Do Balrogs Have Wings?

[Eonwe]

I voted for no, because I haven't read anything that says that they have wings.

dido for me. we can talk all we want of doorways, caverns, dimentions, problems, shadow, smoke, fire, light sources, folding, gliding wings, wings but can't fly, one wing, how big the guys are, all these opinions, but nowere can i desern any mention of solid, actual, wings.

the only really important issue that i see is if balrogs are bound to one fixed state. if that is so, we are stuck with whatever the book says pertaining to wings. if they are not, than (i think) we can conclude that they can take whatever shape they want. but i've always thought they had one form, otherwise (if i was a balrog) i would transform and fly away, if i was menaced by such a power as gandalf, or ecthilion of the fountain.

so there.

[Reg Pither]

No wings. 'Like' wings is exactly what is described, although there is obviously confusion in some people's minds when the later phrase mentions 'its wings'. But that is all it is - a moment of confusion and ambiguity. Once you read the text again, it is clear that Balrogs do not have wings.

As simple as that.

However, I always imagined them having wings because of all the illustrations and models of them in that state. And they do look soooo good with them, as evidenced by PJ's version in the films. So, although I know that Balrogs didn't actually have wings, I don't mind seeing them portrayed with them.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Shelob sent me the following via PM and I just thought that it should appear here for posterity's sake:

Alright, I ran across the soon-to-be quoted text earlier today while trying to keep my friend entertained. For somewhat obvious reasons it immediately reminded me of your Do Balrogs have Wings thread. I would have posted it straight there but didn't know whether it had been posted/referenced already or how appropriate/fitting it would be so I figured I'd send it to you first and you could then do with it as you please. Enjoy (and, just in case you don't catch it, it's a parody of the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.)

BTW: in case I haven't done so already, I'm going to call it: Balrog's Have Wings.

[bilbo_baggins]

Um, who says Balrog's wings have to be physical limbs? I mean, who says we even have to see them? Balrogs (though I have never met them personally) have that sort of essence that tells you they are winged. Just that bigness, that presence that ethereal quality that makes up their 'wings'. It's just that the 'wings' are an aspect of the Balrog's spirit rather than its physical form.

EDIT: And besides, you can't have a wingless being looking like some ugly wolf standing on hind legs in a faceoff with Gandalf. No way

[Folwren]

Well, why not? There are many big things without wings, my dear bilbo baggins. Morgoth for one, and all the other Valar, there there are trolls and ents, you know.

Besides that, if Balrogs had wings, they wouldn't go tumbling off mountain peaks like the one that Glorfindal fought in the Sil. It just doesn't make sense for them to have wings. I haven't heard of people making up creatures with wings in fantasy that can't fly. Wings, to writers, are there to be used. Balrogs weren't said to have flown, even when it could've saved their lives.

-- Folwren

[Son of Númenor]

Besides that, if Balrogs had wings, they wouldn't go tumbling off mountain peaks like the one that Glorfindal fought in the Sil. It just doesn't make sense for them to have wings.

This, as has been said before, could be a problem of inertia. If a large creature is unexpectedly flung from on high, the force of gravity may render it unable to spread its wings and maneuvre itself during the free fall. The issue has also been raised that these battles could have produced immense physical and psychic strain on the balrogs; in other words, they may have been completely spent by the time they fell.

I haven't heard of people making up creatures with wings in fantasy that can't fly. Wings, to writers, are there to be used. Balrogs weren't said to have flown, even when it could've saved their lives.

Be careful -- this is a logical fallacy. 'Tolkien' does not equal 'writers'.

[The 1,000 Reader]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Didn't Gothmog drown in the Fountain of Gondolin after being impaled on Ecthelion's helmet? I suspect that his shadow wings got soggy and weighed him down.

It was the Balrog that Glorfindel fought that fell.

I have never read either actual passage. Would anyone care to submit them for analysis?

I believe that Gothmog was gravely injured from his wound and the fountain extinguished his fire, weaking him enough to kill him. I don't think he drowned.

