Black Wings

Black Wings,The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Two, Chapter IV: "The Black Gate is Closed", pg. 253-4 also referred to as Nazgûl-birdsThe Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 100, hell-hawksThe Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter IV: "The Siege of Gondor", and "fellbeasts"The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter VI: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", were the winged creatures of Mordor ridden by the Nazgûl after their black horses were lost in the Ford of Bruinen in October of TA 3018.
==Description==
Black Wings were described as being able to fly at immense speeds. Though they were bird-like in form, they were much bigger and more monstrous than any true bird, and had some reptilian features. Their hue was pitch-dark, and they appeared shadow-like even when daylight was absent. Their skin was plain and naked, and they lacked quills and feathers. They had long necks and pinions made of hide between their horned fingers, forming vast, webbed wings. In battle they attacked and consumed their prey with sharp beaks and long talons. Additionally, they swooped with their feet to drop foes from the sky; they used their wide wingspan to blow strong gusts of wind; or they crushed enemies under their sheer weight. The also gave off a foul decaying stench and made loud terrible noises.
==History==
While their origins are unspecified, it is believed that Black Wings came from "an older world", being survivors of earlier geological eras. While most of their kind presumably fell in the Elder Days, some lingered on and bred within hideous eyries of forgotten mountains, cold beneath the Moon. Eventually, the Dark Lord Sauron found their last untimely brood, and he fed them corrupted meats, growing them into the largest of all flying things, with an instinct for evil.
When first seeking and pursuing Frodo during the War of the Ring, the Nine Nazgûl rode coal-black horses. These steeds were consumed at the Ford of Bruinen by the flood caused by Elrond's intercession, and the Nine also vanished in the river.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter XII: "Flight to the Ford" Unseen, they eventually returned to Mordor in the next months, and were there gifted dreadful mounts from Sauron referred to as "Black Wings".
When the Fellowship of the Ring had left Lothlórien and were camped on the western shore of the Anduin, they saw "a great winged creature, blacker than the pits in the night." When Legolas raised the great bow of Lórien and shot it with an arrow, it gave "a harsh croaking scream" and vanished into the gloom of the Eastern shore.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter IX: "The Great River"
Frodo, Sam, and Gollum encountered one of these Black Wings while passing through the Dead Marshes, and in their fright Gollum spoke of "wraiths on wings".The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Four, Chapter II: "The Passage of the Marshes"
According to the chieftain of Harrowdale, a Black Wing flew over Edoras and stooped just over Meduseld. They described it as being a darkness in the shape of a monstrous bird. After this, Gandalf told the Rohirrim to assemble at Dunharrow rather than outside Edoras to prevent any attack.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter III: "The Muster of Rohan"
When Faramir, captain of Gondor, was fleeing from the besieged city of Osgiliath on his way to Minas Tirith, he and his men were many times beset by Black Wings until Gandalf rode out and drove them away with a shaft of white light from his raised hand.
In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-king of Angmar arrived in battle mounted on a Black Wing. When he mortally wounded King Théoden on the field, Éowyn removed her guise as Dernhelm and slew the Black Wing. She then confronted and slew the Nazgûl, with the aid of Meriadoc Brandybuck. A number of Black Wings would later join the Battle of the Black Gate and be engaged by Gwaihir and his Great Eagles, only to flee at the command of Sauron once he sensed Frodo donning the One Ring within Mount Doom. These Black Wings were destroyed in the ensuing eruption.
==Interpretations==
There is a common misconception that Black Wings are the Nazgûl themselves.
Tolkien did not use fell beast as a formal term for these creatures, merely describing the beasts as "fell." Fell, a Middle English adjective (from the Old French fel "cruel, dreadful") has come to mean, in Modern English, "ferocious, fierce, terrible, cruel, dreadful", and implies an underlying malevolence or hostility that make the noun described all the worse for the ill-will that drives its suddenness and intensity. Given the rarity of fell (which had all but disappeared from Modern English until Tolkien's work revived it), the beasts having no other name, Tolkien's fans have often, if not quite correctly, dubbed them "fellbeasts" (c.f., e.g., "fell light in his eyes" and "fell beats").
While occasionally interpreted as resembling pterosaurs, Tolkien stated that the creatures were not intended to be "pterodactylic", though conceding the similarities.The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211 (October 1958) For the most part, while Black Wings vaguely resemble outdated pterosaur depictions, they are vastly different from the modern scientific interpretation of these animals, as endothermic, hairy quadrupedes instead of "featherless birds".
==In adaptations==
===The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)===
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 The Lord of the Rings, one of the Nazgûl (possibly the Witch-king, for he carries a mace), is shown riding on a Black Wing. However, Bakshi's film only covers events up to the Battle of the Hornburg, so that is the only appearance of a Black Wing.
===The Return of the King (1980 film)===
In the Rankin-Bass 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, the Nazgûl ride winged horses. But when Éowyn confronts the Witch-King he is riding a bird-like steed. Gandalf had called it a Carrion-fowl.
===The Lord of the Rings film trilogy===
In Peter Jackson's film trilogy based on The Lord of the Rings, Black Wings are depicted as "wyverns", a two-legged, flying serpentine creature which is often regarded as a kin of dragons, and their heads appear more like a snake's, without a beak. (Although on screen the film characters never make this mistake, sometimes actors on the commentary tracks refer to the winged creature as a Nazgûl; this is incorrect.)
A Ringwraith is first seen riding a Black Wing in the Dead Marshes in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
===Middle-earth: Shadow of War===
While Drakes appear instead of Black Wings, Hell-hawks, which was what Beregond called "Black Wings", appear as the name of a different creature in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
====Offensive abilities====
Clearly (at least in the movies and video games), Black Wings were powerful creatures and were deadly offensive predators, especially with the Nazgûl on them. They could choose either to bite their prey (less attacking radius but increased damage) or swoop down on them (larger attacking radius), scattering enemies apart or outright crushing them. If a Black Wing snatched a soldier, it could easily fly high into the air and drop its helpless victim to his death far below. Black Wings were feared for their ferocity and speed, and were known as the second fastest creatures in Middle-earth (only the Eagles are faster).
===The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age===
In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Black Wings could also breathe foul air on their foes, weakening them significantly.
===The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth===
Three Black Wings are available (at a time) as heroes in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth and its sequel; mounted by Ringwraiths.
==Translations==
Foreign Language	Translated name
Danish 	Vingede uhyrer
Dutch 	Vreselijke Beeste
Finnish 	Siivekäs peto
French 	Coursier ailés
German 	Geflügelte Untiere
Italian 	Bestie Alate
Polish 	Skrzydlate bestie
Portuguese 	Bestas Caídas
Russian 	Крылатые твари
Spanish 	Bestia alada
Swedish 	Vingbestar
Thai 	เฟลบีสต์
==References==
Category:Monsters
Category:Servants of Sauron
de:Geflügelte Wesen
es:Bestia Alada
fr:Coursiers ailés
it:Bestie Alate
pl:Skrzydlate bestie
ru:Крылатые твари