The Lord of the Rings: The Bridge of Khazad-dum. Bits and Bobs

Bits and Bobs

Gandalf and Balin’s visit to the Shire (recorded at the end of The Hobbit) happened in 2924 T.A.; the Fellowship’s visit to Khazad-dum is in 3019 T. A.; so, approximately 95 years apart.

The number of Dwarves that go with Balin to re-take Moria is never specifically stated. I have seen estimates that range from 100 to 1000. It might be worth it to note that Dain brings a force of 500 to the Battle of Five Armies, an event that helps deplete the number of Orcs in the Misty Mountains and makes the re-taking of Moria conceivable (always leaving Durin’s Bane out of the calculation – perhaps they thought it dead, fled, or even destroyable by a concentrated force – hope springs eternal). At the time of the Fellowship's passage the dwarves have been dead for a quarter of a century. 

Tolkien took great pleasure in making reproductions of pages from the Book of Mazarbul, washing the pages with paint to simulate age and blood, putting stitch-holes on the left-hand side, and even going so far as to burn it (with his pipe, according to Tolkien Gateway). He wanted the pages to be reproduced in the book, but the cost of color printing was too prohibitive for the publishing house at the time, which was already taking a significant gamble. Later ‘deluxe’ editions in this century include them.

The presence of many chests in the Chamber suggests that, among other things, they might have held treasure. Any mithril gathered there would no doubt be sent to Sauron. One wonders how well the Book of Mazarbul held up during Gimli’s further adventures during the War of the Ring. Anyway, it never did get to Dain, who died during the War before Gimli could return to the Lonely Mountain.

[The presence of ‘Uruks from Mordor’ suggests to me that the re-taking of Moria by the Orcs could very well have been ordered and equipped by Sauron, to prevent the Dwarves from setting up a new dominion in the area and providing a safe passage for his enemies through the mountains. - Update: A statement in the next chapter that the Mordor Orcs were seen going to Moria some weeks ago renders this speculation invalid.] Whether the Balrog was under his control or was acting as a convenient deterrent (like Shelob in the Mountains of Shadow) is also a matter of speculation. Sauron, as lieutenant or successor of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, could have demanded its allegiance, and probably would have in time, anyway, if he had succeeded in his domination of Middle-earth. The Balrog seemed to have tolerated the Orcs if not commanded them, and the Orcs feared the Balrog and at least let it do what it would.

Could the Balrog have taken the Ring and used it? It was certainly powerful enough, being a Maiar spirit like Sauron; of the same order if not necessarily of equal strength. In the Legendarium, Balrogs are noted for their furious strength, while Sauron is more of an executive type, powerful in presence and cunning. Whenever he comes up against someone in a personal physical fight, he tends to be less than successful.

The cave-troll’s scaly skin is perfectly illustrated by Tolkien’s picture from The Hobbit, The Trolls. Frodo’s stabbing of the cave-troll’s foot is one of the few wounds (in fact, I can’t at the moment think of another) that the hobbit inflicts, and it is not a killing blow. The fact that Boromir’s sword proves ineffective while Sting can pierce the troll’s skin demonstrates the ancient blade of Gondolin’s superior make. I also like Aragorn’s words of approval and encouragement: ‘One for the Shire!’ cried Aragorn. ‘The hobbit’s bite is deep! You have a good blade, Frodo son of Drogo!’  

The doom-beat of the rolling drum is perfect ominous punctuation for the action, a pulse that drives the conflict, quickening during the actual fighting and fading away as they escape, the rendering of the sound as doom, doom driving home the danger and fatality of the fight. It is as if Tolkien provided his own soundtrack to score his story.

Balrogs (from the Quenya valarauko ‘demon of power’ through to the Sindarin bal ‘power’ and raug, rog ‘demon’) have had a role in the Legendarium since The Book of Lost Tales, where it is stated that they were twice as tall as Elves and numbered in the hundreds. Tolkien later noted that there probably only seven. They were in origin fire spirits, Maiar who joined Morgoth. Seven Balrogs drove off Ungoliant when she attacked Morgoth; Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs, killed Feanor, and was later killed by Ecthelion during the Fall of Gondolin; the remaining Balrogs fought in the War of Wrath that ended the First age, where most were destroyed. Some (including the Balrog of Khazad-dum) fled and hid deep in the earth. During the attack on Gondolin, Balrogs rode on the backs of dragons to reach the city. Now that is an illustration that I’d like to see. And here it is:

The battle between Gandalf and the Balrog is an episode beloved by all, especially by artists and illustrators. It is a most dramatic presentation of Good vs. Evil, good being represented as smaller but intrepid, rather like David against Goliath or (later in the story) Sam versus Shelob. The Secret Fire is a power reserved for Eru (God) alone; the flame of Anor is the kindling and beneficent fire of the Sun, opposed to all dark things and especially the destroying dark fire of the Flame of Udun (‘Hell’). Gandalf, as bearer of Narya the Ring of Fire, certainly qualifies as a powerful wielder. Gandalf’s declaration against the Balrog reminds me in a roundabout way of the Prayer to Saint Michael, where it is asked of the Archangel ‘by the power of God’ (not his own might) to thrust into Hell Satan and all his evil angels.

Do Balrogs have wings? It is still a vexed question. The smarty-pants consensus is that no, they don’t, that all mentions of ‘shadow like wings’ and ‘coming with winged speed’ are merely metaphorical. But many illustrators (especially after the Jackson films) present them this way, even adding horns (which are certainly never mentioned in the books) to heighten the traditional appearance of a winged demon. Perhaps some Balrogs have wings and others don’t. If Durin’s Bane has wings, why doesn’t it fly out of the chasm? Perhaps there’s no room to spread them or perhaps it’s too busy fighting off Gandalf.

             Here are but a few of the interpretations of the conflict.