Gothmog (Balrog)

Gothmog was the primary Lord of Balrogs during the First Age, and the greatest Balrog ever to walk Middle-earth. He was High-captain of Angband, being Morgoth's front-line lieutenant as well as one of his most important servants. He fought many battles in the name of his master, and was personally responsible for killing two of the High Kings of the Ñoldor.
Gothmog, like the rest of his kind, carried a fiery whip into battle, but was also known for wielding a great black axe, feared by Elves across Beleriand.
== Biography ==
Gothmog was initially one of the Maiar who gave their allegiance to Melkor. Prior to the revolt of the Ñoldor, he was High Captain of Angband, given the title "Lord of Balrogs."
During the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in YT 1498,The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, The Annals of Aman Fëanor pressed on to Angband with just a small company, and in that hour, the Balrogs issued forth. Gothmog was among them. Fëanor came even within sight of Angband, but was ambushed with few Elves about him. Soon he stood alone, but long he fought on alone against all the Balrogs. But at the last Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, smote him to the ground, inflicting a mortal wound, and the High King of the Ñoldor fell. The Sons of Fëanor arrived and carried the body of their father away, but Fëanor had passed.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIII: "Of the Return of the Ñoldor" Gothmog reappeared as a general of Angband in several more major conflicts, including the Dagor Aglareb and the Nírnaeth Arnoediad. During the Nírnaeth, Gothmog engaged the High King of the Ñoldor, Fingon, in battle. Gothmog separated Fingon from the main host but was unable to kill Fingon (in earlier versions) until the second and lesser Balrog lord Lungorthin appeared behind the Ñoldorin king and "cast a throng of steel about him". This allowed Gothmog to slay Fingon and beat the body to dust. Thereafter, he captured Húrin, father of Túrin Turambar, and dragged him back to Angband.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
In FA 510, Gothmog and the forces of Angband besieged the Hidden City of Gondolin. They breached the northern gates and were later confronted by Ecthelion of the Fountain, whom Gothmog dueled. 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 into the Fountain of the King. The waters quenched the flames of Gothmog and drowned both him and Ecthelion, ending the Battle of Gondolin.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIII: "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
==Etymology==
Gothmog is a Quenya name, of the terms gos or goth ("dread") and -mbaw ("compel, force, subject, oppress").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
Gothmog's Quenya name was Osombauko.
==In other versions==
Gothmog was briefly conceived as an offspring of Melkor and Ulbandi, an ogress, and went by the name of Kosomot. The root of the name moko translated to "hate".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I
== Gallery ==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Arabic 	غومويغ
Armenian 	Գոթմոգ
Assamese 	গথমগ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Готhмог
Bengali 	গোঠমোগ
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Готмог
Catalan 	Gòthmog
Chinese (Hong Kong)	葛斯摩
Georgian 	გოთმოგი
Greek 	Γκόθμογκ
Gujarati 	ગોથમોગ
Hebrew 	גותמוג
Hindi 	गोथमोग
Japanese 	ゴスモグ
Kannada 	ಗೋತ್ಮಾಗ್
Kazakh 	Готмог (Cyrillic) Gotmog (Latin)
Konkani 	गोथमोग
Korean 	고스 모그
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Готhмог
Macedonian Cyrillic	Готмог
Malayalam 	ഗോത്മോഗ്
Marathi 	गॉथमोग
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Готмог
Nepalese 	गोथमोग
Pashto 	عوتهموګ
Persian 	گوتموگ
Punjabi 	ਗੋਥਮੋਗ
Russian 	Готмог
Sanskrit 	ङोथ्मोग्
Serbian 	Готмог (Cyrillic) Gotmog (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ගොත්මොග්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Готҳмог
Tamil 	கோத்மாக்
Telugu 	గోత్మాగ్
Thai 	กอธม็อก
Urdu 	گوتموگ
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Готмог
Uzbek 	Готҳмог (Cyrillic) Gothmog (Latin)
Yiddish 	גאָטהמאָג
== References ==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Villains
Category:Balrogs
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Servants of Morgoth
Category:Demons
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