Balrogs vs Dragons

[Mister Underhill]

Wight
Posts: 213
Re: Balrogs vs Dragons

From the Wight's post above:

Originally Posted by The Barrow-wight

Dragons were creatures bred by Morgoth, evil and dangerous but not immortal.

Reading this just made me wonder how dragons fit into the cosmology. According to generally accepted Tolkien-lore, evil could not create, right? Hence the lengthy discussions on the origins of Orcs and other evil creatures. Dragons are highly intelligent (even magical?) and, if not immortal, at least exceptionally long-lived (unless slain, of course). According to Tolkien criteria, then, dragons must have some kind of soul, right? So what sort of "spirit" inhabits the dragon-form, and what happens to it after death?

With regards to the original question, I'd say dragons appear to have the upper hand in sheer destructive power (see "Of the Fifth Battle" in the Sil: "And but for them [the Dwarves of Belegost] Glaurung and his brood would have withered all that was left of the Noldor."; also, the winged Dragons actually managed to drive the host of the Valar back for a time during the War of Wrath!), while Balrogs make more effective commanders and are certainly deadly in one-on-one (or two-on-one, in Fingon's case) combat. The living dragon-slayers mostly seem to have survived because they weren't fighting the dragon head-to-head but managed to slip in a "sneak attack" on a vulnerable spot.

When I saw the subject line, I thought this would be a topic on, "Who would win in a fight between a dragon and a Balrog?" Hehe. LotR Smackdown.