Who killed the Witch-king, Merry or Eowyn?
Most agree that Eowyn’s stroke was the immediate cause of the Witch-king’s death: she certainly struck something, and his death cry and disappearance followed immediately after her blow. The primary debate is whether Merry’s role was simply to provide a distraction, or whether his sword (taken from the Barrow Downs) was necessary to break some “spell of protection” that would otherwise have guarded the Witch-king from harm. Question III.C.2 discusses the magical nature of the hobbits’ barrow blades and their effect on the Nazgul. In the context of Merry’s encounter with the Witch King in “The Battle of the Pelennor Fields”, the crucial statement is that No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will. (See question III.C.2 for a related quote and further discussion.) Most read this quote as a direct statement that Merry’s sword was especially harm