I think Balrogs had wings, but they were for show. That, or they couldn't support the heavy Balrogs when they were falling straight down without any preparation.

[The Sixth Wizard]

I (being an impatient person) have read only the first and last pages of this thread, but has Tolkien ever actually described a Balrog other than in LOTR? He says they are only fire-demons. Thus, are all Balrogs actually the same? Being Maiar, could they all alter their form at creation to suit their own wishes? Maybe the only Balrog with wings was in LOTR but didn't use them being caught up with Gandalf.

Another note, I don't know many Morgoth-creatures that could fly, barring the dragons. Manwe is the lord of the air and had birds in his dominion, but Morgoth was not. Perhaps the Balrogs could not fly because of this hatred of the air and sea, they bar themselves to the ground.

I had more opinions regarding this, I'll look again when I have the time.

SIXTH WIZARD.

[Aiwendil]

The Sixth Wizard wrote:

Being Maiar, could they all alter their form at creation to suit their own wishes? Maybe the only Balrog with wings was in LOTR but didn't use them being caught up with Gandalf.

It's certainly not clear that this is true, but it has long been my opinion. The Ainur were what the Eldar called "Ealar", souls that could "clothe themselves" when they wished but that were not tied to one physical form. Unless the Balrogs became permanently incarnate for some reason, they would have been capable of taking on any appearance.

It is possible for an Eala to become permanently incarnate - this happened to Morgoth and to Sauron and perhaps to Melian (and the Istari were also semi-permanently restricted). But I don't know of any evidence that it happened to the Balrogs.

[Morsul the Dark]

well that seems to be a 'politician answer' I stick t my "Frank" idea

Morsul the Dark Quote:
Originally Posted by JRR Tolkien
... and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall ...


My question is then this why is it that text-wise non-wingers depend on this one word "Like"

for the record...you see someone far off let's say..Frank

You can use the similie to describe something unclear and once it is clear the simlie is now real instead of speculation

"That looks like Frank"
"Like two vast wings" speculation they look like wings but one can not be sure

then they come into view

"It is Frank"
"and its wings were spread from wall to wall" they are wings our speculation was right

[Kuruharan]

"That looks like Frank"

Oh, wait...it is not Frank. It is his hideous and foul-tempered wife Bertha who looks remarkably similar to Frank in this really bad light! Everybody run away!!

I'm just thinking about this and I voted that the balrogs do have wings; but not necessarily can fly. If I remember correctly; when the Balrog attacks it gets described as having wings at one point.Don't quote me as I don't have the books with me. But a question that is getting asked is if the wings worked. If they did work why couldn't he just fly away from Gandalf in mid-air while they are falling. I don't think everyone will ever be happy with the answer.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Uh oh.....here we go again......

[Folwren]

If the balrog in the LotR had wings (and could fly) why did he even bother to use the bridge while Gandalf was holding it?

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I learned something interesting recently....

A couple of weeks ago we had a bird trapped in the stovepipe to our old wood-burning stove. We couldn't get to it through the grilles and so we kept hoping it would fly out. Sadly, it never did and expired after a couple of days.

I was curious as to why it couldn't fly out and so I asked a friend of mine who teaches biology if he could help. He explained to me that only certain flying insects can truly hover, which is the ability to remain steady in the air or to go up or down without any lateral movement. Birds and bats, it seems, can only fly if they are going forward as well as up or down....

So hmmmm......if the balrog had bird- or bat-like wings they would have been useless in the enclosed space of the hall and more than useless, even hindrances, in the confines of the chasm. Now if it had wings like a bee or a dragonfly it could have easily flown to safety....now there's an amusing image.

[Boromir88]

Fordim, which is exactly why the argument that 'If the Balrog had wings why didn't it fly' doesn't work. However, what does work is this argument, which should totally disprove of a wing theory:

His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.~Bridge of Khazad-dum

There is no other meaning or interpreation of this sentence except the fact that it is a simile. Tolkien is comparing the shadow of the balrog as being like wings. Also note, it doesn't say here that the Shadow of the balrog looked like wings, but that the shadow had reaches out like something had wings would unfold their wings.

