January 30, 2004

The Messenger of Mordor
Brett C.

I am inclined to agree with Tuor that the messenger to Erebor was not one of the Nazgul. the timeline inidcates that Sauron forced the bridge of Osgiliath to win passage for the Nazgul across the river in June of 3018, but that the messenger to Erebor had first appeared around Nov of 3017, and had come twice more since then - no a lot of time for a horsed Wraith to travel there and back again [no pun intended] from Minas Morgul in time to set out for the hunt for the Ring, especially since Gloin stated that the rider was to return before the end of the year [3018], when the Nine were already abroad searching for the Shire. Also, at the parley at the Black Gate the Mouth of Sauron in many times referred to by the Professor as the Messenger [proper noun], though this is not definitive.

The best I can say is that it probably was not a Nazgul. Quite apart form the factors of time and distance, the Wraiths, while useful in many other ways, are ill suited to diplomacy.