The Balrogs of Morgoth | Tolkien Explained

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They are among Morgoth’s most  dreadful and dangerous servants. Maiar who joined the dark lord in his  rebellion, becoming demons of shadow and flame. Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we  cover the Balrogs of Morgoth.

The Balrogs were originally maiar - the  same type of being as Sauron, Gandalf, and Eonwe. These maiar were likely  those who joined Melkor in his discord during the Music of the Ainur  - the very creation of the world. After Melkor makes his way to Arda, he creates his first fortress of  Utumno, where these maiar join him… .

. . in Utumno he gathered his demons about him,  those spirits who first adhered to him in the days of his splendour, and became most like him in his  corruption: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before  them; they had whips of flame.

" (Silmarillion) Over the years, Melkor brings many to his  service. While some may have been with him since the beginning, others he corrupted  afterwards with lies and treacherous gifts. In The Silmarillion we are  told of all Melkor’s servants the balrogs were most to be feared.

. . Dradful  among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth  were called the Balrogs, demons of terror.

After Melkor destroys the Two Lamps, he gathers  his servants about him in his first fortress of Utumno, in the northern part of the world.  Eventually, with the awakening of the elves, the Valar would seek to protect them from the  Dark Lord and move against him. Melkor would be defeated in this Battle of the Powers, in  which his fortress of Utumno is destroyed.

At their master’s defeat, the balrogs flee  west, to Melkor’s secondary fortress of Angband. There, along with Sauron, they would await  many long years until their master’s return. Ages later, Melkor escapes Valinor with the  Silmarils alongside Ungoliant.

Meanwhile, the balrogs are still waiting in Angband.  After Melkor and Ungoliant arrive in Beleriand, Ungoliant demands the jewels they had  stolen so that she may consume them. After handing over the lesser jewels voluntarily,  Melkor attempts to withhold the Silmarils.

Ungoliant, now grown to an even more massive  size, threatens to destroy a weakened Melkor. Hearing Melkor’s cry from Angband, the balrogs  run across the lands of Beleriand like a tempest of fire. Using their whips, they  drive off the great spider-like creature, saving their master.

While Ungoliant would learn  of these great fire demons and make her way to Nan Dungortheb, the elves would not learn  of these foes until the Dagor-nuin-Giliath. As we covered in our video on Feanor, the King  of the Noldor leads his people to victory in this battle over Morgoth’s orcs. Feanor,  in his eagerness to defeat Morgoth himself, pushes on to enemy lands, where  he is ambushed by an entire group of balrogs.

Here, we meet Gothmog  - the Lord of the Balrogs. Gothmog mortally wounds Feanor, who dies of  his wounds after being rescued by his sons. Gothmog and his balrogs would play major,  frontline roles in Morgoth’s wars against the elves and men of Middle-earth.

In the  Dagor Bragollach, a force of balrogs are unleashed alongside Glaurung - the very first  dragon. They break a 400-year siege of Angband and the area of Ard-galen is consumed in rivers of  flame - becoming the desert plain of Anfauglith. In a later counterattack by a great  alliance organized by Feanor’s son Maedhros, the balrogs fight alongside the orcs  and dragons in an eventual overwhelming victory for Morgoth - known as the Nirnaeth  Arnoediad.

In this battle, Gothmog kills Fingon, the second High King of the Noldor to die at his  hands. In the closing moments of this battle, it is Gothmog who captures Hurin alive  at the order of his master. He binds this lord of men and drags him back to Angband,  where he would be interrogated by Morgoth.

It would not be until the Fall of Gondolin that we  would see an elf best a balrog in battle. In fact, this victory for Morgoth would cost him two  of his greatest servants. Having learned the secret location of Gondolin, Morgoth sends  forth an army of orcs, balrogs, and dragons.

As a group of surviving elves are taking a  hidden pass through the mountains, they are waylaid by a balrog. In this moment, Glorfindel  - the very same we meet in the Fellowship of the Ring - stays behind to battle the demon  alone, so that his kin may flee to safety. Glorfindel and the balrog fight upon the pinnacle  of a rock, and both fall into the abyss below - to their deaths.

Meanwhile, within the city in the  very square of the King, the elf-lord Ecthelion comes face to face with Gothmog. In their battle,  Ecthelion drives the spike of his helm into the belly of the balrog, and pulls the creature  with him into the deep fountain of Gondolin. The balrog’s fire is extinguished and both Gothmog  and Ecthelion drown in the waters of the fountain.

With two of Morgoth’s balrogs having  been lost, we are left to wonder - just how many balrogs were there? In Tolkien’s  earliest writings, he envisioned there being as many as hundreds or even one thousand  balrogs. However, in his later writings, as it becomes clear that these were creatures  of immense power, he says they were actually few in number, otherwise Morgoth would  have quite easily dominated Middle-earth.

Now, if there were indeed only three  balrogs, this means that after the Fall of Gondolin, Morgoth would have been  left with only a single balrog - the very same that the Fellowship would meet in Moria. However, with the possibility of  there being seven total balrogs, this would mean there could be as many as five  at the time of the War of Wrath to end the First Age. We are told that the balrogs are among  Morgoth’s massive army - great beyond count - that battles in the War of Wrath.

However, it  availed him not. The Balrogs were destroyed, save some few that fled and hid themselves in  caverns inaccessible at the roots of the earth. .

