Some men are driven by loyalty or the need
to protect their loved ones or even their
home, while others chase after more selfish
things such as riches and power.
One such man was Grima, and he was ready to
go so far as to betray his people, his king
and his homeland of Rohan for the promise
of wealth and status.
Hello friends it's Karl here and in today's
episode we'll be exploring the history of
Grima Wormtongue.
So Grima was the son of Galmod and he was
born in the land Rohan.
He was known to be a very cunning and wise
man and these traits would help to become
the chief advisor of King Theoden.
At first he was a loyal and true servant to
his king and he tried to fulfill his duties
to his utmost abilities, yet his position
in the court of Edoras caught the attention
of Saruman, who desired an instrument through
which he could control and manipulate Theoden,
and Grima seemed like the perfect tool for
his plans.
Saruman needed to find a way to corrupt him
and entice him to enter his service and so
he tempted him with the promise of riches,
power and the one thing he desired above all..
Eowyn’s hand in marriage.
In return Grima would have to spy on Rohan
while poisoning and mnaipulating Theodeon’s
thoughts so that he could act as a proxy through
which Saruman could exert his will upon these
lands.
His evil whispers would consume Theoden’s
mind and over the years the king became weaker
and powerless as Grima played upon his fears
and regrets driving Theoden to doubt himself
and his closest allies.
It’s possible that Grima might have learnt
some form of magic or speechcraft from Saruman
which could have helped him to deceive Theoden
and to sway his will, and Tolkien also mentions
that Grima might have used subtle poisons
to induce or increase Theoden’s weakness.
Now as Grima’s whispers consumed Theoden
he was left in a decrepit state and a farcry
from the mighty king that he once was, and
Grima convinced him that he was too weak to
use a sword and so he took it from him and
stored it in his chest.
Many others treasures of Rohan were lost and
went missing, as Grima pilfered them from
the halls of Edoras, and some of their most
precious treasures such as the heirlooms and
jewels of Eorl the Young the first King of
Rohan, were sent to Saruman in Isengard.
For a while Grima was able the maintain this
lie that Saruman was an ally of Rohan, though
after Gandalf escaped from Isengard he travelled
to Edoras to inform king Theoden of Saruman’s
betrayal.
This news threatened to unravel Grima’s
plans, and so he tried to discredit Gandalf
and he accused him of being a warmonger whose
influence grew while others were troubled
He claimed that Gandalf enjoyed bearing bad
news without providing any real useful help,
such as weapons and horses and that he was
simply a beggar that wasn’t welcome in Edoras.
Even though Grima’s plan and deceit might
have worked on the King, some of the Men of
Rohan such as Eomer began to grow suspicious
of his motives and they would try to act against
them.
And so Grima had to change his tactics and
he would start to whisper different commands
to Theoden, commands that would weaken Rohan
by delaying its defenses and preventing them
from mustering their strength, which elft
their lands exposed to the armies of Saruman.
Now Gandalf’s arrival could still disrupt
Saruman’s plans for Rohan, and Grima knew
that he must travel to Isengard in haste to
inform his master of this new threat.
Yet before he could reach Isengard, he came
across the Witch-King who was seeking information
on the Shire, and Grima was so terrified by
the Nazgul’s presence that he gave up its
location.
The Witch-King now had the information that
he needed, and he chose to spare Grima’s
life, not out of mercy, but because he knew
that Grima might still serve a useful purpose.
After all he was an evil man and the Witch-King
felt that he was likely to cause great harm
to Saruman if he was spared and that he was
too terrified to speak of their meeting.
Now thanks to Grima, the shadow of Isengard
stretched far across Rohan, though their plans
could still be threatened by Eomer the King’s
nephew, and Theodred the king’s son.
Grima needed to find a way to discredit them
in Theoden’s eyes, and he begun to whisper
lies, yet even in his weakened state, Theoden’s
trust could not be wavered for he knew that
both his son and his nephew were incredibly
loyal to him.
Since he wasn’t able to turn Theoden against
them, Grima needed to find a new angle through
which he could create conflict, and he tried
to make it seem like Eomer and Theodred were
at odds with one another.
He hoped that this would convince Theoden
that Eomer was trying to increase his authority
and influence and that he was acting without
consulting the King and Theodred.
