Do Balrogs have wings?

[Attalus]

In the Quenta Silmarillion, it describes the Balrogs [sic.] flying with winged speed to rescue Melkor from Ungoliant. But that is not Canon.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Attalus

In the Quenta Silmarillion, it describes the Balrogs [sic.] flying with winged speed to rescue Melkor from Ungoliant. But that is not Canon.

If this is the passage you refer to, technically they passed with winged speed...

'Far beneath the halls of Angband, in vaults to which the Valar in the haste of their assault had not descended, the Balrogs lurked still, awaiting ever the return of their Lord. Swiftly they arose, and they passed with winged speed over Hithlum, and they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire.'

The Later Quenta Silmarillion II

Noting, for example...

'Then Fingolfin beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of the Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses; and filled with wrath and despair he mounted upon Rochallor his great horse and rode forth alone, and none might restrain him. He passed over Dor-nu-Fauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his onset fled in amaze, thinking that Orome himself was come...'

Of the Ruin of Beleriand

In my opinion passing with winged speed need only mean that someone or something passed with great speed -- speed as great as something with wings, poetically. Or to put it another way, it need not necessarily mean actual flight.

[Attalus]

True, 'winged speed' could be a metaphor, as when in the prologue to "Chariots of Fire" the narrator describes the British Olympic team as having "wings on our feet." I do not insist on it, though I do say that nobody knows what Balrogs, Maian (Angelic) beings, were made of. Certainly not bone and muscle and sinew. Fire and shadow, rather.

[Galin]

Not that anyone claimed otherwise, but there are a number of examples that could be raised with 'winged speed' specifically used to describe things that are not winged. That said, I think -- not wholly sure -- that Milton, for example, used 'winged speed' with respect to things with wings however (probably angels, if in fact such an interpretation of his use of winged speed is at least acceptable).

Tolkien wrote: '... there were wings upon the feet of his steed, Felarof, father of horses.' but I don't recall another instance of winged speed specifically, from JRRT.

[Attalus]

Gandalf is describing the account by a poet about Felarof. I think we can agree that this was a flight of fancy. Even Hermes needed magic sandals to get literal wings on his feet.

[Galin]

Well I didn't think there were actual wings on the horse, yes

And I know it proves nothing, but I'm not sure Tolkien would want to introduce flight to Balrogs. The dragons seem few enough and grounded until the end of the First Age, perhaps notably too, after Gondolin's fall.

I think Melkor's not being able to rule the air (as he would wish anyway) keeps his power somewhat in check. Flight arguably gives 'power' with respect to speed, spying, and actual combat with a given foe, and although Tolkien was musing about drastically reducing the numbers of Balrogs, even in the early 1950s there were still (imagined to be) very many of them.

And even only seven powerful Maiar with the power of flight from early on in the First Age might open up new questions that Tolkien hadn't needed to ponder back in the 1930s.

[brownjenkins]

I'd have to think that the Balrogs could have wings when they really wanted them.

[Attalus]

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

I'd have to think that the Balrogs could have wings when they really wanted them.

I couldn't have put it any better.

[Huorn]

I think this is the fifteenth Balrog wing thread I have seen around the internet.

I we agree that Balrogs don't have a defined anatomy--they could have wings if they wanted them. The horned images we see of them are artists impressions.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Huorn

The horned images we see of them are artists impressions.

Which always made me wonder: why did they add the horns?

[Attalus]

Indiscriminate anatomy. I love it.

[Huorn]

To make them appear evil and devilish.

Arien is also a fire being akin to a Balrog, but she isn't evil.

[Earniel]

But there are more textual hints towards wings then horns, right?

[Galin]

Regarding Balrogs having wings 'if they wanted them': I brought this matter up already, but here are some citations. In The Book of Lost Tales Melko(r) himself wanted to learn the secret of flight...

'Then arose Thorndor, King of Eagles, and he loved not Melko, for Melko had caught many of his kindred and chained them against sharp rocks to squeeze from them the magic words whereby he might learn to fly (for he dreamed of contending even against Manwe in the air); and when they would not tell he cut off their wings and sought to fashion therefrom a mighty pair for his use, but it availed not.'

The Book of Lost Tales

Granted this is early stuff, and the Balrogs are not yet Maiar, but here we see that the bad guys are given limited air power. Jumping decades ahead to the mid to later 1930s:

'But he loosed upon his foes the last desperate assault that he had prepared, and out of the pits of Angband there issued the winged dragons, that had not before been seen; for until that day no creatures of his cruel thought had yet assailed the air.'

Quenta Silmarillion

So if Morgoth still dreamed of air power he had to wait for the winged dragons, appearing at the end of the tale. Of course, one can simply argue that Tolkien changed his mind later, when the Balrogs became Maiar, but in my opinion if he did so he would be engaging in giving powerful 'bad guys' the power of flight from very early on in history, which as I say, I think would be a fairly notable 'turn around' from the history as it had stood for decades.

Even if I'm correct, 'possibly' Tolkien did just that anyway... but on the other hand there is no certain indication that he did.


And I would agree that one might ask: if certain Maiar could take eagle-shape, why couldn't certain other Maiar take winged shape as well? Thus 'they could if they wanted to' would seem to be arguable enough -- but then again why couldn't Melko learn to fly, early on, way back in The Book of Lost Tales...

... arguably because, externally, Tolkien didn't want him to. If so, around we go

[Mornorngûr]

Melko may have been the most mighty in Arda, but he couldnt do everthing, He had a share of each other Vala's gifts/powers/abilities, but not all. Maybe this is the reason he couldnt learn to fly: Because he didnt himself have the knowledge and nobody would teach him. He also wanted to possess light originally but couldnt make it for himself, yet Varda could, and seemingly Kementari also.

[Galin]

I've little doubt that Tolkien could come up with an internal reason to match something he 'wanted externally', so to speak.

[Willow Oran]

I think Balrogs having literal, functional-for-flight wings is unlikely. It would have back Tolkien into a corner as the author by making his villain overpowered. Dramatically, it simply works better to keep the flying monster card in reserve and use later in the story when the flying dragons first show up, otherwise half the battles in the Silmarillion would have been Eagles vs. Balrogs with the elves looking helplessly on or (more) wholesale slaughter.

Besides, Tolkien's go to movement word for balrogs is 'leap.' If anything, you'd think they had Tigger legs, not wings.

As for the rest of their anatomy, the description of Glorfindel's balrog in The Fall of Gondolin strongly implies a scaled up humanoid:

Now had [Glorfindel] beaten a heavy swinge upon its iron helm, now hewn off the creature's whip arm at the elbow. Then sprang the Balrog in the full torment of his pain and fear at Glorfindel... ...Then Glorfindel'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 double his stature);

Given that this Balrog is wearing a helm, I'm going to guess no horns either... but there is hope for claws!

[Lotesse]

Great post, Willow Oran. I always saw the Balrog as having great shadows behind his back, looking very much like wings, as he approached his Maiar enemy Gandalf in the Mines of Moria that time. Not actual wings, but great wing-looking dark shadows.

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by Willow Oran

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Given that this Balrog is wearing a helm, I'm going to guess no horns either...

How about a helmet with horns?

[Tessar]

What, is he a dramatic soprano singing Wagner, Valandil?