Whether Balrogs had wings (and if so, whether they could fly) is unclear. When Gandalf threw it from the peak of Zirakzigil, the Balrog "broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin". The Balrog's size and shape, therefore, are not given precisely. Though previously the Balrog had entered the "large square chamber" of Mazarbul, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm it "drew itself to a great height, and its wings spread from wall to wall" in the vast hall. Tolkien does not address this specifically for Balrogs, though in his later conception, as at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, the Balrog appears "like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater". But it seems that Morgoth, Sauron, and their associated Maiar could lose this ability: Morgoth, for example, was unable to heal his burns from the Silmarils or wounds from Fingolfin and the eagle Thorondor and Sauron lost his ability to assume a fair-seeming form after his physical body was destroyed in the downfall of Númenor. Tolkien says of the Valar (including the Maiar) that they can change their shape at will, and move unclad in the raiment of the world, meaning invisible and without form. Power of the order of Gandalf's was necessary to destroy them, as when Gandalf at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm tells the others "This is a foe beyond any of you." Īs Maiar, only their physical forms could be destroyed. In later writings they ceased to be creatures, but are instead Maiar, lesser Ainur like Gandalf or Sauron, spirits of fire whom Melkor had corrupted before the creation of the World. He quotes a very late marginal note that was not incorporated into the text saying "at most seven" ever existed though in the Annals of Aman, written as late as 1958, Melkor still commands "a host of Balrogs".
Christopher Tolkien notes the difference, saying that in earlier versions they were "less terrible and certainly more destructible". In the published version of The Lord of the Rings, however, Balrogs became altogether more sinister and more powerful. They were fierce demons, associated with fire, armed with fiery whips of many thongs and claws like steel, and Morgoth delighted in using them to torture his captives.
They are roughly of twice human size, and were occasionally killed in battle by Elves and Men. A host of a thousand is mentioned in the Quenta Silmarillion, while at the storming of Gondolin Balrogs in the hundreds ride on the backs of the Dragons. In all his early writing, they are numerous. Tolkien's conception of Balrogs changed over time. When Melkor returned to Middle-earth from Valinor, now bearing the epithet Morgoth, he was attacked by the evil giant spider Ungoliant his scream drew the Balrogs out of hiding to his rescue. But they overlooked the deepest pits, where, with many of Melkor's other allies, the Balrogs fled into hiding. Upon the awakening of the Elves, the Valar captured Melkor and destroyed his fortresses Utumno and Angband.
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He may have gained the idea of a fire demon from his philological study of the Old English word Sigelwara, which he studied in detail in the 1930s.īalrogs appear in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson, in the TV series The Rings of Power, and in computer and video games based on Middle-earth.įurther information: Tolkien's monsters § Fallen angelsĪccording to the fictional history in The Silmarillion, the evil Vala Melkor corrupted lesser Maiar (angelic beings) to his service, as Balrogs, in the days of his splendour before the making of Arda. Tolkien invented the name "Balrog", providing an in-universe etymology for it as a word in his invented Sindarin language. Their power came from their nature as Maiar, angelic beings like the Valar. Only dragons rivalled their capacity for ferocity and destruction, and during the First Age of Middle-earth, they were among the most feared of Morgoth's forces. In Tolkien's later conception, they could not be readily vanquished-a certain stature was required by the would-be hero. They are armed with fiery whips "of many thongs", and occasionally use long swords. Balrogs are tall and menacing beings who can shroud themselves in fire, darkness, and shadow.
Balrogs appear also in Tolkien's The Silmarillion and other posthumously published books. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Mines of Moria. For other uses, see Balrog (disambiguation).Ī Balrog ( / ˈ b æ l r ɒ ɡ/) is a powerful fictional demonic monster in J.
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