Bye Bye Balrogs - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Aiwendil · 09-04-2001, 11:13 AM

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Re: Many Many Balrogs

True, the RUK- stem probably didn't originally have any kind of special connection with the Umaiar spirits of fire; but once the Eldar learned what these spirits were, and applied the term Balrog to them (note that a "balrog" is not just a "rog" demon; it is a special type of "rog", a demon of power), that term seems only to have applied to the umaiar. The Sindarin word Balrog was not coined by those ignorant of the nature of these demons; it was made from Quenya Valarauko after the return of the Noldor. Further, whoever it was that wrote the Quenta Silmarillion (Rumil or Pengolodh or whoever) certainly would have been educated as to the nature of Morgoth's servants.

Consider the word Vala. We know that this is from a primitive stem meaning "power" (the same that gives us bal- in balrog). We might then suppose that the word "Vala" would be applied to any number of beings more powerful than the Elves - it could represent any of the Ainur. But this is not the case; instead, it is used only for a small, special, class of beings, and there is no evidence anywhere for its use in any other connection. It is the same with "balrog".

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09-04-2001, 11:13 AM	#1
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Moderator Posts: 62</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> Re: Many Many Balrogs True, the RUK- stem probably didn't originally have any kind of special connection with the Umaiar spirits of fire; but once the Eldar learned what these spirits were, and applied the term Balrog to them (note that a "balrog" is not just a "rog" demon; it is a special type of "rog", a demon of power), that term seems only to have applied to the umaiar. The Sindarin word Balrog was not coined by those ignorant of the nature of these demons; it was made from Quenya Valarauko after the return of the Noldor. Further, whoever it was that wrote the Quenta Silmarillion (Rumil or Pengolodh or whoever) certainly would have been educated as to the nature of Morgoth's servants. Consider the word Vala. We know that this is from a primitive stem meaning "power" (the same that gives us bal- in balrog). We might then suppose that the word "Vala" would be applied to any number of beings more powerful than the Elves - it could represent any of the Ainur. But this is not the case; instead, it is used only for a small, special, class of beings, and there is no evidence anywhere for its use in any other connection. It is the same with "balrog". </p>