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- "But Lungorthin Lord of Balrogs
on the mouth smote him, and Morgoth smiled:
‘Nay, fear when thou feelest, when the flames lick thee.
and the whistling whips thy white body
and wilting flesh weal and torture!’" - —From The Lay of the Children of Húrin[1]
Lungorthin was the second Balrog-lord[2] and a thane of Morgoth[3] who appeared in The Lay of the Children of Húrin.[1]
He was initially one of the Maiar who gave their allegiance to Melkor. Like Gothmog, Lungorthin bore the title of "Lord of Balrogs", though Lungorthin was the lesser of the two, and not a High-captain of Angband. He participated in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad bearing whistling whips, where he aided Gothmog in the slaying of Fingon, restraining him in a throng of steel, giving Gothmog the chance to slay him. After this battle, Gothmog captured Húrin, bringing the man to Angband where, before Morgoth, Lungorthin used his whistling whip that burned to smite Húrin on the mouth while he was being interrogated.[1]
Speculation[]
According to Christopher Tolkien, Lungorthin was likely not an alternate name for Gothmog since the name Gothmog was mentioned in the earliest Middle-earth writings, as well as the final version of Tolkien's mythology.[4]
The fate of Lungorthin is unknown.[1] If the total amount of Balrogs were three to seven as Tolkien once noted down,[5] then a few things may have happened to Lungorthin. Lungorthin may have been killed sometime during the War of the Great Jewels or during the War of Wrath. It is also possible that Lungorthin may have been the Balrog which Glorfindel slew during the Fall of Gondolin. The third possibility is that Lungorthin may have been the real name of Durin's Bane, putting his death in the Third Age. While any of these fates could have befallen Lungorthin, his fate ultimately remains untold.
Etymology[]
Lungorthin is likely a Noldorin name with an untold meaning.[6] It is possible that it consists of lhung ("grave, serious;[7] heavy")[8],[9] GAR ("fenced"), and or ("above"). Another possibility is that Lungorthin is comprised of a variant of luin ("pale blue, shadowy")[10], gorth ("horror, dread")[11], and -in ("adjective ending")[12], ultimately meaning "White Demon/Fire", "pale horror", or "horrific shadow".[13]
In adaptations[]
Middle-earth Role Playing[]
In the Middle-earth Role Playing game, Lungorthin was a "pale and whitish"[14] Balrog whose flames were almost colorless. As a result, he was commonly known as White-fire, the White Balrog, and the White-demon. He "was the second strongest of the" Balrogs, surpassed only by his leader Gothmog.[14] During the First Age, he became Morgoth's Thane and the infamous Master of the Melkoric Guard[14]/Lord of Morgoth's Guard/Master of his Guard. Despite his home being "in the seemingly endless tunnelings" of Angband, Lungorthin "served as Morgoth's bodyguard"[14] in the nethermost hall of Angband.[15] It is untold "whether he survived" the War of Wrath.[16]
Lungorthin wielded a flaming whip named Lognor (Sindarin for "Fire-loop"), which was made from the metal Ogamur. He also wielded a flaming sword named Nimrist (Sindarin for "White-cleaver"), which was made from the metal Eog. As a result of being Morgoth's Guard Lord, Lungorthin was given a mace named Undamarth (Sindarin for "Descending Doom"), which was made from the metal Eog.[15]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, I: The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Second version of the Lay, I: "(Húrin and Morgoth)", pg. 98 (lines 96-100)
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: The Lay of Leithian, XIII: "(Beren and Lúthien in Angband)", pg. 296 (line 3897)
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, I: The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Prologue: "(Húrin and Morgoth)", line 59
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, I: The Lay of the Children of Húrin, I: "(Húrin and Morgoth)", Commentary on Part I of the second version, pgs. 102-3
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, Part Two: The Annals of Aman, Second section of the Annals of Aman, Commentary on the second section of the Annals of Aman, pg. 80 (note §50)
- ↑ "Lungorthin" on eldamo.org
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, issue XI: I·Lam na·Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of The Gnomish Tongue, pg. 55 (entry "lung")
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entry "LUG"
- ↑ "lung" on eldamo.org
- ↑ "luin" on eldamo.org
- ↑ "gorth" on eldamo.org
- ↑ "-in" on eldamo.org
- ↑ "Lungorthin" on valarguild.org
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr., Creatures of Middle-earth, pg. 43 (entry "Lungorthin")
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Peter C. Fenlon, Terry K. Amthor, R. Mark Colborn, Lords of Middle-earth: Vol. I - The Immortals: Elves, Maiar, and Valar, pg. 38
- ↑ Chris Seeman, Other Hands 22 (July 1998), "The Balrogs", pg. 10