Picture a bird again When it's just sitting still it's wings are folded up, however when it goes to 'fly' the wings reach out and unfold. That's the comparison here that's being made.

So, Tolkien is comparing the shadow of the balrog to wings. But it's not in the sense that the shadow had took the form of wings, and looked like wings, but the way it 'reaches' out was like two vast wings.

Then a little bit further down we have this quote:

It stepped forward slowly onto the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall.~ibid

Here there is no 'like' or 'as' but it's still a metaphor, more specifically it's an extended metaphor. It is pretty bad writing technique to use the word like or as to want to compare two different things. So, what authors like to do is use extended metaphors and this is most similar in poetry (where entire stanza or poems could just be long extended metaphors). The poet/author doesn't want to use the word like/as to draw a comparison everytime so they set up the comparison (using like or as) and keep the comparison going longer, keep it on, hence the name 'extended metaphor.'

What we have here is Tolkien clearly sets up that the shadow of the balrog were like wings, and he keeps that comparison going in the second quote.

Let's say you don't even believe me and you want to deny the common literary devices of writing. Let's think about it from a logical stance as well. We quite clearly know the height of a balrog. The most Tolkien ever conceived a balrog as being was twice the size of Glorfindel...however these are Tolkien's earliest drafts and by LOTR it's quite clear that Balrogs were roughly man-size, maybe a little more, maybe a little less.

This would put the Balrog at around 6-7 feet. Now what we have here in Moria is a chasm, a chasm is an area that is wider than it is long. That would mean the Balrog would have to have absolutely humorgous wings if he actually had literal wings that spread out from wall to wall. This would be extremely inproportianate. Something that was man-size and man-shape, as we are told, it just can't be possible for the Balrog to have a wingspan of say 70 feet (a conservative guess).

You also bring up mobility issues, the Balrog was quite agile, it 'leaped' it 'jumped' and I just can't see a 6-7 foot creature, with wings that when full spread would be over 10 times the size of his body, to be able to move around the mines as Durin's Bane is able to.

There you have it. If you don't believe in common writing devices authors use (similes, metaphors, extended metaphors...etc)...it's still not even logically possible for a Balrog to literally have wings. As if it did, the wings would not be proportionate to his body, and it would be terribly hard for him to be mobile in the mines carrying around wings at least 10 times the size of his body.

[Mithalwen]

But Boromir, lots have things have wings but cannot fly, penguins, emus, chairs, theatres, houses...and according to some people... buffalo ...

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

This would put the Balrog at around 6-7 feet. Now what we have here in Moria is a chasm, a chasm is an area that is wider than it is long. That would mean the Balrog would have to have absolutely humorgous wings if he actually had literal wings that spread out from wall to wall. This would be extremely inproportianate. Something that was man-size and man-shape, as we are told, it just can't be possible for the Balrog to have a wingspan of say 50 yards (a conservative guess).

I believe this is the EoA theory, right? There might be two explanations - either not all balrogs are the same size (I don't see a problem with that, the balrogs being self incarnate and what not) - either we have the size of the wings (or of their shadows if you will) is distorted in an environment with a rather fuzzy light.

As far as the simile is concerned, there is another case where a simile introduces a being with wings:

Originally Posted by In the house of Tom Bombadil, FotR

Suddenly a shadow, like the shape of great wings, passed across the moon. The figure lifted his arms and a light flashed from the staff that he wielded. A mighty eagle swept down and bore him away.

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

But Boromir, lots have things have wings but cannot fly, penguins, emus, chairs, theatres, houses...and according to some people... buffalo ...

Penguins fly in the water. *a decisive nod*

[narfforc]

Sentence One reads thus: His enemy halted again, facing him, and THE SHADOW about it reached out LIKE two vast wings. This reminds me of shadows by candle-light in a dark room.

It does not say the shadow reached out AS two vast wings, or its wings reached out like two vast shadows, why not?

Sentence Two reads thus: It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly drew itself up to a great height, and its wings (the ones that are built of the shadow that Tolkien tells us of) were spread from wall to wall.

