Gríma Wormtongue
| House / Order | None |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | |
| Status | Deceased |
| Origin | Rohan; Isengard; The Shire |
| Born | Third Age (date unknown) |
| Died | Third Age 3019, in the Shire |
| Weapon | A concealed knife |
| Fate | Slew Saruman in the Shire and was at once shot dead by Hobbit archers |
| Portrayed by |
Gríma, called Wormtongue, was the treacherous chief counsellor of King Théoden of Rohan, a secret agent of the wizard Saruman who worked to weaken and corrupt the realm from within. His name became a byword for the whispering traitor who poisons the ear of a king.
Background
Gríma was a man of Rohan, who rose to become the trusted counsellor of the aging King Théoden at Edoras. In secret, however, he had sold his service to Saruman of Isengard, who promised him reward, including, it is hinted, the Lady Éowyn, whom Gríma lusted after. Through subtle counsel, flattery, and possibly drugs or sorcery aiding Saruman's influence, Gríma fed the king's fears and weariness, persuading Théoden that he was old and feeble, until the king sat slumped and witless upon his throne, governing through his whispering servant.
Servant of Saruman
By Gríma's contrivance, the king's son Théodred was left unsupported and fell in battle, and the valiant Éomer was imprisoned for defying the counsellor's policy of inaction while Saruman's raiders harried the Mark. Gríma earned the name "Wormtongue" for his soft, insinuating speech and his serpentine influence over the king. He hoarded treasures and waited for Saruman to deliver Rohan into ruin.
Exposure
When Gandalf came to Edoras with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he cast down Wormtongue's spell and roused Théoden from his stupor, restoring the king's strength and will. Unmasked, Gríma was given a choice by the merciful Théoden: to ride to war and prove his loyalty, or to go free. Wormtongue chose flight and slunk away to his true master at Isengard.
After Isengard was thrown down by the Ents, Gríma was found cowering with the defeated Saruman in the tower of Orthanc. When Gandalf and the others parlayed beneath the tower, Gríma, in spite or folly, hurled down the palantír, the seeing-stone, nearly braining Saruman but instead delivering the precious stone into the hands of Gandalf.
Death
Reduced to a crawling, abject servant, Gríma followed the broken Saruman as the fallen wizard wandered as a beggar, abused and despised by his master. The two came at last to the Shire, which Saruman had taken over and despoiled in petty vengeance. When Frodo and the returning Hobbits cast Saruman out, the wizard taunted Gríma cruelly, hinting that Wormtongue had murdered and even eaten a Hobbit at his bidding. Goaded past endurance by years of contempt and this final humiliation, Gríma turned upon Saruman and cut his throat. He was instantly shot dead by Hobbit bowmen, and so the two ruined conspirators perished together on the doorstep of Bag End.
Character
Gríma Wormtongue is the archetype of the corrupt counsellor, a weak and envious man whose treachery springs from cowardice, greed, and thwarted desire. Pitiable as much as villainous, he is a slave first to Saruman and then to his own resentment, and his sordid end mirrors the smallness of his ambitions.
In the films
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, Gríma is portrayed by Brad Dourif. His corruption of Théoden's court and his death at Isengard (in the extended edition, killing Saruman atop Orthanc) follow the spirit of the books, though the Shire ending is omitted from the theatrical films.