- "Then something came into the chamber - I felt it through the door, and the Orcs themselves were afraid and fell silent. It laid hold of the iron ring, and then it perceived me and my spell."
- —The Lord of the Rings, "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
The Balrogs, or Valaraukar (singular Valarauko, Quenya for "Demon of power"),[1] were three to seven Maiar seduced and corrupted by Morgoth into his service, turning into dreadful Úmaiar and scourges of fire cloaked in shadow.[2] They were counted amongst Morgoth's most powerful and fearsome servants.
History
"The balrogs of Morgoth" by Thylacinee
Origins
Originally, the Balrogs were Maiar that were persuaded by Melkor's might and splendor to join his cause, and corrupted by him into Úmaiar. Their first dwelling was in Utumno, the great fortress of the Iron Mountains, but after their master's defeat during the Battle of the Powers, the Balrogs and other creatures in Melkor's service escaped to Angband and hibernated there.[3]
First Age
Balrogs in the War of Wrath, depicted by Firat Solhan
Years of the Trees
The Balrogs were present as early as the Years of the Trees when Melkor and Ungoliant destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor. By then, the Balrogs remained in the pits of Angband. After Morgoth fled Valinor with Ungoliant, he came to Lammoth near the ruins of Angband to renew his rule in Middle-earth. A disagreement with Ungoliant led to her attacking him, and Morgoth gave out a great cry that roused the Balrogs from their slumber. In a tempest of fire, they came and drove Ungoliant away, prepared to pursue her. However, they were halted by Morgoth and returned to Angband, which shortly thereafter was constructed anew.[4]
Years of the Sun
When the Ñoldor won the battle Dagor-nuin-Giliath, Fëanor and a small vanguard pursued the remnants of the Orc army that had attacked them. The Elven troop came within sight of Angband, but the Orcs, who had by this point noted the small size of Fëanor's force, turned and gave battle. As the engagement had occurred so close to Angband, a number of Balrogs emerged to aid the Orcs, and they quickly slew most of the Elves. Fëanor was left to fight on alone, and for a long while he did so, despite being wounded many times. But at last Gothmog, the first Lord of Balrogs, struck Fëanor to the ground. A relief force led by Fëanor's sons soon arrived, and prevented their father from being slain on the battlefield. The Balrogs returned to Angbad, and Fëanor died shortly thereafter of his wounds.
Maedhros, Fëanor's son, persuaded the forces of Morgoth for a feigned treaty, but Morgoth sent the Balrogs. The entire company was slain, except for Maedhros, who was taken to Angband.[5]
Glorfindel restraining a Balrog's fire, before his duel with it, by Rui Gonçalves
The next time the Balrogs were recorded as having fought was during Dagor Bragollach over four hundred years later. They, along with the Dragon Glaurung and an army of Orcs and other monsters, issued forth from Angband and badly mauled the kingdoms of the Elves and Edain.[6] According to one account, Morgoth's chief agent, Sauron, led a "host of Balrogs" to conquer the Elvish isle of Tol Sirion in the battle's aftermath.[7]
A Balrog at Gondolin, by Justin Gerard
The Balrogs fought in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, where Gothmog led one of Morgoth's two hosts. He was evidently present in the host that attacked and defeated Maedhros and his armies, for he arrived to fight the forces of Fingon and Turgon on the fourth day of the battle when Morgoth's eastern host arrived from defeating Maedhros. He threw aside Húrin and Turgon, turned upon Fingon and killed him with the help of the second Balrog-lord named Lungorthin, securing the field for Morgoth's forces. He also captured Húrin, after Húrin was buried under a mountain of slain foes. He bound the human warrior and delivered him to Angband, whereupon Morgoth attempted unsuccessfully to pry the location of Gondolin from him,[8] even despite torture by Lungorthin.[citation needed]
In FA 510, on the day of the Fall of Gondolin, the Balrogs rode upon the backs of dragons to reach the hidden city. The Lord of the House of the Fountain, Ecthelion, managed to kill Gothmog at the cost of his own life. While attempting to escape the burning city, Glorfindel and his companions were blocked by a Balrog. To save Tuor, Idril and their young son Eärendil, Glorfindel fought the Balrog on a cliff and cast it down, but he was pulled down with it to their deaths.[9]
Glorfindel and a Balrog falling from Gondolin's ledge, by Eric Velhagen
The remaining Balrogs fought in the War of Wrath. While most were destroyed, at least one managed to escape and hide in deep caverns far away.[10]
Second Age
In the Second Age, Sauron gathered "all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth and beneath it",[citation needed] starting the Accursed Years, however no Balrogs are explicitly mentioned as being active at this time.