Now this is either exactly what Tolkien tells us the wings are made of, or he made a big mistake. He is either telling us one thing or he is contradicting himself.

I believe there are no wings, you are perfectly entitled to disagree, but this argument has raged for decades, and they that hath the strength of mind and willpower to do so can read the same argument over and over and over again in this thread, and still not get the answer.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Well, narfforc, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond certainly agree with you. Your argument and mine is the one you'll find in their reader's companion to LotR. Obviously they read my posts above while researching their book.

[narfforc]

One can only add that Tolkien the Philologist would have known that the word LIKE, can only mean :

A. Resembling

B. Similar to

C. In the characteristic of.

D. In the manner of.

If we are wrong, why did Tolkien use that word.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I've cited this argument so many times now that I can't even remember where Mister Underhill first made it on the Downs, but I can see I need to cite it again...

When the Fellowship is paddling down the Anduin and a Nazgul FLIES OVERHEAD (they are all LOOKING UP at something that BLOTS OUT THE STARS so it obviously has working wings), Gimli (who was there at the chasm and saw the balrog) says that it reminds him of the balrog.

At this point, nobody says anything like, "Uhhhh.....Gimli.....the balrog we saw didn't have wings.....what are you, stupid or something?"

It seems impossible to thing anything other than balrogs have wings and that they work after reading that section. Anyone who wants to disprove this is going to have to explain to me why

a) Gimli (who saw the balrog) thinks that something flying in the air reminds him of a balrog

AND

b) why nobody in the Fellowship (who also saw the balrog) doesn't contradict his sentiment or feel the need to correct him.

And, once more, because I never get tired of pointing this out: sometimes, people say that something looks LIKE something because it is that something.

"Hey!" said the man on the traintracks in the dead of night, "that light which is coming toward me rapidly along the tracks looks a lot LIKE an approaching train. Thank goodness, it only looks LIKE a train, and is not totally visible and entirely apprehensible AS a train as it would be in the day, for now I have nothing to worry about. Something that merely looks LIKE a train as it hurtles toward me on the traintracks clearly presents no danger to me. If the light were approaching me AS a train I should be worried and step off the tracks but as things are" *splat*

[Lalwendë]

narfforc wins the cash, the girl and the erm...speedboat (that'll come in handy for getting to Sunderland Point then, eh?), because what Gimli says is:

'I cannot,' said Gimli. 'But I am glad that the shadow came no nearer. I liked it not at all. Too much it reminded me of the shadow in Moria--the shadow of the Balrog,' he ended in a whisper.

Thus showing that wings are clearly a subliminal ancestral message of our descent from the treetops when still homo erectus or summat or other and loom large in our imaginings and likewise in those of Dwarves which proves they're analgous to the human species and, and ......... Oh, basically that Gimli is a big girl and he's afraid of his memory of a big scary shadow that looked like it had wings.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

A big whimpy girl who is so afraid of a land-locked shadow that when he sees something flying he says "OOH NOO -- that sure looks like that other shadow"??!!??!!

Like the guy who gets splatted by a train suddenly developing a fear of airplanes.....?!?!?!?!?

And the only thing that was specifically shadowy about the balrog were its wings....so if the FLYING shadow resembles the balrog shadow.....hmmmmm....

[Lalwendë]

He's clearly a big girl's blouse, look, he even whispers the word Balrog, like when you're talking about the dog's upcoming boosters and you lean in across the tea table and say "You know, the V. E. T....." in a low whisper. This shadow reminds him of another shadow. But it doesn't remind him of the Balrog or he'd have said "...the Balrog." not "...the shadow of the Balrog."

Bah. Even his name gives him away.

Gimli

Girli

Tell me you could tell them apart from a distance....

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Being, as I am, a proud Canuck and an even prouder son of a Prairie boy....Gimli has different associations for me!

"Girlie" indeed! Just look at that statue!

(Last Time: It's a FLYING shadow.)

[Lalwendë]

Yeah, but just look at that emblem with the big Pelican on it. It's a bird, so Gimli is also...a bird.

