Legolas and the Balrog

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Even in the late Glorfindel essay, Tolkien didn't say that "Elves never re-used names," but that "repetition of so striking a name [as Glorfindel] would not be cradible. No other major character in the Elvish legends... has a name borne by another person of importance." Legolas and Galdor of Gondolin weren't really major characters in the legends, not by Glorfindel/Ecthelion standards.

Whereas by the start of the writing of The Lord of the Rings the old 'Fall of Gondolin' had receded into dim memory and most of its chieftains (Galdor, Legolas, Rog, Duilin) with it, Glorfindel (and Ecthelion) remained present; as late as the later Annals of Beleriand (ca. 1937) he is still mentioned- and understandably. Only two Elves ever destroyed a Balrog, even though both died in doing so. Moreover, Glorfindel and Ecthelion are still present after the writing of the Lord of the Rings, being named as Isfin/Aredhel's escort in the first draft of 'Maeglin.' (Ecthelion also appears at the end of the Long Tuor).

So Glorfindel survived, as a character in Tolkien's mind, whereas the old Gnome Legolas to all appearances disappeared except as a sound-series. (Note also that the old 12 Houses of Gondolin had disappeared by the Long Tuor (1951), with its new military organization based on the Seven Gates. We can just barely preserve Glorfindel's Golden Flower by making it a poetic name for the Gate of the Sun and its guard).


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But I suppose if we want to get all speculative, and still be cognizant that Legolas of the Nine Walkers was a Sinda, grandson of an Elf of Doriath and not any sort of Gondolingoldo, we could call to mind that Elves had at least two and often three (or more) names, and any one of these could be the name in everyday usage. One could thus speculate that "Legolas" was neither his father-name nor his mother-name, but an epesse (cognomen); and further posit that it was bestowed once he showed in his youth evidence of very keen eyesight even by Eldarin standards, so that he was likened to the legendarily far-sighted Legolas of Gondolin and so nicknamed.

[urbanhiker]

This is my first post on the Barrow Downs forum, and primarily I want to acknowledge Nerwen's articulate thoughts. Well said, Nerwen, particularly in regards to the nature of argument. We shouldn't hold our theories too dear but rather seek the higher goal of Truth, or at least accuracy.

The original question, why Gandalf didn't immediately recognize the Balrog when Legolas did, is framed incorrectly. When Gandalf first encountered the Balrog, at the door of the Chamber of Mazarbul, he didn't see the Balrog. It was behind the door, and had not yet burst into flame. When the door broke apart, Gandalf still couldn't clearly perceive the Balrog. All he saw was something "dark as a cloud."

Later, in the large hall before the bridge, the Balrog leaps over the fire-lit fissure and the flames leap up to greet it, kindling its mane and revealing it for what it is. A Balrog. A shadow and a flame. Legolas wails "A Balrog is come!" and at almost the same Gandalf mutters "A Balrog. Now I understand." They both recognized it. They both recognize it at almost exactly the same time, and to my reading, they discretely recognize it each for themselves. Gandalf's quiet realization bespeaks a deeper understanding of the nature of their enemy.

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Good maiden post, urbanhiker!

Yes, your points are all well taken.

I would add in the thought that people generally in the first instance accept what they are prepared to believe- but in this case we have a combination of seven Walkers with a relatively narrow perception of time-scale, even Gimli, and two whose perspective is staggeringly wide from a mortal standpoint.

Remember, no Balrog has been seen for nearly six and a half thousand years.* In real-world terms, that puts us in the Lower Neolithic: man has developed pottery and mud-brick construction, but not writing; history has yet to start. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh isn't that old. Add to that the fact that even the Wise were under the impression that all the Balrogs had been finished off in the War of Wrath, it was an extinct life-form, and the idea of encountering one at the end of the Third Age would be as shocking, as literally incredible, as encountering a real live Neanderthal or saber-toothed cat.

