The eponymous villain ofThe Lord of the Ringswas a man, despite appearing as a giant, disembodied eye inPeter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsmovies, but there were female villains in the story, too. They were just buried a little deeper in the legendarium than most characters. Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, was a Maia, the order of Ainur below the 15 Valar - Eru Ilúvatar’s first-created, semi-divine species. Discussion of Ainur nature inMorgoth’s Ringrevealed that Ainur could pick any body but were innately female or male. This interesting takeaway applies to all evil Maia women.
There could have been a few evil Maia women inThe Lord of the Rings, but high fantasy master J.R.R. Tolkien painted his characters in broad strokes, and left details like species unclear regarding a fair few characters. What was clear was that some ofThe Lord of the Rings’female characters could rival Morgoth himself for evil. Although Tolkien didn’t deal in “absolute evil” in his works, according to one letter, the villainous Morgoth came close.Morgoth wasLord of the Rings’original villain, and fiends of varying gender followed in his footsteps, committing various atrocities.
10Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
The Lord Of The Rings
The least evil and the most enjoyable ofLord of the Rings’female villains, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was more likely to steal cutlery than military secrets. Although not the biggest threat in Middle-earth,Lobelia was a rather unpleasant Hobbit, and the source of much of Bilbo’s misery in Hobbiton in the Third Age. Known for stealing “burglar” Bilbo’s silver spoons, Lobelia proved that theft ran in the Baggins family.
Before time
33,537
10,061
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen
4,902
War of Wrath ended
3,441
3,021
Fo.A 1 - unknown
Unknown
Lobelia and the Sackville-Baggins family resented Bilbo for his possession of Bag End, the comfortable Hobbit-hole that he lived in and promised to Frodo, his heir. As a distant relation, Lobelia always hoped that she would be the one to get her hands on the luxurious smial. Years of social awkwardness later,the jealous Lobelia finally had her turn at Bag Endduring the Scouring of the Shire.
9Princess Shepherdess Tar-Ancalimë
Unfinished Tales
One of Númenor’s least heroic rulers, Tar-Ancalimë was outlined inUnfinished Tales. The stories in thisLotRcompilation varied in terms of level of completion and era, offering some tales that were as good as included inThe Lord of the Rings, and only left out due to some catch or another.Tar-Ancalimë was the bigoted Númenórean queenin “Aldarion and Erendis,” a story about the perils of loveless marriage, which Tar-Ancalimë was the result of.
Is Anyone Responsible For Their Actions In Lord Of The Rings? Free Will & Fate In Middle-Earth Explained
Fate and free will in The Lord of the Rings have been debated since the ’50s, but there are answers to these lingering questions in the legendarium.
Tolkien was a romantic at heart, and his Catholic beliefs also led him to hold marriage and parenthood as sacred. Tar-Ancalimë took after her mother, Erendis, in many ways, and she was hardly an exemplary noblewoman. But Tar-Ancalimë was the victim of terrible parenting in many ways, and her rulership was just as terrible.She undid the hard work of her father, neglecting his policies, and refused to aid Númenor’s Elvish allies in Lindon.
8White Lady Of Emerië Erendis
Although far from one ofthe most evil characters inThe Lord of the Rings,Erendis is almost hilariously spitefulinUnfinished Tales. She married the sailor, Aldarion, who would become one of Númenor’s most famous mariners. He probably discovered Umbar and established the first settlement there, although this was only ever suggested. Erendis resented Aldarion’s second love - the sea. As such, their marriage turned to bitter acrimony.
Erendis born
771
Erendis died
985
Sauron began construction on Barad-dûr
1000
Sauron befriended the Elves of Eregion as Annatar
1200
Rings of Power were forged
1500
The Three great Elven-rings were forged
1590
The One Ring was forged, Barad-dûr was completed, Sauron openly proclaimed himself
1600
Sauron began to prepare to invade Eriador
1605
The War of the Elves and Sauron began
1693
Sauron invaded Eriador
1695
Sauron sacked Eregion and killed Celebrimbor, Rivendell founded, Dwarves assailed Sauron, Khazad-dûm closed
1697
1699
Númenóreans defeated Sauron
1700
Sauron was driven from Eriador and fled to Mordor, first White Council held
1701
Ar-Pharazôn seized the scepter
3255
Sauron became Pharazôn’s prisoner in Númenor
3262
Númenor fell
3319
“Aldarion and Erendis” was a tale of two villains really, to Tolkien’s credit. He did not seem to take sides in this tragic story of love becoming hate. Aldarion was a terrible husband and father, whileErendis was a terrible wife and mother. A female villain ofLord of the Rings’Second Age, Erendis was giving Númenórean royalty a bad name long before Ar-Pharazôn broke the ban of the Valar.
7Queen Berúthiel Of Gondor
Queen Berúthiel was another Queen in Middle-earth’s history, like Erendis, who had some less-than-desirable traits. She married King Tarannon Falastur, but was described as solitary and loveless. Along with Erendis,Berúthiel was one ofLord of the Rings’terrible wives, and was also described as “nefarious.” She spied on Gondorians through her network of enslaved cats, which she could communicate with.
Although distinctly unpopular in Gondor, this cat lady and goth may have more luck in a modern-dayLord of the Ringsadaptation.
She also eschewed bright colors and traditional beauty, only ever wearing black and silver and filling her gardens with tortured-looking sculptures. Although distinctly unpopular in Gondor, this cat lady and goth may have more luck in a modern-dayLord of the Ringsadaptation, where she would no doubt be a strong character. Nonetheless, inUnfinished Tales,she was seen as a scheming busybody of frightening abilities.
