Once they are inside, they realise that they are trapped within, and have no chance of escape than to work their way deep into the heart of darkness and out the other side. The others are scared of getting lost in the pitch-black caverns, but Gandalf uses his famous fire magic to light their path. Aragorn tells them not to fear, for Gandalf has not led them astray so far, and ‘he is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Beruthiel.’

RELATED: If Tom Bombadil Could Resist The Ring, Why Didn’t He Destroy It?

So who was this great Queen, and why were her cats so good at travelling in the dark? In order to understand who she was, it is important to refer first to the history of the Numenorians, from whom Aragorn is descended. The Numenorian’s were a race of spirits and beings who came across from the Blessed Lands and colonised Middle Earth. They created several kingdoms, including Gondor and Isengard. In these kingdoms they placed the Palantiri, the seven seeing stones that allowed them to communicate telepathically with one another across vast expanses of land.

They were also prolific boat builders and sailors and chopped down several trees in the ancient woodlands, which is what first angered the Ents and the trees who live in Fangorn Forest. With their boats, they sailed far and wide, and a small branch of Numenorians began claiming other lands and enslaving the people who lived there, like the Southrons, also known as the Haradrim. These Numenorians who were wicked and greedy became known as Black Numenorians, due to the darkness of their souls.

Queen Beruthiel was one of them. She was married to a king of Gondor by the name of Tarannon, but theirs was an unhappy union, and she didn’t trust him or his men. She believed they were scheming to have her removed from the kingdom, and stripped of her titles and power. She was known to hate cats, but for exactly this reason, cats were fascinated by her, and followed her wherever she went.

At first she would try to be rid of them, but she soon came to see their company as an advantage, and so she collected 10 cats whom she tortured to ensnare them in her service. They were so dominated by her will that they would do anything she demanded, and she began using them as spies to keep watch of the Gondorian soldiers. They would slink around the kingdom at night, peering into windows and crevices, and then make their way back to her unseen, to report their findings.

Even so, she was mistrustful, and had one white cat to spy on the other 9, which were black. The white cat was the ruler of the others, and always made sure that they returned back to the evil queen. However, when the King and his soldiers found out what she was doing, they feared that she may be a spy of Morgoth, the dark lord in power at the time, and so they had her banished from the kingdom never to return, along with her 10 spiteful cats.

There are interesting parallels between Queen Beruthiel and Sauron. In earlier drafts of the Lord of The Rings, Sauron was going to be named ‘ Trevildo, the prince of cats.’ This might be why the eye of Sauron appears golden and slitted like a cat’s eye. But beyond that, there is a similarity between Beruthiels use of the cats, and Sauron’s use of the rings of power. Beruthiel used one white cat to control and manipulate the 9 black cats, in the same way that Sauron used the One Ring of power to rule the 9 rings he gave to men. The 9 were so corrupted that they turned the kings who bore them into the Ring-wraiths that attacked the company on Weathertop. The One ring is always beholden to it’s master, in the same way the white cat always returns to the Queen, and both would kill or betray any living thing to carry out their master’s bidding.

MORE: Should Faramir Have Been Sent To Join The Fellowship Instead Of Boromir?