The fight between Gandalf the Grey and the Balrog of Morgoth inThe LorThe Fellowship of the Ringremains one of the most goosebumps-inducing moments ofThe Lord of the Ringsseries. And yet, plenty happens in that scene that fans are still pondering over. For example, why did the wizard call Durin’s Bane “The Flame of Udûn?”
Several phrases are spoken in this scene fromThe Lord of the Rings, such as “Flame of Udûn,” “Flame of Anor,” and “Servant of the Secret Fire,” referring to both the Balrog and Gandalf. And then these phrases never reappear throughout the trilogy, leaving fans curious about their meaning. Only meticulous Tolkien fans who’ve readThe Silmarillionand stories of the First Age would know how “Udûn” relates to the Balrogs of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord.
Why does Gandalf Call The Balrog “Flame of Udûn?”
The Balrog’s fiery appearance is a dead giveaway as to why it is called a “flame.” But what is ‘Udûn’? Does it have anything to do withThe Rings of Powerseason 1, episode 6, which is also titled “Udûn”? The answer is both yes and no.Balrogs were created long before the First Ageof Middle-earth even began, and preceded the creation of Mordor. At this time, Udûn was their home.
Gandalf is one of the Istari, the five wizards sent to Middle-earth as emissaries of the Valar against Sauron. As such, he knows this origin story and refers to his foe with this name to perhaps underline just how ancient the creature is.
How Were Balrogs Created?
As referred to inThe Fellowship of the Ring, the Balrog is literally “Shadow and Flame.” The word “Balrog” in Sindarin and Quenya (the Elvish languages created by Tolkien) means “Demon of Might” or “Power Demon.” They are made of fire and cloaked in darkness and shadow. Roughly double the size of humans, they are exceedingly hard to kill. As weapons, they have claws of steel and carry a sword in one hand and a fiery whip in another.
When they encountered a Balrog, Gandalf told the Fellowship to run for their lives, because“this foe is beyond any of you.”He wasn’t exaggerating. A Balrog is indeed a powerful being, essentially a Maiar, the same race of lesser angelic beings as Sauron, Saruman, and Gandalf himself.
In his bookThe Silmarillion, author J.R.R. Tolkien states that the power of creation lies only with the one true God, Eru Ilúvatar. Therefore,the Vala Melkor, who is the first Dark Lord Morgoth(Dark Enemy or Black Foe), did not create the monsters that fought for him. Rather, he perverted his father Eru’s creations. Elves were tortured and twisted into orcs. The Maia Mairon, who was a follower of Melkor, became Sauron, and he twisted other Maiar loyal to Melkor into Balrogs.
What is Udûn?
Udûn translates roughly to “Underworld,” “dark pit,” or “hell.” It is the Sindarin name for Utumno, the first fortress of the Dark Lord Morgoth. It’s an apt name for an underground stronghold so deep that even the Valar didn’t know of its true extent.
As explained inThe Silmarillion, in the Age of the Lamps, long beforethe creation of the Two Trees of Valinorand the awakening of elves and men in Middle-earth, Melkor arrived on Arda (the planet of Middle-earth). There, he created an underground fortress in the Iron Mountains in the north. It was called Utumno (meaning ‘low’ or ‘deep’), with numerous pits full of fire, slaves, and dark creatures. It was here that he gathered all the monsters and fell creatures, Balrogs included, that he had twisted for his dark purposes, and first corrupted the captured elves to turn them into orcs.
And in Utumno he [Melkor] gathered his demons about him, those spirits who first adhered to him in the days of his splendour, and became most like him in his corruption: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame. Balrogs they were named in Middle-earth in later days.
When the Valar first vanquished Melkor, Utumno fell, but many of its residents, including Sauron and the Balrogs, escaped. Melkor had built another stronghold, Angband, which became his new seat of power after he returned from Valinor with the stolen Silmarils. His Balrogs would often go forth from Angband to war, like attacking the city of Gondolin, which led to thelegendary battle between one of the Balrogs and the elven warrior, Glorfindel.
When Melkor was finally vanquished and Angband destroyed in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, the Balrogs fled and took refuge in the deepest, darkest underground places of the world. In a post-Morgoth Middle-earth, only one of those Balrogs ever emerged — Durin’s Bane in Khazad-dûm, who killed and was killed by his fellow Maia, Gandalf.
Since the events ofThe Lord of the Ringsare not particularly concerned with the First Age stories, the phrase “Flame of Udûn” was perhaps a nod for the book fans who would have gotten the reference. However, Udûn and Balrogs reappear inThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which does touch upon tales of the First and Second Ages. In the sixth episode of season 1, titled “Udûn,” the explosion of Orodruin (Mount Doom) createsthe land of Mordor in the Southlands. When this occurs, the Orcs are heard chanting “Udún!" It is an apt name that Sauron adopts for his new dominion, a fresh hell on Middle-earth, reminding his enemies of his former master’s glory days. Udûn thus became the name of the plain outside the Black Gate of Mordor.
