July 9, 2002

Wings Ad Nausem
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Balrogs do they have wings? I like to think that they do. Of course there is trouble with this, why didnt the Moria Balrog fly out of the chasm or later fly off the peak when Gandalf was getting the better of him? Same again with the Balrogs at Gondolin, why didnt they just fly over the walls open the gates and let the army in? It could not be that they were scared because until then no Balrog had ever been destroyed by Elves or Men. Then later Glorfindels duel with the Balrog in the pass. Why didnt the Balrog save himself when he fell? My thinking is that Balrogs could not FLY, but the did have wings. They could glide a little from a height, but from flat ground they could not get airbourn. Why not glide down from a fall? If the height was too great the Balrogs wings were perhaps not good enough to slow their decent. A bit like a chicken being thrown of a cliff, if the cliff isnt high then all's well, but if its too high then splat. Dead chicken, or Balrog in this case. So The Balrogs wings are mostly for show, to help inspire terror and to enable the Balrog to make small glides. What does anyone else think? See you all later! :)