Posted: June 23, 2000 at 04:31:23: by Michael martinez
: How wide would the Bridge have been? Let's consider this. The
: Bridge was an arched span 50 feet in length. Structurally, you
: can get the most narrow overall passage by starting wide and
: tapering in the center. At the most narrow point, it could have
: been as much as five feet wide. (Think about it-if you put two
: marks five feet apart on the floor, you will have no problem
: crossing between them, and could even cross in double file.
: However, if you are crossing a chasm under fire and carrying
: arms, you need a little more space. Also, you wouldn't want to
: have clumsy dwarves falling off the Bridge every other day;)).I agree the Dwarves probably gave themselves a LITTLE room to maneuver in, but remember Dwarves were something like 4 to 4-1/2 feet tall. The bridge clearly narrowed in the center but the Balrog need not have been dancing like a ballerina on it. [snip argument about Balrog's probable size] : : Side note: What movie is that line from? "If it bleeds we can
: : kill it." Great line. :-) : Predator, with Arnie and the Honorable Governor Ventura :-) Future President Ventura? Yeah, I can see how his foreign policy will go. :) : : : Whether the wings should or could have flapped is not
: : : resolvable, nor either convenient or inconvenient to the
: : : fact of the Balrog's having wings. Ancalagon and Smaug
: : : were dragons, not Balrogs. Their physiologies were those
: : : of living, breathing creatures which could bleed (and did,
: : : when pricked). Where does Tolkien say the Balrog bleeds? : : Swords seem to have some effect on them. Morgoth bled. Are
: : we to suppose that Morgoth could bleed but balrogs could not? : I've gotta go with Russ on this one. Sauron bled as well when
: bitten by Huan. As I pointed out in my other reply, wrong body. :) : : : Impossible. They would have set Hithlum aflame had they
: : : just been running on the ground. There is no indication
: : : that Hithlum was burned, or that the Elves had to get out
: : : of the way. : Umm, what Elves? I might be totally wrong here, but didn't the
: Noldor following Fingolfin settle in Hithlum partially because
: Thingol had no power there? That bit of obnoxiousness out of my
: system, I do agree that the Balrogs flew across Hithlum. There were Sindar living in Hithlum. The region of Mithrim was named for them. That is basically how Tolkien is able to justify telling the story of the Balrogs' flight over Hithlum: they were seen by Elves who reported the incident. The rest of the story is supposed to have been surmised through various clues picked up elsewhere (although how Ungoliant should have been identified escapes me, unless someone in Tirion was using a Palantir to figure out what the heck happened, or the Valar simply poked around in Namo's archives and found an old security camera videotape). But the point is that "Quenta Silmarillion" is the history of the Silmarils, and that is an Elvish history recorded by Elves.
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