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The White CouncilRe: Little more about Balrogs wings...Tolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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The White CouncilRe: Little more about Balrogs wings...Tolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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Posted by Michael Martinez on June 26, 2000 at 01:43:02 In Reply to: Re: Little more about Balrogs wings... posted by Jan on June 25, 2000 at 13:36:31:
: To draw one self up, does not imply changing the shape of a : body, it implies a straightening of the frame. Which is difficult to achieve when the frame isn't bent. The Balrog wasn't kneeling, bending, crawling, crouching, or in any way positioned so that it needed to be straightened out. Sails can be drawn up and filled with wind, becoming essentially larger. [snip] : And no where in LOTR does it say that the Balrog was a Maia of : great power. That information comes from an entirely different : literary work. Which is hardly an argument against the fact that the Balrog is a Maia of great power. I'm not going to to shoot myself in the foot by ignoring relevant information. Of course, the facts the Balrog was thousands of years old, capable of surving having a mountain dropped on its head, able to use spells, and emanated fear -- as well as the fact that Gandalf said it was a foe beyond all his companions, one of whom would help take down the Lord of the Nazgul -- pretty much argues the Balrog, "of all Elf-banes the most deadly", was not your run-of-the-mill monster. The fact it clobbered Khazad-dum and pretty much destroyed the Dwarven civilization there in 1980-1 is another good indicator that it was an incredibly powerful being, the like of which the world had not seen for ages, except maybe Sauron. : : Um, no, Gandalf's tactics only reveal his own limtations. In : : his human form, he couldn't fly, so he had to stand on the : : bridge. : Gandalf was a powerful wizard. Not just any old person, but a : servant of the secret fire, weilder of the flame of Udûn. He was a Maia. But he wasn't permitted to reveal himself in power and he wasn't winged and he didn't fly and he was quite limited in what he could do, since bringing down the mountain again would probably have killed his companions as well as simply deterred the Balrog for a brief time.
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