Third Age
In TA 1980, the Balrog who fled the War of Wrath awoke beneath Khazad-dûm, roused by the Dwarves' mining for mithril or "by the malice of Sauron". It drove the Dwarves out of their home and slew the king at the time, Durin VI; this Balrog was thereafter called "Durin's Bane". Its presence made way for Sauron's creatures to infest the mines, while preventing Durin's Folk from reclaiming Moria.[11]
During the War of the Ring, the Fellowship of the Ring passed through Moria and encountered Durin's Bane, which pursued them to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf the Grey fought the Balrog, allowing the Fellowship to escape Moria.[12] Both fell into the abyss, but the battle continued at the peak of Zirakzigil. The duel between the two Ainur ended with the Balrog's death. While Gandalf also died, he was later "sent back" by the Valar, as Gandalf the White.[13]
Known Balrogs
- Gothmog - the first Lord of the Balrogs and High-captain of Angband; slain by Ecthelion during the Fall of Gondolin.
- Lungorthin - the second Lord of Balrogs and Gothmog's right-hand; died at some point before or during the War of Wrath.
- Durin's Bane - awakened in the Third Age; slain by Gandalf at the peak of Zirakzigil.
Appearance
- "It was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it."
- —The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
The Balrogs generally had the form of menacing beings roughly humanoid in shape, at least twice the height of Men or Elves, and seemed to consist of or be surrounded by smoke and flame.[14] Durin's Bane in particular was known to have entered into the Chamber of Mazarbul, and so would have needed to be of a size that could fit in some manner through the Chamber's door. Additionally, Tolkien refers to the Balrogs having hearts of fire, tongues like red stabbing blades, yellow eyes that glowed like furnaces, and long arms tipped with steel claws. They had hair described as streaming manes, which could be kindled to cause a blaze behind it.[15]
Durin's Bane as envisioned for the films
It is disputed whether or not the Balrogs had wings, but Tolkien's only allusion to wings is that, in The Fellowship of the Ring, dark shadows "like two vast wings" appeared behind Durin's Bane at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.[16] Durin's Bane, and the two Balrogs at the Fall of Gondolin each fell helplessly down from high places with no aerial recovery.
Powers & abilities
The Balrogs were exceptionally powerful creatures. It took at least three or at most seven Balrogs to drive away the empowered Ungoliant, an entity so mighty that she was able to contend with Morgoth himself.
They wielded swords coated in ever-burning fire, maces that appeared molten, and flaming whips that whistled with many thongs, while being attired with helms and armor made of iron. Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs in the First Age, used a great black axe in battle, and Dúrin's Bane possessed a flaming whip and a molten sword. He managed to expel the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm from their ancient and supremely fortified home, which was the greatest kingdom of Dwarves that had ever been. He also contended with the wizard Gandalf, and each killed the other. They also projected an aura of supernatural terror, so much so that even their own allies were frightened of them.
Some Balrogs were evidently capable of sorcery, as Durin's Bane was said by Gandalf to have used a counterspell against him, after Gandalf had attempted to seal the doors of the Chamber of Mazarbul with a spell.
The Balrogs were fast and agile, able to leap or run vast distances in a short span of time. Their passing is once even described as a "tempest of fire".[citation needed]
Gothmog fought against and overcame Fëanor, an Elf who was considered the mightiest of the Children of Ilúvatar. Another, in the same battle, also spread chaos through Gondolin, a city filled with Elves of great power.
Etymology
In Sindarin, the word Balrog means "Demon of Might",[17] from the words bal ("power") and raug, rog ("demon").[18] Balrogs are called Valarauko or Valaraukar[note 1] in Quenya, from the words vala ("power") and rauco ("demon").[18][19]
In other versions
In earlier drafts, Balrog is derived from ñgwalaraukô ("demon").[18]
"Durin's Bane" by Markus Röncke
Background
In Tolkien's later writings, he noted that there were no more than three or seven Balrogs.[20]
In an early draft, there was a Lord of Balrogs named Lungorthin. According to Christopher Tolkien, it is likely that Lungorthin is not another name for Gothmog, as the name Gothmog was mentioned in the earliest Middle-earth writings, as well as the final version of Tolkien's mythology.[21]
Initially, the Balrogs were far less menacing in size, while being described as immense in numbers:
"A figure strode to the fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it."
—The History of Middle-earth, The Treason of Isengard, X: "The Mines of Moria" (2): "The Bridge", pgs. 198-9
The early conception of Balrogs makes them less terrible, and certainly more destructible, than they afterwards became: they existed in 'hundreds' (p. 170), and were slain by Tuor and the Gondothlim in large numbers: "thus five fell before Tuor's great axe Dramborleg, three before Ecthelion's sword, and two score were slain by the warriors of the king's house.
