<P> In a letter from circa 1963 Tolkien says explicitly that Sauron held the rings: </P> <P> They would have obeyed...any minor command of his that did not interfere with their errand--laid upon them by Sauron, who still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills ...--The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 246 </P> <P> They were by far the most powerful of his servants, and the most suitable for such a mission, since they were entirely enslaved to their Nine Rings, which he now himself held ...--Unfinished Tales, p. 338 </P> <P> The Nazgûl are called Úlairi (a plural) in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya . </P>

Who are the nine kings in the lord of the rings