But Legolas and Gandalf don't view time in quite the same way. "Like I said to Moses that time..." Leggy might or might not have been born in the Elder Days, but he still wouldn't be especially freaked out by a millennial time-span; and Olorin, we can assume, actually took part in the Great Battle. This on top of the fact that the two of them might perhaps be more sensitive to the supernatural or 'evil' emanation of the thing (although Gandalf senses a Powerful Being well before he sees and identifies it).


Whereas Aragorn and Boromir, even if well-schooled in the ancient legends (less likely in the case of Boromir), would I think be disposed to think of Balrogs as a matter of ancient history as utterly removed from their real present world as the Silmarils, and thus not disposed to include them on their immediate mental "list of horrible creatures this flame-shadow thing might be". This especially since Middle-earth generally and Moria in particular contain any number of nameless monsters; the two of them had just hacked off the tentacles of one of them not two days before.

Gimli had a ready-made classification and name for the thing, which was of course correct. Just not the whole truth.

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*Except for certain Dwarves, who didn't identify it with the Valaraukar of Angamandi.

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Even in the late Glorfindel essay, Tolkien didn't say that "Elves never re-used names," but that "repetition of so striking a name [as Glorfindel] would not be cradible. No other major character in the Elvish legends... has a name borne by another person of importance." Legolas and Galdor of Gondolin weren't really major characters in the legends, not by Glorfindel/Ecthelion standards.

I'd also note that elven names are descriptive. If one pulls out the right elvish to english dictionary, they mean something. This left me scrambling a while back, naming my elven character in a Middle Earth game. This experience suggests to me at least that there have been lots more elves in the history of Middle Earth than good elven names. While JRRT might have started out thinking he'd never repeat a name, I can quite understand that he might not have stuck with it.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by blantyr

I'd also note that elven names are descriptive. If one pulls out the right elvish to english dictionary, they mean something. This left me scrambling a while back, naming my elven character in a Middle Earth game. This experience suggests to me at least that there have been lots more elves in the history of Middle Earth than good elven names. While JRRT might have started out thinking he'd never repeat a name, I can quite understand that he might not have stuck with it.

Especially since we know for a fact that, at least when it came to father-names, the Elves DID repeat names- Finwe named his three sons Finwe, Finwe and Finwe originally! (Later Curufinwe, Nolofinwe and Arafinwe). Curufinwe Fayanaro in turn gave his twin sons the same name, and named his fourth son (Curufin) after himself.

[Inziladun]

There is a quote from Tolkien that touches upon the question of the Fellowship's recognition of the Balrog.

[The Balrogs] were supposed to have been all destroyed in the overthrow of Thangorodrim, [Morgoth's] fortress in the north. But here it is found (there is usually a hang-over especially of evil from one age to another) that one had escaped and taken refuge under the mountains of Hithaeglin (the Misty Mountains). It is observable that only the Elf knows what the thing is-and doubtless Gandalf.

Letters # 144

Being an unrepentant pedant, I note that Tolkien says not that Legolas knew the Balrog, but "the Elf" did so. To me that supports what I (and others) said: that it was not Legolas as an individual that gave him any special insight, but his race. Note that Tolkien also says that Gandalf did indeed know it for what it was. Perhaps his "now I understand" remark could mean that he then fully understood what Durin's Bane was, and how it had affected the Dwarves in Moria.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Perhaps his "now I understand" remark could mean that he then fully understood what Durin's Bane was, and how it had affected the Dwarves in Moria.

That as well as understanding what dreadful will had contested the door of Mazarbul with him: it all was clear to him now.

[urbanhiker]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

That as well as understanding what dreadful will had contested the door of Mazarbul with him: it all was clear to him now.

Yes, well said! An incompletely perceived but powerful will contests the door of Mazarbul with Gandalf, and later after sparking into fire is revealed to be a Valaraukar, a Flame of Udun, and it all makes sense: a Balrog survived the War of Wrath and is now within one jump of the One Ring, and Gandalf is going to have to lay his body down to protect the Company. Fantastic storytelling.

[Morthoron]

Actually there is a rewrite that was discarded before the original mauscript was sent in to the publisher. Tolkien did have an alternative storyline:

"Oy! Oy!" wailed Legolas. "Balwog! A Balwog has come! Good gwacious!"