—The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, commentary by Christopher Tolkien on "The Fall of Gondolin"
In later writings, however, Christopher Tolkien notes that:
In the margin my father wrote: 'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most 7 ever existed.
—Morgoth's Ring, Section 2 (AAm*): note 50
In adaptations
Durin's Bane as portrayed in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
In video games
- A parody of the Balrog of Moria, "the balhog", appears in the 1985 adventure game Bored of the Rings, loosely inspired by the "ballhog" in the 1969 parody Bored of the Rings.
- "The Balrog" is a computer-controlled character in MUME ("Multi-Users in Middle-earth") residing in Khazad-dûm. Currently, it is the toughest foe in the game, and players that beat it can loot the greatest spoils available.
- The Balrog is a final boss in the 1994 SNES game J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Volume 1 that the player has to defeat before exiting the Mines of Moria and to the end of the game.
- The Balrog is a boss character in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers video games, on Game Boy Advance, and The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. In the latter, the Balrog is fought by Gandalf on the player's side, and becomes a usable hero for the duration of the battle.
- In the video games The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Balrog is summonable as a Power option of the Goblin faction and Mordor, costing 25 power-points. The Balrog's appearance and abilities directly reference the rendition of Durin's Bane in the films.
- The Balrog appears in The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, resembling the movie version.
- Two Balrogs appear in The Lord of the Rings Online: Thaurlach, located deep within the Rift of Nurz Ghashu in Angmar, and Durin's Bane, encountered several times in visions and flashback sequences, first during introduction "quests" to Moria. Its remains are located at Moria's peak. An illusion of Durin's Bane is encountered in the Ost Dunhoth Instance Raid, and the true version is encountered in The Fall of Khazad-dûm, another Instance Raid.
- In LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game, players can play as Gandalf and fight the Balrog. The Balrog is also an enemy in LEGO Dimensions.
- The Balrog is a playable hero in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, in Mission 4 - The Mines of Moria and Mission 7- The Shire (Evil Campaign).
- A Balrog named Tar Goroth appears in the game Middle-earth: Shadow of War as a boss. He is fought in multiple stages, and meets his end frozen in a lake by Carnán. Though he is almost resurrected by the Uruk necromancer Zog, Talion and Celebrimbor manage to stop him.
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Trivia
| Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. |
- Some fans of the Doom series claim that the Balrog of the movies looks similar to a cross between the Maledict and Cyberdemon from Doom 3, inheriting similar wings to the former and a similar overall shape to the latter.
- A demonic monster in the popular 2D side-scrolling game Maplestory, bears many similar qualities and characteristics, and thus many believe the monster was represented on behalf of the fictitious one depicted in the Tolkien series.
- A certain antagonist in the MMORPG Wartune, Merloch, is identical exactly to a Balrog, save for an additional two horns.
- A demon in Dungeon Hunter: Alliance called the "Cremator" has the same head and fiery presence as a Balrog, but without wings.
- Many fans claim that the Balrog inspired Games Workshop's Bloodthirster in Warhammer, which is known as the Greater Daemon of Khorne.
- In the 1st Edition of Warhammer Fantasy, the Balrog itself was used as a type of Greater Daemon in the lore. However, as Warhammer Fantasy became more mainstream, the Balrog was changed likely for copyright reasons, first being changed to a different type of Greater Daemon known as a Baalrûkh, then seemingly being abandoned entirely.
- The main antagonist of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the Dahaka, strongly resembles the book rendition of Balrog (bigger than man but not a giant; seemingly comprised of shadow), but has one horn bent downward and one upward, and it does not have wings.
- The Balor from Dungeons and Dragons is clearly based on the Balrog.
- In early editions of the game, it was in fact referred to as the Balrog. The name was changed due to copyright claims made by the Tolkien Estate.
- The hero named Hellbringer from the MOBA game Heroes of Newerth can summon Malphas, whose appearance is very similar to the cinematic rendering of the Balrog.
- War, the first horseman and main playable character from the game Darksiders, has a chaos form that looks very similar to Durin's Bane.
- "Balrog" was the name of a masked Spaniard who made his debut as the second boss in the original Japanese version of Street Fighter II. However, when the game was localized in the United States, the game's first boss, M. Bison, had his name changed out of fear of a lawsuit from boxer Mike Tyson. As a result, the character "Balrog" was changed to have the name of the game's final boss, Vega. The boxer M. Bison became known as Balrog, and the final boss Vega became known as M. Bison.
- In the manga and anime series Saint Seiya, Balrog Rune (or Balron Lune) is a servant of Hades clad in armor modeled after Tolkien's monster.
