, well, inappropriate? Don't you think so too? If Gandalf was the one to use it, it would make sense, and then the Mouth of Sauron could shout "Hey, watch your mouth [sic], you grey Beard [sic ]". But if it is the Mouth of Sauron who calls Sauron Sauron, then it basically means "retreating" to the level of his opponents. Wouldn't that be a diplomatic faux-pas, showing weakness by speaking in the terms dictated by the opponents, but not himself?

It is true that in diplomatic talk with random Easterling or Southron barbaric tribes, who have heard of Sauron only as Sauron, it might be just easy to use the name for the sake of clarity. (An emissary coming with an offer such as: "Hello, I am emissary of... well, you know... and I would like that you join... well, you know... he is really strong, surely you have heard of him..." wouldn't probably rally many nations to his cause.) The policy might be as well: "Join Sauron the Great!" and only later: "Okay, so if you agree, let us sign this pact which consists of three points, 1. you will have our military aid, 2. we will have your military aid, 3. we will give your chieftain a cool ring, 4. you will not use the name 'Sauron' from now on." The usage of "Sauron the Great" in diplomatic talks is supported at least by Glóin's account of the emissary coming to Erebor:

Originally Posted by FOTR, Council of Elrond

"Then about a year ago a messenger came to Dáin, but not from Moria – from Mordor: a horseman in the night, who called Dáin to his gate. The Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship."

I am not sure if this explanation is perfectly "clean" either. But I wonder if there are any better explanations possible.

This raises an interesting question, however. Even if the word "Sauron" was used only in the contact with the "outsiders", what was the Mouth called in the Barad-Dur hierarchy? "The Mouth of the Eye" sounds definitely poetic, but slightly confusing. "His Mouth" sounds almost comical, if there wasn't for this fear of punishment, I could imagine the Orcs secretly calling him "His Mouthness". Perhaps, as I have once seen in Middle-Earth playing cards, calling him "The Mouth" would be a good choice (and it would fit, something like "The Eye". The only thing that remains is to call the sniffing Khamul "The Nose" and we have almost complete face).