The Mouth of Sauron was the Dark Lord Sauron’s servant and representative at the end of the Third Age. He had the title Lieutenant of Barad-dûr, since he was so strongly devoted to the Dark Lord. The Mouth of Sauron was one of the Black Númenóreans.
The Mouth of Sauron had served Sauron all his life; a Man of great stature, he was potentially the equal of the Dúnedain, but had fallen into darkness. As a Black Númenórean he probably came from the Haven of Umbar, and it is stated that “he entered the service of the Dark Tower when it first rose again”; this can be interpreted in two ways:
- Referring to the power of Sauron rather than the construction of Barad-dûr, in which case, the tower first rose again some time after S.A. 3220. In that case he stayed alive long enough like a Ringwraith; perhaps he wore a Ring of Power, but a lesser one since he did not become a wraith.
- Referring to the rebuilding of T.A. 2951; Umbar had been defeated by Gondor under Thorongil some years later, so the Mouth might have fled to Mordor then.
In any case, the Mouth had even forgotten his original name; either he was a small child when converted by Sauron, or had remained alive far more than 500 years (Gollum still remembered his name).
He had learned much sorcery during his time under Sauron, and knew many of the Dark Lord’s plans. Being more cruel than an Orc and cunning, rose in power and favor.
During the Council of Elrond, the Dwarves of Erebor spoke of a Man who had come to tell them of the power of Mordor and persuade them to join its forces. Though the Man’s identity is unknown, it is possible that he was the Mouth of Sauron.
The Mouth of Sauron briefly appeared when he haggled with the army of the west in front of the Morannon, trying to convince Aragorn and Gandalf to give up and let Sauron win the battle for Middle-earth. Though he came before Aragorn and his men as an ambassador, he used quite insolent speech when he dealt with them. He tried to intimidate the army into surrendering by showing them the mithril coat of Frodo Baggins to make them think that the Ringbearer had been captured. When Gandalf turned down his proposal, the Mouth of Sauron set all the armies of Barad-dûr upon them.
The Mouth’s fate is nowhere recorded, and it is probable he died in the assault before the Morannon. If he had survived, it is likely that he would have been one of the leaders in the retreat of Sauron’s evil servants after the fall of Barad-dûr.
