‘The Lord of the Rings’: what were the Balrogs, how many are there in Middle-Earth, and who is their leader?

The ‘Lord of the Rings’ bestiary is so vast that it is almost impossible to remember precisely who is who in Tolkien’s universe. At the doors of the second season of ‘The Rings of Power’, many fans do not know precisely the nature of entities like balrogs, the enormous fire demons that appear in the original movie trilogy, and the many books written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Let’s discover all the details of these mysterious characters that are known.

All about the balrogs, the great demons of ‘The Lord of the Rings’

The origin of the balrogs dates back long before the Middle Earth that we met during the journey of Frodo. They were originally Maiar, like Gandalf and Saruman, only they were corrupted after being seduced by the evil Melkor in the days of splendor. They had to survive when their master was captured by the Valar during the “Days Before Days” age. They sought refuge deep in the abysses, which plunged them into a deep slumber that ended when Melkor, under the name Morgoth, was attacked on the frozen shore of Lammoth by a huge creature. The balrog successfully protected their master.

They were creatures of enormous talent. Its original appearance was humanoid. They controlled fire and darkness, two abilities that struck terror among their enemies. Little by little they became stronger until they took on the appearance of a giant demon wrapped in flames. Tolkien wrote that the strength of a balrog was only comparable to that of a dragon. It required special skill to be able to take one down. They commanded armies of orcs and were known as walking war machines.

The War of Wrath destroyed most of the living balrogs (it is unknown exactly how many there were). At the end of the First Age, only a few survived, which forced them to have to seek survival once again. The only known one was the so-called ‘Durin’s Bane’, who chose the depths of the earth to take refuge. In the Third Age, the Dwarves of Moria had the misfortune of waking him up when they were digging. Durin VI and his son died instantly, and for centuries it was forbidden territory for them. Only the Fellowship of the Ring had the courage to go in to confront it. The rest is history.

Who is the leader of the balrogs in ‘The Lord of the Rings’?

The final leader of the balrogs is none other than Gothmog, the captain of the hosts of Angband. The character appeared in ‘The Silmarillion’ as one of the strongest warriors in his group, almost on par with Sauron. When the spirits rebelled against the Valar, Gothmog and Melkor showed their fierce opposition.

His skill in war was unmatched. Among his victims are High Kings like Fingon, although he also delivered death to Fëanor, who was High King of the Noldor. However, for him, everything ended in the year 511 of the First Age. While sacking the city of Gondolin with his armies of orcs and balrogs, Gothmog dueled Echtelion, Lord of the Fountains in the city. Both perished in that same place.

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