Gimli quivered and wet his hauberk. "Durin's Bane!" he shrieked while covering his face.

The burning behemoth stepped from the shadows and a coruscating flame licked and sputtered over its monstrous hide like a sun's corona. Then slowly it unfurled its great black bat wings, which spanned the entire cavern, and it unleashed a deafening roar.

"Oh my," Frodo said in awe, "so Balrogs do have wings!"

"Over the bridge!" cried Gandalf. "This foe is beyond you all, fly! I shall hold the bridge. Fly!"

The rest of the Fellowship needed no further encouragement, and they bravely rushed across the bridge, leaving Gandalf, small and alone, in the middle of the great span. The Balrog stepped forward, each pace crushing rubble beneath its ponderous footfalls. It stopped at the head of the bridge and glared down at its pitiful foe.

"You shall not pass!" Gandalf said firmly. He then uttered a memorable phrase about being the servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor, and then another basically stating that dark fire would not avail the flame of Udûn; unfortunately, these are copyrighted statements and lawyers are more tenacious than a Balrog could ever be. "You shall not pass!" he shouted again defiantly.

The Balrog at first did not answer. It took a few tentative steps onto the bridge, then cocked its head like a puppy looking intently at the wizard. "Olórin?" it said in a confused, rumbling growl.

Gandalf shifted uneasily on the bridge. "You…you shall not pass," he repeated, but hesitantly. Gazing up at the fiery Balrog, he then murmured, "Roger?"

"Ollie!"

"Rog!"

To the amazement of the Fellowship on the far side of the bridge, and the dismay of the Orcs scratching and biting themselves in irritation on the other side, the Balrog and the wizard started laughing. "It's quite all right!" Gandalf shouted back to his comrades, tears of joy streaming down his face. "I thought the presence at the top of the stairs was familiar," he continued. "This is Rog, or Roger, if you will. He is an old choir chum of mine from back during the Ainulindalë, the Music of the Ainur in the deeps of time. I had the first seat in the baritone section, and he sat right below me in the bass section."

"Good times, good times!" Roger boomed.

"They've gone funny," Samwise whispered to Frodo.

"How long has it been, Rog? Thousands of years, certainly," Gandalf said.

"Before the sun and moon!" Roger snickered, and they both started laughing again.

"Remember that time when you burned down that sacred copse of oak trees? Yavanna was furious!"

"Or the time you made Nienna cry?"

Oh, she was always crying about one thing or another!"

As they laughed and joked and reminisced, Aragorn inched his way toward Gandalf on the bridge. "Gandalf," the dismayed ranger whispered, "shouldn't we be going?"

Gandalf frowned but then sighed. "Rog, we must be going – quest and all. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, dear Ollie," Roger replied.

They gazed into each other's eyes and then smiled warmly. They moved toward each other for one final embrace, but the Balrog's immense weight was too much for the ancient bridge. It collapsed under them and the Balrog went careening off into the darkness. Gandalf had managed to grab a crumbling handhold, but he, too, was slipping. He gazed up wide-eyed at the fellowship and muttered, in what seemed to be relief, "Thank Eru, my role in this fiasco is over!" Then, as if in afterthought, he said, "Fly, you fools!" He then let go and plummeted into the depths.

"They're not going to believe this back in Rivendell," Aragorn said in disbelief.

"Well, I can't go telling this tale in Gondor," Boromir added. "It's just terrible propaganda. The soldiers will start slitting their wrists."

"Ve åre døømed," Gimli grunted as he slumped to the ground.

Frodo reflected for a moment. "What if…we rewrote the scene?" he said slowly, rolling the thought over in his head.

"Did what?" Aragorn asked.

"What if…we just rewrote the scene?" the Hobbit repeated. "You know, Gandalf fights valiantly against the evil Balrog, and they both topple from the bridge - thus saving the Fellowship!"

"You…you think it could work?" Boromir said hopefully.

"It's better than the truth," Frodo replied.

"Bloody well right," Samwise said with a wink.