Fire Demons, the balrogs created by J. R. R. Tolkien for The Lord of the Rings, are fire demons surrounded by a dark cloud. They are the epitome of terror, flame and darkness. The name “barlog” is translated from Sindarin as “powerful demon”. They are described as humanoid creatures of enormous stature with powerful arms, yellow eyes, and a fiery mane. They were said to have wings, but there is no definite answer to this suggestion. In the descriptions of barlogs, there are often quite ambiguous descriptions that can be interpreted in one way or another. We can only say with certainty that they could not use these wings – they did not fly.

The origin of barlogs is explained as follows. Originally, they were fire spirits, angelic beings who fell for the promises of Melkor (Morgoth) and became his devotees and most terrible servants. They were armed with swords, axes, and fire whips. It is impossible to say something definite about the number of barlogs. In the earliest works of Tolkien, there was a whole army of demons, and they had less power and were more vulnerable. But later, for example, in “The Lord of the Rings”, we meet already one barlog “Durin’s Bane”, which has an indestructible power and is almost invulnerable.

In his last notes Tolkien has mentioned that there are 3-7 creatures. Thus, it can be assumed that the barlogs led by Melkor, although numbering thousands of creatures, were almost destroyed in the wars, and the remaining barlogs from the army of Morgoth (Melkor) disappeared into underground caves.

Who is the Balrog from The Lord of the Rings?

The balrogs, hiding under ground, were few in number. They were in hibernation. One of them, called “Durin’s Bane”, was disturbed by the dwarves and woke up. He killed the king. The dwarves were forced to leave their underground city of Khazad-dum, which became the home for the demon of Moria. It slept for almost 500 years and was disturbed again by the group of dwarves, led by Balin. The awakened barlog of Moria brought the end to this expedition.

When the Fellowship of the Ring had to cross Moria, they faced barlog. Perhaps he sensed the One Ring and wanted to get it in order to take away the power of Sauron, or perhaps he sensed the presence of Gandalf, since they both came from the Maiar family. Gandalf get into a fight with a demon. The battle lasted for two days, as a result, barlog died. The wizard also died, but he was reborn and became Gandalf the White.

There are no later references to the barlogs of Moria in the history of Middle-earth, so that one was the last.