Thread: Bye Bye Balrogs
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Old 08-16-2001, 04:02 PM   #10
Tar Elenion
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 358
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Re: Bye Bye Balrogs

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Who said disregard it?
I think I said 'stretched beyond intent'.
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How is this 'stretched beyond intent'?

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Let me clarify the Balrog deaths at the War.

Morgoth's Ring p. 75.
Annal 1099
&quot;Thence, seeing that all was lost (for that time), he sent forth on a sudden a host of Balrogs, the last of his servants that remained, and they assailed the standard of Manwe, as it were a tide of flame. But they were withered in the wind of his wrath and slain with the lightning of his sword, and Melkor stood at last alone.&quot;
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And now lets add the further clarification from JRRT in how he changed that:
Morgoth's Ring p. 80.
$50 'a host of balrogs, the last of his servants that remained' &gt; 'his Balrods, the last of his servants that remained faithful to him'. In the margin my father wrote: There should not be supposed more than 3 or at most 7 ever existed.'

This seems to show JRRT's latest intent and actually shows an intended change to the text quoted above. As 3 would seem to be quite difficult to reconcile to the 'facts' 7 seems much more likely.


The keeping of 'thousands' of Balrogs would not really be suitable. As noted by CT in BoLT2, p.212, the Balrogs are 'less terrible and more destructible' than they were concieved of afterwords. If Morgoth had thousands of Balrogs available in the War of the Jewels then very short work would have been made of the Exiles.

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Again with [the = only] 7 Balrogs.

This sounds like a record stuck in a groove.
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What is wrong with that?

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I suggest that Balrogs be re-examined if you wish to use them at all in this project.
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What do you propose?


Tar-Elenion

Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.
Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.



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