(love it by the way!)

OK, so you see this ruddy huge winged shadow in the dim light of Moria and wet your (not literally, 'your') Dwarf pants with fear. Then see it's not got wings, and it's slightly more comforting but you don't, frankly, care as long as you get outta there; in fact you don't hang around for long enough to really examine said beastie, you just get an impression of it, but the main one is the first view, with wings, that caused you to wet yer Dwarf britches. Then later you see a big winged shadow in the sky and immediately think "%$£*! It's like that thing I thought I saw in Moria!"

Our Girli of course later admits to Legolass (explains his fears that he displayed when he went "eeek!" and grabbed Pippin's hand) that he thought it was that Big Scary Shadow again. All that's missing really is Boromir and Aragorn acting like the snidey big brothers, taunting him and saying "Hey! Did the boogie man scare you?"

[Folwren]

Fordim!! Do you mean to say that you think Balrog's DO have wings?

Humphrey Boggart. Gimli was reminded of the Balrog probably because of the fear and dread he felt as the Nazgul flew overhead. The Nazgul stirred some fear or terror that was much like the fear and terror that the Balrog had brought on. He didn't say 'I think it was a Balrog' he said 'It reminds me of the shadow of the Balrog.' And, if you would look the quote up, Frodo did tell him, 'It wasn't a Balrog.'

-- Folwren

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Folwren

Gimli was reminded of the Balrog...as the Nazgul flew overhead.

You said it. Not me.

Frodo did tell him, 'It wasn't a Balrog.'

The obvious presence of working wings not being enough to confirm that for Gimli himself.


Lal: did you notice the town motto for Gimli, "The captial of New Iceland"?

[Folwren]

Of course I said it. Why shouldn't I say it? Fordim, don't be daft. This discussion is not about whether or not the Nazgul can fly, it's whether or not the Balrog has wings. What I didn't say was that Gimli was reminded of the Balrog because the Nazgul was flying overhead, as you twisted my words in order to make it sound like I said that.

Please, don't mishandle what I say unless you're an enemy in Werewolf.

-- Foley

[Lalwendë]

Yes, you can imagine Frodo sitting there, disconsolately chucking small stones at a row of pine cones propped up on a log, bored out of his brains, as he hears Girli's tale about this scary shadow yet again. "Enough already!" he thinks. "I can't be bothered arguing this time." So he just mutters, with a sigh, "It wasn't a Balrog."

***

I love the way that the municipality of Gimli has not one, but two (count 'em!) interactive Garbage Calendars! I mean, one would be indulgence enough, but two?! I don't know about anyone else, but with stuff like that on offer, I'm packing up the house as we speak.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Hey, when one lives where bears are a constant and unrelenting nuisance, garbage collection is a MAJOR issue. And we're talking real Canadian bears here -- big, hungry and wild -- not those silly European bears, no bigger than a puny cougar (which you also don't have in Europe).

I'm telling you, it's a jungle over here.

In addition: like Fell Beasts and unlike hobbits balrogs have functioning wings.

[Folwren]

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

In addition: like Fell Beasts and unlike hobbits balrogs have functioning wings.

As Sam so well and so truthfully put it: "You're 'opeless.'

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Sorry for serial posting, but this is interesting...

A quick search through the OED uncovers the following:

bal: a Cornish dialect word for a collection of mines; usually used in compound with other words (i.e. bal-girl)

rog: a verb of scandinavian origin (from 'rugga') which means to shake, tear or tug at forcibly to the point of breaking...

So...

balrog: Mineshaker, or minebreaker (with or without functioning wings).

There may be debate about this topic, but it is true, Balrogs have wings. Their hulking forms prevent them from full flight, but they allow them to soar into the sky for a small amount of time in a bound. My username is in gratitude of those beings who have fallen into darkness. My theory is that the Balrog is a Fallen Angel and sent into the firey pits, thus its wings are burned in small portions making it also impossible for long distance flights.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Fordim

bal: a Cornish dialect word for a collection of mines; usually used in compound with other words (i.e. bal-girl)

rog: a verb of scandinavian origin (from 'rugga') which means to shake, tear or tug at forcibly to the point of breaking...

