Dread Horseman
Posts: 676
Re: Were Balrogs winged?
Okay, I'm in the zone.
Thinking further on these quotes:
Quote:
<blockquote>Quote:<hr> Far beneath the halls of Angband, in vaults to which the Valar in the haste of their assault had not descended, the Balrogs lurked still, awaiting ever the return of their lord. Swiftly they arose, and they passed with winged speed over Hithlum, and they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire. (HoME Vol. X)
Far beneath the ruined halls of Angband, in vaults to which the Valar in the haste of their assault had not descended, Balrogs lurked still, awaiting ever the return of their Lord; and now swiftly they arose, and passing over Hithlum they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire. ( The Silmarillion)<hr></blockquote>
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...two points struck me.
First, the construction -- the use of the phrase "passing
over" as opposed to "passing
through" which is the more traditional phrase for landbound travel. Doing a little research, I noticed that Tolkien virtually always uses "pass (-ed, -ing) through" to denote landbound travel.
Quote:
<blockquote>Quote:<hr> The Hobbit
At first they had passed through hobbit-lands...
Unfinished Tales
...she passed through the land of Mithrim...
At his right hand rode Borondir, to serve as guide so far as he might, since he had lately passed through the lands.
...these words recalled his speech with Erendis as they passed through Emerië...
...we actually passed through the Shire, though Thorin would not stop long enough for that to be useful.
But on a time it chanced that he was passing through Eriador...
LotR
Leave a message for me here, if you pass through Bree.
We might spend a year in such a journey, and we should pass through many lands that are empty and harbourless.
...it was left in my care to be given to you, should you pass through this land...
...Black horsemen have passed through Bree.
At length after fifteen days of journey the wain of King Théoden passed through the green fields of Rohan and came to Edoras...
The Silmarillion
Thence he passed through Dor Dínen, the Silent Land...
It is told in the Lay of Leithian that Beren passed through Doriath unhindered...
No living creature could pass through that vale that Sauron did not espy from the tower where he sat.
...they intended in their haste to pass through Dimbar...<hr></blockquote>
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He uses "pass over" in relation to landbound travel only to denote a crossing of some sort -- e.g., passed over a river, passed over an ocean, passed over the mountains, etc.
However, he
does notably use "pass [-ed, -ing] over" to indicate the passage of flying creatures through a region
Quote:
:<blockquote>Quote:<hr> LotR
`Regiments of black crows are flying over all the land between the Mountains and the Greyflood,' he said, `and they have passed over Hollin.
...a flying darkness in the shape of a monstrous bird, passed over Edoras that morning...<hr></blockquote>
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Yet another telling detail from a man who chose his words with utmost care and consideration.
That's point one. Point two:
Just looking on the map of my
Silmarillion, there are two physical realities of the Balrogs' rescue of Morgoth that jump out at me.
(1) In the chapter "Of Beleriand and Its Realms", it says that Dorthonion "stretched for sixty leagues (180 miles) from west to east". Based on that scale, I'd make the journey from Angband to Lammoth to be (conservatively) at least 200 miles in a straight line. Not only that, but...
(2) ...the mountain range of Ered Lómin is in the way. I reckon that if they were on foot, they must have been running like The Flash to Morgoth's rescue. Tolkien always portrays his flying creatures as being able to cover great distances in much shorter periods of time than those stuck on the ground (with the possible exception of Shadowfax -- though even he could have been overtaken by "a swift bird on the wing"). Flying Balrogs seem more in keeping with this pattern.
Edited by: Mister Underhill at: 6/21/01 1:46:16 am