Believe it or not, Gandalf, Sauron and Tolkien’s Balrogs belong to the same species

The imagined Middle Earth of J. R. R. Tolkien It is a melting pot of peoples and cultures in which Humans like you and me coexist in a fantasy world with Orcs, Dwarves, Trolls, Hobbits and Elves, among others. Distinguishing them with the naked eye is relatively simple and, although Tolkien never made it clear in The Lord of the Rings whether the latter had pointed ears, their aura and presence resolved any doubt. That is precisely why it is so curious and striking that the wizard Gandalf and the demonic Balrogs like the one that lived in Moria belong to the same species.

Does that mean that a Balrog was a human corrupted by darkness like the Nazgul? Not at all, although the idea is not very far off. His existence, in fact, predates that of the Elves, to the very creation of the world and possibly to time itself. Because before they were demons of power (the meaning of their name in the Sindarin language), they were Ainur. More concretely, spirits Maiar. And this also applies to both Gandalf and Sauron himself, the lord of darkness.

What is a Maiar and what is its role in Tolkien’s Middle Earth

All part of Silmarillion, the book that novelizes the creation and destiny of Middle Earth. This is based on the writings and annotations of JRR Tolkien, author of The Hobbit y The Lord of the rings. It was published by his son Christopher, through a single compilation volume that, in fact, begins with the genesis of Tolkien’s fantasy world by the will of Iluvatarwhich is equivalent to the supreme and omnipotent deity of his legendarium.

Simply told, the origin of Middle Earth comes from a song performed by the Anuir.

More specifically the Valar spirits at the service of Ilúvatar. Some played harmoniously and others discordantly. As a result, it was decided to give life to that melody by creating a world from chaos and nothingness. A fertile land that was subsequently raised and cared for by these Valar spirits along with other similar ones, but of lesser rank: the Maiar.

“With the Valar came other spirits that were also before the world, of the same order as the Valar, but of lower hierarchy. These are the Maiar, the people subject to the Valar, and their servants and assistants.”

How many Maiar are there in Middle-earth and what form do they originally have? Not even the oldest races in Tolkien’s fantasy universe have a record since, in general, they do not manifest themselves in person. If they decided to abandon the spiritual plane, of course.

“The number of these spirits is not known to the elves, and few have names in the languages ​​of the children of Ilúvatar; for although it has not been so in Aman, in Middle-earth the maiar have rarely appeared in visible form to the elves. elves and men.”

Having said that, it is time to establish the main question: why do some that look like fire demons and other very old humans manifest themselves? The answer comes from the original Valar song. Specifically, that discordant voice.

The presence of Sauron and the creation of the Balrogs

According to him Silmarillionnot all the Valar sang in unison before the creation of the world. Morgoth, also known as Melkor, who was the most powerful among his equals, decided to break the harmony and overlap his own voice several times over that of the rest. Thus, when Middle-earth was created, Morgoth settled there with the purpose of dominating it and claiming it for himself.

Morgoth was the only Valar who decided to settle in the new world separately and without mixing with those of his own rank, but he was not alone: ​​other Maiar followed him, intrigued by his lies and ambition, such as Sauron, who will be his right hand in this period of conquest; while others ended up deeply corrupted. The latter being the ones who, imbued with darkness and power, would end up being the Valaraukar. Or, as they are known by their name in Sindarin, los Balrogs.

The Balrogs of Tolkien They are beings with demonic shapes and silhouettes. They can control the power of fire and unleash it with whips, they dom inated the darkness and, when comparing their ability to sow chaos and destruction, they rival the dragons themselves. Being a manifestation of evil itself.

“Their hearts were of fire; but a mantle of darkness covered them, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame. They were called Balrogs in Middle-earth in later days.”

Needless to say, Morgoth failed in his ambition, but he made sure to plant the seeds of discord in Middle-earth. When the Elves were born, the first born, he made sure to corrupt and mutilate many of them, which led to the origin of the race of orcs, with dark skin and unpleasant and mean appearance and habits. A sample of his countless acts of evil both for the created world and with the beings of existence.

In the end it was a matter of time before Morgoth faced the wrath and justice of the other Valar, who, joining forces with the righteous Maiar, the Elves and the Humans, managed to reduce him and banish him to the Timeless Void until the end of time. But his seed of evil was still germinating in Middle-earth at the hands of a new Dark Lord: the Maia called Sauron. And it is then, faced with his threat, that the five Istari will appear.

Gandalf and the other four great wizards of Middle Earth

At the beginning of the Third Age of the Sun, the Valar sent several Maiar to combat Sauron’s influence in Middle-earth. Those sent will form the Order of the Istari and each of them was of the same rank as the Dark Lord himself. However, unlike this one, they did not seem beautiful in the eyes of the inhabitants of Middle Earth or intimidating warlords, but rather they looked like very old humans. These Maiar will be popularly known among elves and mortals as the Wizards.

It is unknown how many wizards were sent in total to Middle-earth, but it is known that there was a hierarchy among them in which the White Wizard He exercised the greatest authority. And also that all, to a greater or lesser extent, deviated from their mission to put an end to Sauron, seduced by the charms of the world.

• The Maia called Curumo was the original leader of the Istari and adopted the name Saruman. He failed by being corrupted by power.
• Aiwendil was the Maia name of Radagast the Brownwho dedicated himself almost exclusively to taking care of nature and fauna instead of fulfilling his mission.
• It is known that there were two blue wizards named Morinehtar (Altar) and Rómestamo (Pallando). Both Maiar traveled to the east of Middle-earth and never returned.
• And what about Gandalf? The gray wizard, whose name in Maiar is Olórin, enjoyed the people and adventures of mortals and elves. Too much. So much so that -by chance- thanks to one of his many adventures, he managed to channel his original cause.

During the events of the War of the Ring, Gandalf faced and defeated several Maiar. To the Balrog of Moria, to Saruman himself and, indirectly, to an emerging Sauron. In the process, he was promoted to leader of the Order of the Istari and, during the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, he will undertake one last journey towards the Undying Lands.

Because, perhaps, the Maia Ólorin did not seem like a powerful warrior or a demon bathed in darkness and flames. What’s more, he spent years traveling seemingly aimlessly like a humble old man dressed in worn gray rags. But as Tolkien himself said, All that glitters is not gold, nor is all the wanderer lost.

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