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Indeed they do meet, but I always see the Witch-Kings speech as confidence rather than a state of fact, in his letters Tolkein states that the Nazgul rely primarily on the irrational fear that they instill in men. Gandalf the White however does not show this fear. In fact it can be argued that if Pippin had not rushed to Gandalf and asked for him to aid Faramir then Gandalf would have perused the Witch-King and Gandalf seems quite confident of victory, however it may be speculated that it would have destroyed them both.

My quotes
"Gandalf looked through the gaping Gate, and already on the fields he heard the gathering sound of battle. He clenched his hand. 'I must go,' he said. 'The Black Rider is abroad, and he will yet bring ruin on us. I have no time.'

"Now he dismounted and bade Shadowfax return to his stable. 'For, my friend,' he said, 'you and I should have ridden to the fields long ago, but other matters delay me. Yet come swiftly if I call!'"

To me and many others both these demonstrate Gandalfs almost frustration at not being able to face the Black although he's aware Faramirs fate hangs in the balance.

On a side note it is also possible to argue that Gandalf is the greater even if we do not draw combat into it. It was he who commanded the last defence of Gondor with many seeking his advice, it was also he that urges Lord Denethor II to send for aid to Rohan (I believe) so by these acts he summons the aid to the city, he musters the defence and the fact that he never beats the Witch King in combat or visa versa is irrelevant as Gandalf had the Witch King beaten already by his organisation of the defence.

It is also interesting to note that Gandalf the Grey makes reference to defending himself for a long period of time against the Nine upon Amon Sul in FOTR, The Council Of Elrond.
"I galloped to Weathertop like a gale, and I reached it before sundown on my second from Bree-and they were there before me. They drew away from me, for they felt the coming of my anger and they dared not face it while the Sun was in the sky. But they closed round at night, and I was besieged on the hill-top, in the old ring on Amon Sul. I was hard put to indeed: such light and flame cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the war-beacons of old. At sunrise I escaped and fled towards the North. I could not hope to do more. It was impossible to find you, Frodo, in the wilderness, and it would have been folly to try with all the Nine at my heels. So I had to trust Aragorn. But I hoped to draw some of them off, and yet reach Rivendell ahead of you and send out help. Four riders did indeed follow me, but they turned back after a while and made for the Ford, it seems. That helped a little, for there were only five, not nine, when your camp was attacked"

Witchy, duh. ermm

witchy

I think that Gandalf could match the Witch-King. The light from his staff managed to banish 3 Nazgul that were terrorizing the fleeing knights and rangers. In the book, he ambushed all nine with that flood (Peter Jackson had Arwen do it, but it was actually Gandalf) (I think). Anyway, that's nothing really, seeing as they didn't know what was coming. I think that Gandalf could easily face off against the Witch-King if he were on a horse, but not a fell-beast.
The Witch-King is tough though. Saruman was afraid of him. But then, Saruman was a coward who was beginning to lose his powers.

Yeah, we know that Gandalf could stand against the lesser Nazgul at that moment he is described as a white flame once again unveiled with the brialliant white light shining from his upraised hand, bore by Shadowfax outriding them all.

Indeed it is the ultimate struggle in a way, Gandalf the White enhanced by the grace of Eru Vs the greatest of the Nazgul enhanced by the dark powers of Sauron. The only two people I know of mentioned in the books who the Nazgul feared without the ehahcement were Gandalf and Glorfindel.

The Witchking is apparently afraid of Glorfindel who Frodo describes as creature of light in the wraith world. Gandalf or Elrond (can't remember which one) explains this as being because Glorfindel was from Valinor and the power of the Light of the Two Trees was feared by the Ringwraiths. Since Gandalf is also from Valinor it can be deducted that Gandalf also has this power. In addition, this is Gandalf the White who was stronger than Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf the Grey was able to defeat the a Balrog which is slightly less powerful than Sauron in his weakened state. And Sauron is obviously more powerful that the Witchking. Therefore Gandalf the White is much more powerful than the Witchking. Even, further, the Witchking controls the power of a human ring while Gandalf was the Elven Ring of Fire which is more powerful than the human rings. Gandalf seems to have every advantage in this fight.

