When the black breath blows...

[Gordis]

It is interesting to date this rhyme’s origin.

Unless, of course, you give heed to rhymes of old days which women such as our good Ioreth still repeat without understanding.
When the black breath blows
and death’s shadow grows
and all lights pass,
come athelas! come athelas!
 Life to the dying
In the king’s hand lying!

The rhyme speaks of the Black Breath – so it should refer to the presence of the nazgul. And it also refers to a King-healer using Athelas to counter the Black Breath. So, when did Gondor had both a King and the nazgul nearby?

I think there are two, maybe three possibilities.
1. The rhyme is very old, speaking of the Last Alliance times when Gondor was attacked by Mordor at the end of the Second Age. The King then must have been Anarion, I think, more likely than Isildur or Elendil – as those two spent a lot of time away in Arnor, while Anarion defended Gondor for the time the Last Alliance army had been gathering.
2. The rhyme is more recent, from the times of the Siege of Minas Ithil by the Nazgul TA 2000-2002. The King at the time was Earnil - father of the last King Earnur. We have never heard of him as Healer specifically, we don’t even know if he even tried to deliver Minas Ithil. Still this dating seems more likely than the first option.
Before 2000 there were Kings but no nazgul near Gondor. Later there were nazgul, but no King, only Stewards.

Thoughts?

[Earniel]

Interesting discovery, Gordis.

Another possibility may be perhaps that the nazgul are not the only possible source of black breath?

[durinsbane2244]

Or perhaps it is a prophetic poem? That's what I had always gathered...a poem handed down from long ago when someone caught some glimpse of the future, and over the years it faded into an old-wives tale...

[Earniel]

Interesting idea! Who knows, it may even have originated with Malbeth, the Arnorian seer that prophetised Arvedui's name and fate.

[Kevin McIntyre]

Since Athelas is found in both Arnor and Gondor and originated in Numenor it may refer to a time in the second age when the Numenoreans aided in the wars with Sauron, or in the third age when the Witch-King haunted the dreams of the North Kingdom. The Nazgul appear again in the third age circa 1300 while there still was a king in Gondor as well as Arnor.

[Olmer]

The history of the rhymes doesn't go much farther then the Numenoreans war with Sauron. I'd say at least a couple of Numenorean Kings has got entrapped by Sauron's cunning devise. Since they were great men, with a lot of advance knowledge in magic and potions making, they, probably, were using Athelas to forestall the imminient fading and complete submission.
On another hand ,as Gandalf has been mentioning, a lot of lesser wraiths were wandering around since the war with Angmar. If Arnoreans were making a daggers, which were able to bring down the wraith, then they definately were looking for some reliable remedies for such malady.