Mansun

These are my my favourite qoutes from the book in which Tolkein makes his point on this subject strongly:-


'Ai! Ai!' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come! '

Gimli stared with wide eyes. `Durin's Bane! ' he cried, and letting his axe fall he covered his face.

'A Balrog,' muttered Gandalf. `Now I understand.' He faltered and leaned heavily on his staff. `What an evil fortune! And I am already weary.'


'An evil of the ancient world it seemed, such as I have never seen before," said Aragorn. 'It was both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible.'

'It was a Balrog of Morgoth," said Legolas; 'of all elf-banes the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.'

'Indeed I saw upon the bridge that which haunts our darkest dreams, I saw Durin's Bane,' said Gimli in a low voice, and dread was in his eyes.


Gandalf the White — In the words of Aragorn, "You are our captain and our banner. The Dark Lord has Nine. But we have One, mightier than they: the White Rider. He has passed through the fire and the abyss, and they shall fear him. We will go where he leads."


The book certainly makes a strong case that the Balrog was the greater task in battle than the Witch-King, though note that these qoutes are taken fron the first two volumes only. Also, just as important, it was the Black Captain who escaped from the encounter at the gate as soon as Rohan arrived, showing that a fair one vs one with Gandalf was not on his mind! He would only attack with an unfair advantage with his army behind him - what a coward!

As far as Gandalf's anxiety with the Witch King, wasn't Gandalf already shaking when he learned that Frodo had gone to Cirith Ungol? The tension just got to him, knowing that Mordor was going to obliviate Gondor without urgent aid. He was not supported in the slightest by Denethor, nor was there a guarantee that Aragorn would complete his task in summoning the King of the Dead for aid. Rohan had not yet arrived to help hold off the storm. In this sort of situation even Morgoth would be anxious.