The human rings were not as powerful as the elvish rings.
Also, they were not afraid of Glorfindel in this situation because there was nine of tem. I was referring to the meeting of Glorfindel and the Witchking in the appendix of ROTK.

But Glorfindel rode up then on his white horse, and in the midst of his laughter the Witch-king turned to flight and passed into the shadows. For night came down on the battlefield, and he was lost, and none saw whither he went.

Angmar was defeated and it was said that not a man nor orc remained west of the mountains. The Witch-king singled out the Captain of Gondor for the fullness of his hatred. But his horse could not endure the terror and fled.

Saying the Witch-king was afraid of Glorfindel would be like saying Sauron was afraid of the Last Alliance. His army was crushed and he knew he was defeated so he fled.

Yeah, nothing says that he was afraid of Glorfindel, the book says he was the only one might of even riding against the black riders...

Actually there is proof they were more mightly, allow me to quote the Silmarillion, "Of The Rings Of Power And The Third Age"

'Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya and Vilya,they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to posses them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the the weariness of the world. But Sauron could not discover them, for they were given into the hands of the Wise, who concealed them and never again used them openly while Sauron kept the Ruling Ring"
(Emphasis mine)

Also the Three we're not made by the same people as made the others, they are credited to one Elven Smith and he forged them away from any hand or device of Sauron he forged them alone and he was called Celebrimbor. Whilst they also fell under the dominance of the one they were greater than the other works.

'Therefore the Three remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they also were subject to the One."

Of course Eregion was laid waste and Celebrimbor slain and the other rings gathered, perverted by Sauron and distributed to those seeking power beyond their measure of which men were most easily corrupted. Eventually all bearers of the Nine over time, depending on how good or evil their intentions were at the beginning fell to the power of the Ring and became Nazgul. "And they cried with the voices of death"

ward off the decays of time and postpone the the weariness of the world

That means time doesn't effect them not that they wield greater power then the other rings. And Gandalf never used the Ring of Fire.

I think the line "Possesed the greatest powers" still would mean they were mightier in power no matter what effects that power took, Elrond and Galadriel as you know used their rings to maintain the kingdoms of Rivendell and Lorien and after the destruction of the one, and the loss of power of the three the kingdoms would fall into grey somewhat. To maintain such kingdoms shows much power. I do think Gandalf wore the Red Ring however there is a relevant quote but I am late for work and shall search later.

Originally posted by thefallen544
I think the line "Possesed the greatest powers" still would mean they were mightier in power no matter what effects that power took, Elrond and Galadriel as you know used their rings to maintain the kingdoms of Rivendell and Lorien and after the destruction of the one, and the loss of power of the three the kingdoms would fall into grey somewhat. To maintain such kingdoms shows much power. I do think Gandalf wore the Red Ring however there is a relevant quote but I am late for work and shall search later.

But yet it was said that the Elves feared to use their rings because they would become slaves to the One.

And power just doesn't mean strength.

Yes they feared to use them when Sauron held the one they were still subject to the will of the one ring even though they were the most powerful. And is there any reference to what the other rings did what powers or strength they gave? All I'm saying is the Elven rings where the greatest in power the may not have given the greatest physical strength.

Originally posted by thefallen544
Yes they feared to use them when Sauron held the one they were still subject to the will of the one ring even though they were the most powerful. And is there any reference to what the other rings did what powers or strength they gave? All I'm saying is the Elven rings where the greatest in power the may not have given the greatest physical strength.

The men who wielded them became kings, sorcerers, and warriors and it seemed they had unending life. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in the world beneath the sun, and they could see things in the worlds invisible to mortal men.

Glorfindel is bad ass.

"There are few even in Rivendell that can ride openly against the Nine; but such as there were Elrond sent out.." Glorfindel can ride openly against the Nine.

"You saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the First-born. He is an Elf-lord of a house of princes. Indeed there is power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while."

there was another passage about the nazgul being caught between the rushing water and "an Elf-lord revealed in his wrath" and they chose the waves. nuff said!

