Do Balrogs Have Wings?

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

But, skip spence, surely you don't imply that whatever walked out at Gandalf and Co was nothing more than an undersized excuse for a balrog that only grew in the telling over the ages the tale has been told?

That's a very creative interpretation of my post (the first on this forum I believe) and how you came to it I can't guess. Perhaps my writing isn't eloquent enough to comprehend?

The physical appearance of a Balrog is never directly described, nor is its size. Tolkien probably wanted to allow the reader to make a mental image of the creature far scarier than what he'd be able to conjure up. If you imagine the Balrog with wings there's nothing wrong with that. Nor is it right.

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

Why should we diminish its stature in order to get rid of its wings (if any)?

I'm not trying to diminish it's size. Where have I said anything like that? And if you really can't follow my train of thought, you too must have rather poor English reading skills. Seriously.