So rog might be something a terrier might do? There you go. The Balrog is plainly no kind of winged demon, it's a ruddy little yappy dog that lives underground. The Fellowship were obviously fooled like the Orcs in Cirith Ungol were by Sam's shadow. Balrog? Pah, wee dog more like. And one big optical delusion.

Or looking at the word rugga, it could have been a prop forward from the Moria Marauders who got left behind in the mines when they evacuated. Poor bloke had only gone to fetch his ball back from a chasm where it had been thrown during a try, and he came back to find everyone gone. No wonder he was mad.

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Hey, when one lives where bears are a constant and unrelenting nuisance, garbage collection is a MAJOR issue. And we're talking real Canadian bears here -- big, hungry and wild -- not those silly European bears, no bigger than a puny cougar (which you also don't have in Europe).

I'm telling you, it's a jungle over here.

Yeah, but we've got something far worse than bears. A beast that roams the streets of a night in search of a fix, armed with pyrotechnics and abusive language and easily identifiable by its tracksuit bottoms tucked into its socks and its Burberry baseball cap. Chavvus Brittanicus. The Common Chav. Don't leave your wheelie bin out round here or it will be up-ended.

[Folwren]

Two questions to by answered by you all before I give my next argument.

1. How big, again, did someone say the Balrog was here on this thread?

2. How large was the dwarven hall that they were running through? In the movie, it's massive, but it might not have been THAT huge in the book. . .

-- Folwren

[Boromir88]

There might be two explanations - either not all balrogs are the same size (I don't see a problem with that, the balrogs being self incarnate and what not)~Raynor

I'll agree that that is possible. For let's take a look at the quote of the Balrog Glorfindel fought:

"Then Glorifindel's left hand sought a dirk, and this he thrust up that
it pierced the Balrog's belly nigh his own face (for that demon was
twice his stature)"~BoLT II, The Fall of Gondolin

Here, it is specifically referring to the Balrog Glorfindel fought...it was 'that' demon. It's not referring to any other possible sizes of balrogs.

Though I think it's well established through out Tolkien's drafts in Khazad-dum that Durin's Bane was approximately man-sized:

"A figure strode to the fissure, no more than man-high and yet terror
seemed to go before it."~HoME VII: The Bridge of Khazad-dum

Also:

Alter description of Balrog. It seemed to be of man’s shape, but its
form could not be plainly discerned. It felt larger than it looked.~Home
VII: The Bridge of Khazad-dum

Because of the shadow and manipulation of darkness that Balrog had, it appeared larger than what it actually was. A look through LOTR and Tolkien's drafts in HoME VII, stays consistantly referring to Durin's Bane as being around man-high and man-shape. It may appear larger, but really it wasn't.

I think it is important to note that this is only referring to Durin's Bane, not the other Balrogs. So, I think it's possible to assume that Balrogs could come in different height, as you point out they are incarnate and can assume their own forms. Though, I would say that Durin's Bane was approximately man-high, as that is consistant with the drafts and into LOTR. Therefor, it's also reasonable to assume that the Balrog Glorfindel fought can still be twice his height, as it was only referring to that Balrog, no other.

either we have the size of the wings (or of their shadows if you will) is distorted in an environment with a rather fuzzy light.

That all depends upon who we have talking. Is it the omniscient narrator (the author) who's giving us the account and the details, or is he using one of his characters to retell us the details? If it's the characters that are doing the telling for us, than I think it is possible to assume that in the dark environment the conception could be skewed.