Yes they became Kings, Warriors and Sorcerers. Its a pretty wide list there it seems more person specific. And they had unending life seemingly because they were Wraiths neither living nor dead it seemed their life was bound to the ring and through their days they were nothing but slaves to it. Would you wish to live forever in the shackles of a slave? This seems more like a curse than a blessing, invisible to the world, corrupted past what you once where.

Originally posted by thefallen544
Yes they became Kings, Warriors and Sorcerers. Its a pretty wide list there it seems more person specific. And they had unending life seemingly because they were Wraiths neither living nor dead it seemed their life was bound to the ring and through their days they were nothing but slaves to it. Would you wish to live forever in the shackles of a slave? This seems more like a curse than a blessing, invisible to the world, corrupted past what you once where.

And do you think those who held the Three Rings would have managed to endure the will of Sauron? Or would they too fall into his grasp and also be Wraiths.

They would fall into his grasp if he had the one ring, I'm not arguing this. You just seemed to make out the ability to walk unseen by man as a gift I'm arguing it as a curse not a point against the Nine and for the Three or that those who wielded the Three were better in any. My opinion that I think the three possesd more raw power in whatever form it came across is obvious and I will stand by that as we are all entitled to our own opinion. Anyway the three didn't fall because the Elves sensed Saurons plan through the three the second he put on the one ring and removed their rings so.

Sauron didn't need the Nazgul to wear them but he did keep them, there would be no use in throwing them away or destroying them as they were servants to the one and they (the Nazgul) yearned for the Nine. The nine were probably lost or destroyed when Barad-Dur fell but Sauron would not have destroyed them willfully. He actually recovered some of the Dwarven rings so why he'd do that and then destroy the nine I don't know.

Originally posted by thefallen544
Sauron didn't need the Nazgul to wear them but he did keep them, there would be no use in throwing them away or destroying them as they were servants to the one and they (the Nazgul) yearned for the Nine. The nine were probably lost or destroyed when Barad-Dur fell but Sauron would not have destroyed them willfully. He actually recovered some of the Dwarven rings so why he'd do that and then destroy the nine I don't know.

Perhaps Sauron kept them to enslave others. Or use them as gifts to gain others to his ranks.

Indeed maybe so, although full corruption to wraith form takes a very long time. Would be quite funny if he could just corrupt more
Nazgul: Hey we're the Nine, who are you?
Nazgul 2: No, WE'RE the Nine who the hell are you?
Moderate Nazgul: Can't we just meet in the middle?

Later

Witch-King: None can stand against the errrrm...Eighteen!

Originally posted by thefallen544
Indeed maybe so, although full corruption to wraith form takes a very long time. Would be quite funny if he could just corrupt more
Nazgul: Hey we're the Nine, who are you?
Nazgul 2: No, WE'RE the Nine who the hell are you?
Moderate Nazgul: Can't we just meet in the middle?

Later

Witch-King: None can stand against the errrrm...Eighteen!

I think it would take some time for anyone to completely fall into the wraith world. It never says how long the Nine did take to fall but it took different lengths of time depending on the good or evil of one's heart. It may have taken some time. Who knows.

Indeed, I was kinda implying that to corrupt others with the Nine would have taken a long time.

What I think that this comes down to is that Gandalf is a higher order or being, as is Sauron and the Balrogs. The 9 Nazgul were just bumped up men.

As to using the Rings, that IIRC is how Elrond and Galadriel preserved their domains and Elrond used his Ring to command the waters against the 9, after Glorfindel held them at the shore.

I think in an all out battle, Gandalf defeats anyone of the 9 rather easily but I think that would violate the "code" that the wise operate under which is to say that they can only use their power to deal with things that elves, dwarves and men could not such as Balrogs.

gandalf would beat the witch king

Originally posted by thtadthtshldntb
I think in an all out battle, Gandalf defeats anyone of the 9 rather easily but I think that would violate the "code" that the wise operate under which is to say that they can only use their power to deal with things that elves, dwarves and men could not such as Balrogs.

