Wizards such as Gandalf and Saruman displayed occasional powers over created things, and could cast spells. Many Maiar within Arda, both good and corrupted, such as the Wizards and Sauron, possessed magical abilities during their life in the world. Magic can also be seen having an effect on the world itself: in Eregion the stones spoke about the Elves who once lived there, indicative of animism. In the index of The Return of the King, "wizardry" is described as "magic of kind popularly ascribed to the Order of Wizards (Istari)." " or so sworn, good or evil, an oath may not be broken, and it shall pursue oathkeeper and oathbreaker to the world's end." - Quenta Silmarillion Any oath sworn by Ilúvatar and the Valar also invokes magic of a kind, as did Fëanor's terrible oath: Mandos declared the Prophecy of the North to the Ñoldor. Prophecy is well documented in Middle-earth: Boromir and Faramir have "true dreams" about the One Ring and the Halfling, Glorfindel prophesies the nature of the Witch-king's doom, and both the Maia Melian and her descendant Elrond are known to possess the "gift of foresight", allowing them to sense and see what is yet to come. Related creatures which may or may not have a connection to that realm are Barrow-wights and the Dead Men of Dunharrow. This can be seen in the descriptions of Frodo Baggins while wearing the One Ring of the appearance of both the Ringwraiths and the High Elf Glorfindel in that world. In Middle-earth there is a wraith-world or Unseen world where the creatures such as the Ringwraiths have a distinctly different presence than that observable in the normal world. 4.1 Blessing, spells, and natural power.Both will fight powerful people – Surtr, the gods and the Balrog, Gandalf the Grey. They both carry fiery weapons – a fiery whip and a flaming sword respectively. Both are creatures of the underworld and the dark, and at the same time fire monsters. The Balrog is quite simply the fire giant Surtr. At Ragnarok, Surtr will be surrounded by burning fire, and his sword will shine brighter than the sun. In VafϷrúðnismál (saga), it says that Surtr has to fight the gods and that Surtr uses fire as a weapon. He comes from the south and is connected to fire. In Völuspá, we are told that Surtr is an evil creature. It was named Surtsey meaning Surtr’s island. In 1963, a new island formed off Iceland following a volcanic eruption. The giant is the master of fire and guardian of Muspelheim, a burning realm of fire, closely linked to the volcanic underworld. It was the Balrog that Gandalf had fought and eventually defeated after ten days of fighting.īut the Balrog has a clear predecessor in Norse literature in the form of fire-giant Surtr, which means “the black one” or “the swarthy one”. In the Third Age, one of Balrogs was discovered by the dwarves at the bottom of the Mithril seam in Khazad-dûm. Most of the Balrog died in the Great Battle, but a few survived by hiding in the depths. They are fire spirits, but also shrouded in darkness. After Sauron, Balrogs were the most powerful and most terrifying of his servants. In Tolkien’s Elvish language Sindarin, Balrog means “demon of might”. Tolkien’s Balrogs have their own mythology. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf the wizard fights a demon known as a Balrog. And older and more fearsome creatures live deep underground. In Tolkien’s universe, the Orcs and Mountain Trolls live inside the mountains. Photo: Stine Netman - The National Museum of Denmark Balrog - medieval monstersĭwarves are not the only ones who live underground.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |