The Bridge Of Khazad-dum - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Kransha · 02-01-2004, 05:17 PM

Via some references in the Silmarillion, it stands to reason that the Balrog is big, but not huge. How else could they be slain. Ecthelion, in Gondolin, supposedly slew a Balrog (Gothmog, that is) with the pointy tip of his helm. If Balrogs are so big, wouldn't that spike have hit his thigh or ankle? Not a very vital spot. How could a man-size person slay any Balrog with a normal sized weapon if it was two stories tall. I always assumed that the Moria Balrog was roughly three times the size of Gandalf, making him freakishly huge, but not so freakishly huge that a sword couldn't reach his "chest". If he were this big, he could probably cross even a narrow bridge, since even a clumsy man can cross a wide balancing beam if his life depended on it.

02-01-2004, 05:17 PM	#23
Kransha Ubiquitous Urulóki Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: The port of Mars, where Famine, Sword, and Fire, leash'd in like hounds, crouch for employment Posts: 747	Via some references in the Silmarillion, it stands to reason that the Balrog is big, but not huge. How else could they be slain. Ecthelion, in Gondolin, supposedly slew a Balrog (Gothmog, that is) with the pointy tip of his helm. If Balrogs are so big, wouldn't that spike have hit his thigh or ankle? Not a very vital spot. How could a man-size person slay any Balrog with a normal sized weapon if it was two stories tall. I always assumed that the Moria Balrog was roughly three times the size of Gandalf, making him freakishly huge, but not so freakishly huge that a sword couldn't reach his "chest". If he were this big, he could probably cross even a narrow bridge, since even a clumsy man can cross a wide balancing beam if his life depended on it. __________________ "What mortal feels not awe/Nor trembles at our name, Hearing our fate-appointed power sublime/Fixed by the eternal law. For old our office, and our fame," -Aeschylus, Song of the Furies