Balrogs in LOTR

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Hegemon875
I was just wondering why Sauron never uses all the Balrog's during the war of the ring. Is it stated somewhere maybe in the Silmarillion, or do you have any theories?

BadgerBadger
not entirly sure, but to clear things up balrogs are basically like fallen angels, they were ppl that were one below gods that got seduced to the dark side, of the same stature as gandalf or saruman (of the race called the Maiar). i think they can only live underground or something and there was a small number of them, 7 i think. most were killed in some battle rite at the start of middle earth so the one that gandalf killed may well have been the last one in existence. they were used in wars by morgoth and melkor but maybe suaron doesnt have total control over them because they fled to the mountains after nearly all getting killed.

turin
ya there isnt too many left, maybe durins bane being the only one. but that is why gandalf fell from the bridge, he knew that the balrog had to be defeated, much like how he knew that smaug had to be defeated.

Corlindel
I think it was the last one in Middle-Earth...I killed the other ones stick out tongue

sauron
badger badger morgoth and melkor were the same person

and sauron never used them because they were servants of morgoth and when he was defeated gained a fear of men and elves and fled to the mountains

Exa
Sauron was too weak for that being also only a Maia

In the last versions there were only seven Belryg, yes, but in the former ones there were several hundred... and Ecthelion alone killed about 5 or something at the downfall of Gondolin before he was killed by melcors son wink

sauron
ok exa im not up to there in the simarillion but can you please tell me how melkor got a SON i mean come on who was the mother, she blind or something

Exa
The mother was an ogre or something... forgot her name...

shaber
I read the Silmarilion when I was six, and read about Morgoth's "son," but now I think on it it sounds inconsistant. In the Miltonic theodicy, the fallen angels could not interpenetrate any more. I should have thought that Melkor would have rapidly lost all such ability.

The archangels Aule and Yavannah should have had more success at procreation.

shaber
Sauron could have used the dragon had it been still alive laughing out loud

drunk_nazgul
Okay, I remember something about the Belryg living in other lands... one was destroyed by an act of bravery...

And Sauron wasn't smart enough to use them... stick out tongue

Exa
Thats strange indeed as Ainur cant make new life.

Corlindel
Maybe it was one of the ways Eru punished Melkor...

Or maybe he prefered ogres and the experience was so bad that Melkor didn't want to repeat it again blink huh

sauron
doest it say melkor lost all things to do with his previous powers this is after the valar beat him the first time

Darth Sauron
Leeeet it live

wow, i was such a newbie....cool

Murazor
Well...they're showing Balrogs in The Batlle for Middle-Earth game...I read one scenario of the battle of Hem's Deep and a balrog came and "crippled" the men of Rohan...don't trust games though...*cough*Harry Potter*cough*

Manôkhâu
The Balrogs fled into the ruins of the Deeps forged by Melkor.
It's not known their exact number-it's never fully stated.
And Sauron wasn't as powerful as Melkor, or else he might've tried to find, and use, Dragons.

shaber
he might have been able to play to Smaug's vanity erm

Exabyte
laughing laughing

Omg... me too... I formed the wrong plural of the word "Balrog" cry crybaby it should be "Belroeg"... or at least "Belrog" or something... but not Belryg cry That's totally ignoring the whole etymologic origin of the word sad

blink whoa... a Balrog at Helm's Deep... Wtf?!?

It is, several times... the only problem is that the number changes very often stick out tongue because the whole nature of the Balrogs changed during the evolution of the Silmarillion.
In the beginning and in the first myths, they were a lot less mighty, hardly more than big, fiery and strong human-like beings, and Melkor had hundred(s) of them in his army, especially in the Dagor Bragollach or when he attacks Gondolin (Ecthelion, one of Gondolin's Lords, kills four or five of them in the "Fall of Gondolin" in the Lost Tales...); later, they are definitely more powerful - the Balrog of Hadhodrond alone for example was enough to scare all the dwarves away... and there were also only seven of them in the whole history of Arda.

Manôkhâu
Well, then.....sorry......

Murazor
lol...well...that's w\exactly what i thought...maybe a balrog lived in the glittering caves? Haha...I think EA made a big mistake...

Ushgarak
Chris says that Tolkien did indeed settle on a definitive number- which I cannot remember off the top of my head but I have posted in this area before, for anyone who wants to find it. I have a sneaking suspicion it was about 12- regardless, it was very few. And that being the case all earlier stories about Men killing several in one fight were rendered very much out of continuity, being written when Balrogs were far more numerous and more like large fiery trolls than the demi-Gods they had become by the time he wrote LOTR.

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