A big whimpy girl who is so afraid of a land-locked shadow that when he sees something flying he says "OOH NOO -- that sure looks like that other shadow"??!!??!!~Fordim

Problem here Mr. Fordim is you are comparing apples to oranges. That since Gimli compared the Nazgul flying over-head to the Balrog, that must mean Balrogs have wings. This isn't the case, because it depends upon the comparison that is being made. Lalwende and Folwren have both pointed this out. Let's look at the entire picture here, instead of focusing on just the little frightened quote of Gimli. first I'll start with Gimli's reaction when he first sees the Balrog:

Gimli stared with wide eyes. 'Durin's Bane!' he cried, and letting his axe fall he covered his face.~Bridge of Khazad-dum

Now compare that to Gimli's reaction when he sees the Nazgul and is reminded of a Balrog:

'Praised be the bow of Galadriel, and the hand and eye of Legolas!' said Gimli, as he munched a wafef of lembas. 'That was a mighty shot in the dark, my friend!'
'But who can say what it hit?' said Legolas.
'I cannot,' said Gimli. 'But I am glad that the shadow came no nearer. I liked it not at all. Too much it reminded me of the shadow in Moria - the shadow of the Balrog,' he ended in a whisper~The Great River

I adore Gimli, but let's be frank, he has no clue what he's talking about. It's dark outside, he can't see squat, he praises Legolas for shooting something in darkness that he can't see himself. So, Gimli has very little clue of what is going on.

Lal and Folwren both note that there is a difference here. Your argument is that since the Nazgul was on a winged creature, and Gimli was reminded of the Balrog, this must mean the Balrog has to have wings, or Gimli wouldn't have made such a comparison. You point out an example of a train and an airplane, but you see here, the comparison is flawed.

I can make several comparisons between a train and an airplane, yet know they both have different qualities that make them different. For example, both are made of some sort of metal, both are very very loud, both transport cargo, or people...etc. There's some similarities I've come up with between the two. Just because a train is strictly a land transportation device, and a plane is by the air, doesn't mean there are no comparisons between the two. Obviously a reasonable person will not think it's an airplane on the train tracks. But you can certainly compare the two in several ways.

That's all we have here. Gimli is making a comparison, as Folwren points out, between the fear he remembered in Moria.

First off, Gimli covered his face and cried, when the Balrog came, how do we know what he actually saw or if he got a good image of it at all? So, we don't even know Gimli's picturation of a Balrog...but he does know the fear that he felt when the Balrog came. Shadow can go hand and hand with fear. Especially with the Nazgul who we are told their fear is enhanced at the night time, in shadow:

'Their peril is almost entirely due to the unreasoning fear which they inspire (like ghosts). They have no great physical power against the fearless; but what they have, and the fear that they inspire, is enormously increased in darkness.'~Letter 210

This encounter happened at night where the Nazgul's fear would be enormously enhanced. In which case, as others have noted, Gimli was comparing the shadow that the flying creature caused, to the Shadow of Durin's bane. He's not comparing anything at all to wings or not. Just as one can make similar comparisons between a train and a plane, one is transportation on the ground, the other threw the air....no logical person will assume it's a plane coming at them on train tracks....though their qualities can be compared in several instances. Just as they have different qualities about them, which make them two different things.

There may be debate about this topic, but it is true, Balrogs have wings.!Servant of Shadows

Durin's Bane was not a hulking beast, as has been provided he was about man-high and man-shape. He didn't have horns, he didn't have a giant tail or hooves. He was man-shape (meaning if something was 'man-shape' you wouldn't think he had the body of a rhinoceros)...and he was roughly man-size (around 6 feet).

Not only do we have actual quotes to prove this, but it just doesn't make sense logically either. Durin's Bane leapt, and jumped across fissures...meaning he was quite agile. He also fought Gandalf for several days from the very depths of Moria to the highest peak...with solely his whip (as Gandalf broke his sword) vs. Gandalf's sword. (You have any idea how difficult it is to fight with a whip against a sword?) So besides quotes to prove the height of Durin's Bane, it just doesn't make sense that a 'hulking beast' could be so agile.

My theory is that the Balrog is a Fallen Angel and sent into the firey pits, thus its wings are burned in small portions making it also impossible for long distance flights.

If that's what you want to believe, that's your opinion go ahead. But if you want to argue your opinion than you'll have to provide reasonable support for it...as if not than your opinion simply remains...your opinion.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Ai Ai!