- The Juggernaut and its upgrade the Ravager in Heroes VI, also resembles the Balrog's looks, especially the head region. Whether this is on purpose or just a coincidence is not known.
- The boss Fyrus from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess bears a slight resemblance to the Balrog, in its height and black, fiery form.
- The form of the character Chaos in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Feral Chaos ("Desperado Chaos" in the Japanese version), bore a strong resemblance to the Balrog (particularly its depiction in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy) due to his being massive, demonic, possessing horns, and being constantly wreathed in flame.
- Various monsters from the Diablo game franchise are visually similar to the Balrog.
- In Devil May Cry 5, one of the weapons Dante has access to is named Balrog, which uses the element of fire. A character named Balrog is also present in the Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare manga, being a fire-based demon who is defeated by Dante, which grants him the weapon. In an interview with the developers, it was stated that the name of Balrog is a reference to the character present in Street Fighter.[22]
- A Balrog (named "Firelord Balrog") appears in the game The Legend of the Cryptids as a playable card.
- In Kingdom Rush: Origins, Godieth and Shadow Champions, main antagonists of the game's Forgotten Treasures mini-campaign, are inspired by Balrogs. Somewhat similar to Durin's Bane, they were awakened from their slumber by dwarves who dug too deep while mining and unwittingly stumbled upon their resting place somewhere in the underground. Godieth's flavor text described him having some serious jealousy issues against his 'more famous' big brother, who is arguably his inspiration Durin's Bane.
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ባልሮግ (Balrogs)
ቫላራኩራ (Valaraukar) |
| Arabic | بالروجس |
| Armenian | Բալրոգ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Балрог (Balrogs)
Валараукар (Valaraukar) |
| Bengali | বল্রোগ |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Балрог |
| Catalan | Bàlrogs (Balrogs)
Valaràucar (Valaraukar) |
| Chinese | 炎魔 |
| Georgian | ბალროგი (Balrogs)
ვალარაუკარი (Valaraukar) |
| Greek | Βαλρογ |
| Gujarati | બલ્રોગ |
| Hebrew | (Balrogs) באלרוגים
(Valaraukar) ואלאראוקאר |
| Hindi | बल्रोग |
| Japanese | バルログ (Balrogs)
ヴァララウカール (Valaraukar) |
| Kannada | ಬಾಲ್ರೋಗ್ಸ್ |
| Kazakh | Балрог (Cyrillic) Balrog (Latin) |
| Korean | 발록 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Балрог |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Балрог |
| Marathi | बल्रोग |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Балрог |
| Nepalese | बल्रोग |
| Pashto | بالروګ |
| Persian | بالروگ |
| Polish | Balrogowie |
| Punjabi | ਬਾਲਰੋਗ |
| Russian | Балроги (Balrogs)
Валараукар (Valaraukar) |
| Sanskrit | बल्रोग् |
| Serbian | Балрог (Cyrillic) Balrog (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | බල්රොග් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Балрог |
| Tamil | பால்ராஹ் |
| Telugu | బల్రొగ |
| Thai | บัลร็อกส์ (Balrogs)
วาลาเราคาร์ (Valaraukar) |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Балроґ |
| Urdu | بالروگ |
| Uzbek | Балрог (Cyrillic) Balrog (Latin) |
| Yiddish | באַלראָג |
References
- ↑ Parf Edhllen - valarauko
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Valaquenta: "Of the Maiar"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. III: "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. IX: "Of the Flight of the Ñoldor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XIII: "Of the Return of the Noldor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Quenta Silmarillion"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XXIII: "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch. XXIV: "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, III: Durin's Folk
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Three, Ch. V: "The White Rider"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: "The Lay of Leithian"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, pg. 330
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Index of Names
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon 17, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One: The Grey Annals, Notes
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, I: "The Lay of the Children of Húrin"
- ↑ GAME Watch - 「デビル メイ クライ 5」、「ダンテ」の武器や戦闘システムが明らかに
Notes
- ↑ Also spelled Valarauco and Valaraucar
External links
- The Truth About Balrogs essay series by Conrad Dunkerson
Balrog at The Wiki for Middle-earth
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Races of Arda
Ainur (Valar & Maiar) | Dwarves | Elves | Ents | Great Eagles | Hobbits | Huorns | Men | Petty-dwarves | Skin-changers (Beornings) Servants of the Shadow:
Barrow-wights | Ettens | Dragons (Fire-drakes & Cold-drakes) | Ogres | Orcs (Uruk-hai) | Spiders | Trolls | Úmaiar (Balrogs) | Úvanimor | Vampires | Wargs | Werewolves |