Balrog

The Truth About Balrogs

Chernabog from the Disney movie Fantasia awakens...Balrog - A Balrog is a fantasy creature invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. Originally conceived of as tall, long-limbed, dark-skinned slave-warriors for an evil god, Melko, in a faux Anglo-Saxon mythology, Balrogs were introduced into Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology around the years 1940-41. After initially using the original conception for Balrogs, Tolkien decided to make his Middle-earth Balrogs more terrible. Possibly influenced by the depiction of the Slavic evil god Chernabog in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" (the only animated Disney film about which Tolkien had anything good to say), Middle-earth's Balrogs became huge, demonic creatures of flame and darkness. The Fellowship of the Ring encounters a Balrog in the depths of Moria, and Gandalf sacrifices himself by fighting the Balrog while the Fellowship escapes.

Through the years, many fans have argued about whether the Moria Balrog has wings. The text says that a great darkness surrounds the Balrog, making the creature itself difficult to see, though it is described as being "of man-shape", but larger than a man. As the Balrog advances toward the Company of the Ring, the darkness around it begins to extend outward and takes on the shape of two immense wings that span the cavern from wall to wall.

Chernabog from the Diskey movie Fantasia commands his servants to dance...Some people insist the "wings" are only a metaphor, bu the metaphorical idea is inaccurate because the text describes what the Fellowship actually sees. If the narrative were being metaphorical, the characters in the story would not see the wings.

Elaborate arguments have been constructed to prove that the wings are not "real", but Tolkien's use of the word is appropriate since it only describes the extensions of the darkness that reach out beyond the Balrog. This use of the word "wing" is well-documented in many contexts, such as the wings of a house or building, the wings of an aircraft, etc. There is no indication in the text that the author intended the reader to imagine the Balrog possessing physical wings that flap.

More information and the truth about Balrogs and Balrog wings is available at MERP.Com. You can also read about Balrogs on Xenite.Org, where a humorous essay pokes fun at the whole Balrog Wings debate.

In 2006, Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull published The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, in which they dismissed the notion of "wings" without accurately evaluating the points raised in the debate. Although an immensely valuable resource, the book is unreliable on this and a few other highly contended issues.



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