Now while Grima weakened Theoden’s trust
in his nephew, Saruman's Uruk-Hai had managed
to slay Theodred in the First Battle of the
Fords of Isen, and with his dying breath Theodred
sent a message to his father.
In it, he asked the king to send all the Rohirrim
that could be spared to the Fords of Isen
under Eomer’s command so that they could
set up a strong defense and withstand Saruman's
forces, yet once more Grima meddled in this
and he delayed any reinforcements, and if
this message had gone through then perhaps
the Second battle of the Fords of Isen might
have never been lost.
When Theoden learnt of his son’s death he
fell into despair, and Grima took advantage
of his sorrow and he used it to turn Theoden
against his closest confidantes so that he
would only rely on Grima from now on.
He also harmed the chain of command and he
whispered orders in the King’s ears which
were passed on to Hama the captain of his
house and eventually to the Marshals of the
Mark, and through this Grima was able to subtly
control the most powerful people of Rohan,
and they had no choice but to obey these commands
even though they resented them.
By now the Men of Rohan could see Grima’s
manipulation even though they could do little
about it and they began to call him Wormtongue
out of disdain, and Grima’s evil whispers
were also used upon Eowyn for he poisoned
her thoughts with the fall of her house and
she began to see her life like a shrinking
trap.
I imagine that he wanted her to feel helpless
so that she too would become dependent upon
him.
Now since Grima effectively controlled the
Rohirrim through Theoden, he ordered them
not to intercept the Uruk-Hai that were carrying
the Hobbits to Isengard, though luckily Eomer
chose to disobey these command and he threatened
to kill Grima in the halls of Edoras.
These actions could not go unpunished, and
under Grima’s advice the King imprisoned
Eomer and so the final obstacle that could
resist Grima had now been overcome.
I imagine that for a while it seemed to Grima
like his victory was guaranteed, and I’m
sure that he must have been shaken when he
heard the news that Gandalf and the three
hunters were approaching Edoras.
Through Theoden, Grima proclaimed that no
strangers would pass through the gates of
Edoras and he gave orders that their weapons
must be confiscated including Gandalf’s
staff.
Luckily Gandalf would manage to convince the
guards that he needed his staff for support
and he would later use it to free Theoden
from Grima’s influence, and Wormtongue’s
plans began to unravel.
Since Theoden had regained his mind he offered
Wormtongue the chance to prove his loyalty
by fighting besides him, and Grima knew that
he was cornered and that there was no way
he could escape the situation with words.
And so he spat at the King’s feet and fled
from Edoras and he was last seen traveling
with a company of Orcs as they marched towards
Isengard.
His relief would soon turn into horror, for
when he arrived at Isengard he found that
this fortress was destroyed by the Ents and
before he could run away Treebeard intercepted
him for questioning.
Grima tried to deceive him by claiming that
he was a messenger of the King on important
business and that he was the only man that
was brave enough to risk this journey though
Treebeard did not fall for this deception
for Gandalf had already warned him about Grima.
And so Treebeard offered him a choice, to
either wait with him until Gandalf returned
or to rejoin Saruman in Orthanc, and Wormtongue
chose to join his master, and the two of them
would gnaw at each others’ mind as they
were stuck in this tower.
When Gandalf and Theoden confronted Saruman
outside of Orthanc, Wormtongue threw its Palantir
down at them, and this enraged Saruman for
it was one of the most precious and important
treasures of Isengard.
Their relationship would slowly worsen as
Saruman became verbally and physically abuse
towards Wormtongue, and even though Grima
hated him and wanted to leave his service
his fate was tied with that of his master.
They would travel together to the Shire, after
the Ring’s destruction, where Saruman had
set up a sphere of influence through a band
of ruffians, and he would order Wormtongue
to assassinate Lotho who was the Hobbit Chief,
by stabbing while he slept.
Frodo and his companions would manage to rally
their countrymen to rise up against Saruman’s
rule and after they confronted him, Frodo
offered Wormtongue to rest in the Shire for
a while since they weren’t aware of any
harm or evil deeds that he committed.
And Wormtongue seemed to consider this before
Saruman revealed the part he played in the
assassination of Lotho and he called him a
Worm and said that Grima was his puppet as
he kicked him in the face.
In that moment something snapped inside of
Wormtongue and he turned on Saruman and stabbed
to death, before he too was shot and killed
by the Hobbit archers that surrounded them.
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