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- "But Lungorthin Lord of Balrogs
on the mouth smote him, and Morgoth smiled:
‘Nay, fear when thou feelest, when the flames lick thee.
and the whistling whips thy white body
and wilting flesh weal and torture!’" - —The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Lines 96-100
Lungorthin was the second Balrog lord and a thane of Morgoth who appeared within an earlier version of the writings in The Silmarillion. He was among the mightiest of all demons, surpassed only by his leader Gothmog.
Bearing whistling whips into battle, Lungorthin aided in the victories of Gothmog and Morgoth during the War of the Great Jewels. He helped slay one of the High-Kings of the Ñoldor, and tortured Húrin while he was being interrogated by Morgoth in Angband.
Biography[]
Lungorthin was initially one of the Maiar who gave their allegiance to Melkor. Like Gothmog, Lungorthin bore the title of "Lord of Balrogs", though Lungorthin was the lesser of the two, and not a High-captain of Angband.[1]
He participated in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered Tears), where he aided Gothmog in the slaying of Fingon, restraining him in a throng of steel, giving Gothmog the chance to slay him. After this battle, Gothmog captured Húrin, bringing the man to Angband where, before Morgoth, Lungorthin used his whip that whistled and burned to smite Húrin on the mouth.[1]
Speculation[]
The fate of Lungorthin is unknown.[1] If the total amount of Balrogs were three to seven as Tolkien once noted down, then a few things may have happened to Lungorthin. Lungorthin may have been killed sometime during the War of the Great Jewels or during the War of Wrath. It is also possible that Lungorthin may have been the Balrog which Glorfindel slew during the Fall of Gondolin. The third possibility is that Lungorthin may have been the real name of Durin's Bane, putting his death in the Third Age. While any of these fates could have befallen Lungorthin, his fate ultimately remains untold.
Etymology[]
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.
The thane of Morgoth who smote him on the mouth (version I, 59) now becomes Lungorthin, Lord of Balrogs (96)——which is probably to be interpreted as ‘a Balrog lord’, since Gothmog, reappears in the ‘Silmarillion’ tradition.
—The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Christopher Tolkien’s Commentary on Part I of the second version
The name Lungorthin is in Noldorin, according to Eldamo, but its meaning is unclear. LUNG in Sindarin means “Heavy.” GAR means “fenced.” or means “above”.[2]
Other versions[]
In Tolkien's first version of The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Túrin son of Húrin & Glorund the Dragon, "Lungorthin, Lord of Balrogs" had no name and race, being referred to instead as an unknown thane of Morgoth who smote Húrin on the mouth. It is unknown if the term "thane of Morgoth" can still be applied to Lungorthin.
There are no references to Lungorthin in J.R.R. Tolkien's later legendarium after The Lay of the Children of Húrin.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, I. "The Lay of the Children of Húrin"
- ↑ ᴱN. Lungorthin m.