Mind telling where you got this code from.

I think hes referring to the fact that the Maiar are meant to keep their power veiled and not show vast amounts of power in order to dominate men and elves and force them to their will. Instead they were to direct them and kindle in them the urge to protect themselves. It is also possible in theory that by taking on a fixed Mortal form that the power of the Maiar's spirit would be lessened somewhat but this is debated quite often and no set decision has ever really been made.

Originally posted by thefallen544
I think hes referring to the fact that the Maiar are meant to keep their power veiled and not show vast amounts of power in order to dominate men and elves and force them to their will. Instead they were to direct them and kindle in them the urge to protect themselves. It is also possible in theory that by taking on a fixed Mortal form that the power of the Maiar's spirit would be lessened somewhat but this is debated quite often and no set decision has ever really been made.

Gandalf did not hold anything back. Gandalf the Grey couldn't even defeat the spiders in The Hobbit. Why would he have held back anything then?

But only a woman can kill the lord nazgul not man ! So how can gandalf kill him ?

Technically Gandalf isn't a man, he is a Maiar spirit in the garb of an old man. I'm assuming Gandalf the Grey went through certain evolutions between the Hobbit and Lotr conquered a certain amount of fear, seeing as he was able to face the Nine in lord of the Rings as the Grey and at least hold them off until he could escape in the morning (and no I'm not going over this again as it will just be a reharsh of old points, I'm going by the texts here). Regardless I did not state that when he showed his power he held back, nor did I state he held back when it was in defence you misread me. I am saying is that the Istari were not allowed to ue their power to force the free peoples of Middle-Earth to their will, for example he couldn't go into an Elven encampment and use the fullest of his power to incite fear ie start burning things so that they cooperated.

They were diplomats, councilors foremost Gandalf himself quotes "For I am also a Steward, did you not know" or words to that effect to Denethor II.

Gandalf Gandalf (the witch king= loser)

just my oppinion

The whole no man can kill me thing was a prophecy, not a curse or something. If a man were to do what Eowyn did, the WK would indeed have died. However the prophecy was that it would be a women who would eventually due the WK in.

Originally posted by Blax X
The whole no man can kill me thing was a prophecy, not a curse or something. If a man were to do what Eowyn did, the WK would indeed have died. However the prophecy was that it would be a women who would eventually due the WK in.

Actually it was because of Merry the Witch-king was killed. All Eowyn did was deliver the final blow. But I guess that's what you are talking about.

Yeah, t3h stab in zee face.

the white rider doh! no coment

gandalf would prolly melt face

what happened to the seven rings given to the Dwarves

Some of the Seven were lost, some were recovered by the Dark Lord. The ones that were lost were probably consumed by the dragons of old, their fire was hot enough to melt the lesser rings of power yet not strong enough to unmake the One Ring.

didn't Thrain have one of them?

He may have done at one point but to my knowledge all of the Seven were either destroyed or reclaimed by Sauron.

Tolkien leaves it deliberately unclear as to who would win between Witchy and Whitey. As has already been quoted here, Gandalf is very much unsure if he can beat him, though nor is he in despair.

Also remember that Tolkien never engaged in trying to rate how pwerful different things were against each other. it;s not like a comic book and it often does not follow any direct logic, with the myth and spirit of the piece being more important than anything literal. Odd things like the fight against the Balrog compared to the Spiders in the Hobbit illustrate this, excuses about not being able to use all their power are a. pretty weak and b. irrelevant to the argument anyway, because you can't start arguing about powers they cannot use, the argument revolves around what they can. I never bought that argument anyway, drama destroying as it is.

As part of this fuzzienss, the Witch-King that takes the field at Pelenor seems to be in a kind of battle mode, like the Witch-King of old in Angmar, as opposed to the fast-moving shade on Weathertop. There is no specified difference but definitely an implied one- possibly relating to purpose, distance from Mordor, the growing power of Sauron, taking new purpose after dissolution at the Ford etc.

This kind of thing makes these comparisons of various different events almost impossible.

mine too

personally I feel that Gandalf takes this