. . We know for certain of the balrog in Moria  - but this passage from the Silmarillion leads us to believe that while some  were destroyed in the War of Wrath, there may very well have been other balrogs,  left hidden in the roots of the earth.

As for the great Balrog of the Third Age, he  would hide himself deep in the roots of the Misty Mountains, beneath the dwarven realm of  Khazad-dum. There, he would rest for over 5,000 years, missing the entirety of the Second Age,  and most of the Third. However, in 1980 of the Third Age, the dwarves of Khazad-dum are led by  King Durin the 6th.

In their attempts to further mine more mithril - the great treasure  of their realm - they wake the balrog. A creature that would at this time, be nothing  more than an ancient legend to the dwarves. The balrog kills King Durin  the 6th, earning it the name Durin’s Bane.

While the dwarves would  attempt to fight off the great demon, its power is far too great, and they are driven  from their home in 1981, after Durin’s heir King Nain I is also killed by the balrog. The elves  of Lorien were made aware of these events, and begin calling Khazad-dum “Moria” - meaning “The  Black Pit. ” These silvan elves simply referred to the creature as the “Nameless Terror”, as they  did not realize what it truly was at the time.

For the next 500 years, Moria  would belong to the balrog. In 2480, Sauron begins to lay the foundation for  his eventual new war in Middle-earth. He sends orcs and trolls to the Misty Mountains in order  to make strongholds, which would prevent people from passing into Eriador.

The balrog allows  these other dark beings to populate Moria. Now, there is some debate and speculation on  whether the balrog would ultimately submit to Sauron. One one hand, Sauron  was Morgoth’s chief lieutenant.

However, Sauron and the balrog are both  maiar, so there’s an argument that they would be seen more as equals. Either way, the  balrogs actions regarding the orcs and trolls lead one to believe that he would at least have  been open to coordinating with the new dark lord. The balrog would largely remain unseen  for hundreds of years.

One of the few to see the creature before the Fellowship was Dain  Ironfoot. In the Battle of Azanulbizar in 2799, Dain kills Azog and helps the dwarves  defeat the orcs. Arriving at the gate, he catches a glimpse of the balrog and feels  the terror of the demon, and the dwarves go no further.

Choosing instead to return to former  homes, and find new ones in the Blue Mountains. Finally, in 3019, Durin’s Bane would  finally meet its match. That January, the Fellowship of the Ring travels through Moria on their quest to Mount Doom.

After discovering  the tomb of Balin in the Chamber of Mazarbul, Gandalf first comes into contact with a  mysterious creature that is neither orc nor troll. Suddenly at the top of the stair there was  a stab of white light. Then there was a dull rumble and a heavy thud.

The drum-beats broke out  wildly: doom-boom, doom-boom, and then stopped. Gandalf came flying down the steps and fell  to the ground in the midst of the Company. After some time, the company  finally comes to a rest, and Gandalf tells of the interaction  with this mysterious and dreadful foe.

Gimli took his arm and helped  him down to a seat on the step. The Fellowship makes their way  to the Bridge of Khazad-dum, where they finally realize the dreadful foe they  are facing and see the balrog with their own eyes. Though balrogs are often depicted as being  incredibly large and looking like traditional demons, the passage in Fellowship of the  Ring points to them looking a bit more human than you might expect.

"[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. . .

. " While there are many incredible  illustrations of balrogs over the years, Tolkien’s description indicates they were  possibly more man-like in appearance, though certainly larger - cloaked with shadow  and flame. Also worth noting is Gandalf’s earlier interaction when attempting to seal the door  - Gandalf says the counter-spell was terrible.

The balrogs were not creatures of simple brute  strength, but also incredible magical power. Given the description in the book, this particular  illustration is one of my absolute favorites of a balrog, because it embraces the demonic, yet  almost human shaped description found in the book. As for the other common question regarding  balrogs, I’ve made an entire video covering the debate on balrogs and wings. 

Now, back to the story at hand. . .

As the balrog reveals itself at the Bridge of  Khazad-dum, Legolas, despite never seeing one himself, instantly recognizes what this creature  is, and cries out that a balrog has come. Gimli, in despair, drops his axe, covering his  face. Despite being already weary, Gandalf stands upon the bridge, blocking the balrog from  exiting the mountain.

Gandalf and the balrog fall through the depths of Khazad-dum - to the  uttermost foundations of stone. For eight days, Gandalf pursues Durin’s bane from this lowest  dungeon, to the highest peak - Zirakzigil - the pinnacle of the SIlvertine. There, the wizard and  the balrog fight for three days and two nights.

In the end, the balrog is cast down, and his  body breaks the mountain-side as it falls to its ruin. Gandalf the Grey gives his own  life in order to destroy this balrog of Morgoth. One of the greatest and most  terrible of Morgoth’s servants, such a creature would have wreaked havoc the  likes of which never seen since the First Age.

As we look at the wonderful map of Middle-earth,  we can only guess where the other surviving balrogs may have buried themselves, but I also  love gazing at a great map of our own world. Which is why I’m a big fan of Lord of Maps - the style  is beautiful, its a great conversation piece, and even the packaging itself is  a piece of art. As my viewers, you can use the exclusive discount code  NERDOFMAPS to save 15% off your order!

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