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01-05-2002, 04:40 AM | #1 | ||
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 319
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How powerful were these 'revised' Balrogs really?
A few new topics here on Entmoot have got me thinking on the whole Balrog/ Maiar issue again.
A few here in the know ( Inoldonil e.t.c ) seem to dismiss out of hand that any single Elf Lord could defeat this revised Balrog that Tolkien finaly decided upon. I'm very skeptical about this. Something to consider: 1. Gil Galad and Elendil vs Sauron. Now I assume that Gil Galad being a Noldor Elf Lord had the lion's share of Sauron in that combat, even if he didn't and it was in fact 50/50 between Elendil and himself ( which I'm sure you'll agree it wasn't ) it doesn't matter. These 2 finaly defeated Sauron, although they died themselves. Sauron was more powerful than any Balrog, yet these two children of Illuvatar managed to defeat the most powerful Maia. 2. Gandalf vs Durin's Bane. Gandalf/ Olorin was by no means one of the most powerful Maiar and this coupled by the fact that he had incarnated himself in a human form makes him even weaker than if he had clothed himself in a form of majesty or terror like the Balrog. I'm trusting Inoldonil's common sense on this one: Quote:
Also there's this passage from Unfinished Tales regarding Gandalf: Quote:
Taking all of this into consideration do you still find it hard to contemplate that powerful Elf Lords of the 1st Age ( I won't bring Feanor into this conversation incase I get carried away )such as Fingolfin and Maedhros who were arguably more powerful than Gil Galad, could have defeated a Balrog or some other dark maia, and, perhaps, even have lived to tell the tale? Tolkien said about these revised Balrogs that there were 3 or at the most 7 of them. I'm of the oppinion that there must have been 6 or 7 of them. It tends to balance things out a little. |
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