Sauron had plenty of powerful servants in The Lord of the Rings, and his power was constantly attracting more followers. The Dark Lord created the Nazgûl by offering Rings of Power to nine kings of Men. Enthralled with the prospects of power, the Men accepted the gifts and slowly turned into fearsome Ringwraiths. Endless armies of Orcs also served the villain, along with the Corsairs of Umbar, the Easterlings, and some of the Dwarvish clans.

Even Saruman — whose whole purpose was to stop Sauron — was compelled to join the Dark Lord. Amidst all of that, Sauron had another servant who was viler than all the rest. The Mouth of Sauron only had one LOTR appearance, but it was clear that he had been corrupted by pure evil. However, that corruption did not prevent him from breaking Sauron’s biggest rule.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on September 29, 2024: The Lord of the Rings franchise is expanding in new and exciting directions with new spinoffs exploring different periods of Middle-earth. Several major characters (including prominent villains) may return in upcoming spinoffs, including War of the Rohirrim and the Hunt for Gollum. This article has been updated to include more information about Sauron’s vilest servant and to adhere to CBR’s current formatting guidelines.

The Mouth of Sauron Was Vile and Devoted

The Mouth of Sauron Confronts Aragorn Outside the Black Gate

The Mouth of Sauron was one of Sauron’s most devoted servants. During Lord of the Rings, he was the lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr and was Sauron’s personal emissary and herald. His early history has never been told, but he was one of the Black Númenóreans who chose to worship Sauron and enter his service. He gained his position because he was notably more cruel and cunning than Sauron’s Orcs, leading the villain to reward him with knowledge and power. In the service of the Dark Lord, the Mouth of Sauron learned great sorcery and likely prolonged his lifespan.

Upcoming Lord of the Rings Spinoffs

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – December 13, 2024
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum – 2026

Because of his station, the Mouth of Sauron was one of the few individuals who was permitted to speak directly to Sauron. Naturally, he knew much of the Dark Lord’s plans. That’s why he was the one to treat Gandalf and Sauron at the end of Return of the King. That was the Mouth of Sauron’s one appearance in LOTR, but Peter Jackson made the most of portraying the sinister character. Because he repeatedly used the Black Speech of Mordor, his lips were cracked and blackened and his teeth were rotting. In the movie adaptation, Aragorn decapitated the Mouth of Sauron, but in the book, he fled back to the Black Gate before the battle started.

How the Mouth of Sauron Broke Sauron’s Biggest Rule

The Mouth of Sauron Spoke the Dark Lord’s Name

There was a scene in The Two Towers book that revealed one of Sauron’s biggest rules. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were examining the Orc corpses after the Breaking of the Fellowship when they noticed something interesting. The Orcs’ shields were emblazoned with a white “S.” Gimli thought that the “S” indicated Sauron, but that wasn’t the case, as the Dark Lord didn’t use Elf runes. As Aragorn explained, “[Sauron did not] use his right name, nor permit it to be spelled or spoken.” Sauron meant “the abhorred” in Quenya, and he wanted his servants to speak of him with reverence, so Orcs normally called the villain the “Great Eye.”

Trivia

Bruce Spence played the Mouth of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Because Sauron didn’t allow his name to be spoken, the Mouth of Sauron’s very name breaks the Dark Lord’s rule. Maybe Sauron made an exception because the Mouth of Sauron was his emissary, and he wanted his enemies to fear his real name. It’s also possible that the Mouth of Sauron was trying to break Sauron’s rule and gain recognition with his forbidden name. If that was the case, then the Mouth of Sauron was absolutely in violation of Sauron’s mandate and would have been punished eventually. Of course, it’s possible that using Sauron in the character’s name was simply a textual inconsistency on J.R.R. Tolkien’s part.

Who Was The Mouth of Sauron?

The Mouth of Sauron is One of The Lord of the Rings’ Biggest Mysteries

J.R.R. Tolkien revealed very little about the Mouth of Sauron in his books, with only a few precious details coming forth about the mysterious villain. Return of the King reveals that he is most likely a mortal human who made a deal with Sauron to extend his life, only to suffer the excruciating fate of longevity under the Dark Lord’s thumb. The book further asserts that the Mouth of Sauron’s name had been completely lost to the world, including himself. Whoever this individual was, his name is not remembered in any telling of history, nor by anyone living in the Third Age.

Certain earlier drafts of Return of the King leave readers further clues about the Mouth of Sauron’s true identity. One particularly tragic version of the character was revealed to have been a young man who was captured and corrupted by Sauron. However, these earlier drafts cannot be treated as canon. With its recent endeavors into the earlier ages of Middle-earth, The Rings of Power could explore the Mouth of Sauron in greater depth, providing answers about one of the most paradoxical characters in the Lord of the Rings franchise.

The world may never know much about the Mouth of Sauron, but he remains one of Sauron’s most interesting lieutenants for how he seemingly defies all of the Dark Lord’s rules. Nevertheless, he, like all the other servants of the darkness, fell at the end of the Third Age as light prevailed in Middle-earth once more.