(left-Grima, right-King Theoden)
Gríma, son of Gálmód, was at first a faithful servant of King
Theoden of Rohan, but he secretly fell in league with Saruman, and
from then worked to weaken Théoden and his kingdom through lies and
persuasion.He was not much loved in Edoras; everyone except Théoden
himself called him "Wormtongue", for his malicious words were like
that of a serpent.
His schemes were foiled when Gandalf the White and his
companions arrived at Edoras. With a flash of light, Gandalf struck
him motionless, and convinced the king that he was not as weak as
his adviser had made him out to be. Upon Théoden's restoration,
"many things which men had missed" were found locked in Gríma's
trunk, including the king's sword Herugrim. Théoden decided to go
forth to battle at the Fords of Isen, and Gríma was given a choice:
prove his loyalty and ride into battle with the king, or ride into
exile. Choosing the latter, he went to dwell with Saruman at
Orthanc.
Saruman had cause to regret this when, following the
confrontation between Saruman and Gandalf, Gríma mistakenly threw a
"heavy rock"—which was actually the palantír of
Orthanc—at the Rohirrim accompanying Gandalf, or even at
Saruman himself. The palantir struck the rail where Saruman was
leaning on and bounced off and then fell down almost striking
Gandalf, an act for which Saruman seems to have punished him
severely.
He then accompanied Saruman to the Shire, where the two sought
revenge in petty tyranny over the Hobbits. During this time he
became increasingly degraded until he was a crawling wretch, and
Saruman shortened his nickname to "Worm". During this time he
killed Frodo's kinsman and fellow accomplice Lotho
Sackville-Baggins. Pushed over the edge when Saruman scorned him,
he used a hidden knife to slit his former master's throat and
darted down the road. He was quickly killed by several hobbit
arrows.
Beware Wormtongue for he is not to be trusted.