6Tevildo Follower Miaulë
The Book Of Lost Tales
One of the earliestLord of the Ringsvillains around, Miaulë was barely fleshed out inThe Book of Lost Tales. She was a cat on Tevildo’s side in his fortress, cooking for his forces. It is really only a linguistic detail that even suggests her femininity - her name relates to “miaulin”-a word for “she-cat"in an early form of Elvish called Gnomish. Regardless,this “she-cat” was a follower of the evil Tevildo.
Consumers of early Middle-earth lore may know Tevildo as one ofSauron’s many names inThe Lord of the Rings. It is most accurate to say that Tevildo, as a character, was a proxy for Sauron in the earliest drafts ofLotR. Surprisingly, this early version of Middle-earth’s most dastardly devil came in cat form, enslaving Beren in a story that would become Beren and Lúthien. Meanwhile,Miaulë was on kitchen duty for her dark master.
5Fallen Maia Meássë
Meássë and her brother, Makar, followed Morgoth inThe Book of Lost Tales.This female Maia was a warlike presencewith “bloody arms” and a taste for violence. She didn’t make it into later drafts of the story, but there’s nothing to say she wouldn’t have come back if Tolkien had lived longer - he was always tinkering with his legendarium. AmongMorgoth’s worst crimes inLord of the Ringswas corrupting numerous Ainur to his service. InThe Book of Lost Tales, that included Meássë.
Amazon’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerintroduced a villainous trio of witches that could potentially rival Meássë for evil wizardry, but J.R.R. Tolkien never raised them in his work.The Rings of Power’sAscetic, Dweller, and Nomad were original characters, whileMeássë was one of Tolkien’s first “fallen angels.“Once a semi-divine follower of the Valar, Meássë’s “quarrelsome mood” led her to be one of the first to join Morgoth’s discordant and rebellious singing in the song that planned the world and its history - the Ainulindalë.
4Morgoth’s Lover, Fluithuin
Fluithuin was also known as Ulbandi inThe Book of Lost Tales, and was Morgoth’s lover and the mother of his child. Earlier versions of the legendarium gave the Valar children - Morgoth wasn’t the only Vala with kids in these drafts. However, Tolkien decided that the Valar chose not to fall pregnant, although they could if they wanted to.Any woman willing to give Morgoth a shot was probably not a shining example of moralityin Middle-earth.
Fluithuin was described as an ogress inThe Book of Lost Tales, but ogres were rare in the legendarium. There is no sign of these beasts inThe Silmarillion,The Hobbit, orThe Lord of the Rings. Fluithuin’s mysterious species wasn’t described in detail, so it was unclear what she looked like, how long she lived, or whether she was related to the Ainur. At the very least,she had some attraction to or respect for Middle-earth’s most destructive tyrant.
3Sauron’s Messenger, Thuringwethil
The Silmarillion
Another incredibly mysterious female villain,Thuringwethil was Sauron’s heraldand messenger inThe Silmarillion. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance to be characterized much as she was slaughtered by Lúthien and Huan and her skin was used as a garment. This gory murder proved that Sauron’s forces weren’t the only ones with vicious tactics.
Thuringwethil used to fly back and forth to Angband in the form of a huge vampire with an iron claw at the end of each joint on her wings. Presumably, she would deliver messages between the different factions of Sauron’s army and his growing array of devotees. Thuringwethil seems to be a Maia, since Ainur were the only group in Middle-earth that were explicitly detailed as shapeshifters. Regardless,she had a key role in Sauron’s army.
2Shelob The Giant Spider
Shelob is one of the most terrifying characters in fantasy, inspiring writers like J.R. Rowling to create characters like Aragog. This giant spider is more than just an oversized arachnid. Shelob was the daughter of an ancient primordial being, and could have powers beyond what was revealed inThe Lord of the Rings.She was without love, loyalty, and light, haunting the Cirith Ungol pass into Mordor and hunting those who attempted to enter the realm ofLord of the Ringsvillain Sauron.
How The Valar & Maiar Are Different In The Lord Of The Rings Explained
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the Valar and the Maiar have a mysterious presence and the difference between the two is often confused.
Sauron was aware of Shelob and treated her with a surprising amount of respect, with theShadow of Warvideo game pairing Sauron and Shelob romantically. Sauron called Shelob his “cat” - if that can be called respect - and affectionately sent her prisoners to torture and kill.Shelob served no one other than herself, either too strong or too hateful to ally with Sauron properly. She existed in a symbiotic relationship with him, guarding the entrance to his realm and eating his Orcs.
1Shelob’s Mother, Ungoliant
Shelob was “the last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world,” indicating her mother’s evil. Ungoliant nearly achievedMorgoth’s defeat inLord of the Ringsas his accomplice, having decided that their relationship was no longer working out.This huge primordial spider consumed lightand turned it into darkness, which she could spin in huge webs which struck fear and confusion into the hearts of those caught in them.
Ungoliant’s huge size, power, and unique talents got her chosen by Morgoth to help him destroy the Valar’s sacred Two Trees, which were the equivalent of the sun in Valinor.Morgoth stabbed the trees and Ungoliant sucked the light out of thembefore they both fled to Middle-earth. But Morgoth’s payment for Ungoliant’s help didn’t satisfy her endless greed and she attacked him, proving herself to be one of the most ruthless female villains inThe Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
