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Horsemen seen riding out from Minas Morgul, by Alan Lee
- "Before them went a great cavalry of horsemen moving like ordered shadows, and at there head was one greater than all the rest: a rider, all in black, save that on his hooded head he wore a helm like a crown that flickered with a perilous light."
- —The Two Towers: "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol"
The army which marched from Minas Morgul in the late Third Age were led by a great cavalry of horsemen which rode out alongside the Witch-king of Angmar to lead the Morgul-host to battle.
History[]
In The Two Towers a great cavalry of horsemen rode out from Minas Morgul with the Witch-king himself ahead of them, while Frodo watched. It's unknown whether they were mounted Orcs, Men, or both, or whether (if Men) they were Easterlings, Southrons, or men originally quartered at Minas Morgul itself. There is also possibility that they were men made Wraiths by the Nazgûl’s Morgul-knives.
In The Return of the King, when Faramir led a retreat to Minas Tirith after the Battle of Osgiliath, "horsemen of the Enemy" (perhaps the horsemen from Minas Morgul) charged toward them, with Orcs following them. But Haradrim were also present, and among them was a "mounted champion", so the horsemen may have been Southron cavalry, with possible Orc-horse riders, or there may have been more than two groups of horsemen present: one from Minas Morgul, and another from Harad.
It may also be possible that who ever they were, that they were also present during The Battle of the Pelennor Fields particularly among the legions of Minas Morgul against the walls of Minas Tirith and that likely they like the rest of the enemy were all but killed off by the forces of Gondor after Aragorn II arrived.[citation needed]
In adaptations[]
Morgul Knights as imagined for The Lord of The Rings Battle Strategy Game by Games Workshop
The great cavalry of horsemen make no appearance in Peter Jackson's films. They were added to the The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, under the name "Morgul Knights."
In that game their armor appears to be similar to that of The Mouth of Sauron, suggesting a Black Númenórean influence. They carry either swords or spears with triangular shields, and their horses are also well-armored, similar to real horse armor during the middle-ages and one could even argue that the Morgul knights are a corrupted reflection of the knights of Gondor, in particular Dol Amroth.