Gothmog (Balrog)

''This article is about the Lord of Balrogs. For the commander at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, see Gothmog (Lieutenant of Morgul).''

Gothmog was the Lord of Balrogs during the First Age and was the greatest Balrog ever to walk Middle-earth. He was the High-Captain of Angband, one of Morgoth's most trusted generals, leading the Dark Lord's forces to victory in countless Battles. His only equal in rank was Sauron. Gothmog, like the rest of his kind, carried a fiery whip into battle, but he was also known to have wielded a great black axe, which was feared by elves across the continent of Beleriand.

Gothmog was perhaps most infamous for slaying Fëanor, the High King of the Ñoldor himself, in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in the opening days of the First Age. The Lord of Balrogs reappeared as a general of Angband in several more major conflicts, including the Dagor Aglareb (The Glorious Battle), the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Tears Unnumbered) (where he slew Fingon, another High King, and captured Hurin) and, fatefully, the Fall of Gondolin.



As his forces laid siege to Turgon's Hidden City of Gondolin, Gothmog himself set foot inside the city's walls. There, he was confronted by Ecthelion of the Fountain, and the two fought a duel to the death. Knocking Ecthelion's sword out of his hands, Gothmog prepared to strike at him but, as he raised his axe, Ecthelion ran forward at the Balrog lord, ramming his pointed helmet into the beast's chest and forcing both of them off a ledge into a river below. The waters quenched the flames of Gothmog that kept him alive and drowned Ecthelion, ending the Battle of Gondolin.

Earlier versions of the Legendarium
Lungothrin was an early name for Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs. The name Lungothrin was mentioned in The History of Middle-earth, part III: The Lays of Beleriand.

In earlier adaptations, Gothmog was the son of Morgoth and the ogress Fluithuin, But this was forgotten when the concept of the Children of the Valar was abandoned.