Dates : Entered Arda at its beginning;most were destroyed in c. I 583.
Race : Ainur.
Division : Maiar.
Meaning : 'Demons of Power'.
Other Names : Valaraukar.
The Balrogs originated as Maiar,beings of the same kind as Sauron himself.They were primordial spirits of fire that had allied themselves with Melkor in ancient times and became the most feared of his servants,especially during the Wars of Beleriand in the First Age.Details of their numbers are hard to state with certainty but there seem to have been relatively few of them - probably no more than seven.In appearance,the Balrogs were man-like but fire streamed from them and they were swathed in dark shadows.They carried whips of flame and induced great terror in friends and foes alike.In the War of Wrath,Morgoth was assailed by the forces of the Valar.Most of the Balrogs were destroyed in that War, but some few escaped over the Blue Mountains and hid in Middle-earth.Durin's Bane,the creature that drove the Dwarves from Moria,was one of these.
Name : Gothmog.
Dates : Entered Arda at its beginning;slain I 510.
Race : Ainur.
Division : Maiar (of the kind known as Balrogs).
Meaning : Uncertain.'Dread Enforcer' is one possibility.
Titles : High-captain of Angband,Lord of Balrogs.
The most powerful of all the Balrogs,one of the chief servants of Melkor,who held an authority hardly less than Sauron himself.A wily commander and fearsome fighter,Gothmog was often accompanied by others of his fiery kind and at least in the Nirnaeth he had a personal guard of dozens of trolls.His weapon was a great black axe.The Elves first encountered him in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath,the battle fought under the stars before the first rising of the Moon.In that battle,F�anor's fury had caused him to draw forward of the main force of the Noldor and so he came upon Gothmog with only a small guard. Even so,he fought valiantly, and though the armies of the Noldor eventually drove the Balrogs off, F�anor's wounds could not be healed.After that first battle,Gothmog does not appear for several centuries.He emerged from Angband to fight in the battle known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad,the fifth and last battle of the Wars of Beleriand.He brought up a huge army and drove aside the forces around High King Fingon and slew the King with his axe.His trolls assailed Fingon's ally H�rin,who he eventually captured and brought back to Angband.But Gothmog was not indestructible.He took part in (and indeed presumably led) Morgoth's deadly surprise assault on the Hidden City of Gondolin.In the square of the King in the heart of the city,he came upon the Elf-lord Ecthelion of the Fountain.They fought a great duel and in the end Gothmog and Ecthelion slew one another.So ended one of the most feared denizens of the pits of Angband.
Name : Melkor.
Dates : Descended into Arda at its beginning,banished from the World at the end of the First Age.
Race : Ainur.
Meaning : '(He Who) Arises in Might'.
Titles : Bauglir, Dark Lord.
Other Names : Morgoth Bauglir.
Note : 'Melkor' is the true name of the first Dark Lord and is used for him from his beginning until his theft of the Silmarils.Events of that period are described in this entry but for events after his return to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age,see the entry for Morgoth Bauglir.
Said to be the mightiest dweller in Arda,Melkor was of the same order of the Valar and equal in power to Manw� himself,who was Melkor's brother in the mind of Il�vatar.While the Valar descended into Arda to order and govern wisely though,Melkor sought power for himself alone and sought to bend all things to his own will.All that the Valar made,Melkor looked to destroy;long before the Elves awoke,he threw down the Lamps of the Valar destroying their dwelling in Almaren.They removed to Valinor and fearing for the coming Elves,made war on Melkor and imprisoned him for three ages.By the time he was released,the Elves had come to Valinor;Melkor turned back to his evil ways;slaying Finw� and stealing the Silmarils,he destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor and fled back to his ancient fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth.
Name : Saruman (see Character Biographies).
Name : Sauron (see Character Biographies).
