Where were the Balrog's of Morgoth formed?

[Beserker_Warrior]

I know that Morgoth had an arsenal of creatures to fight the Valar,Elves and Men, But how were Balrogs formed?They could have been made in mockery of the Valar as the trolls were mockeries of the ents. What do you think?

[Maédhros]

This thread belongs to the Novices and Newcomers part of the Forum. To answer your question, Balrogs were not formed or created by Morgoth but they are lesser ainur (maiar) who chose to serve Morgoth.
From the Published Silmarillion: The Valaquenta

For of the Maiar many were drawn to his splendour in the days of his greatness, and remained in that allegiance down into his darkness; and others he corrupted afterwards to his service with lies and treacherous gifts. Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror.

[Nimrodel_9]

Yes, and to add to that, you could say that it "happened" in Angmar.

[Son of Númenor]

I think you mean Angband.

Edit: Someone has decided to anonymously rate me down for this post, saying that it was incorrect. I don't object to the negative rating (I do object to the rudeness of the comment) although in truth, this post isn't incorrect: Nimrodel_9 almost certainly did mean Angband. I am certainly at fault, however, for failing to elaborate; the balrogs weren't 'formed' in Angband, or in Utumno or the Void. They were, as The Ninth Valar posits, merely corrupted Maiar - they were 'formed' with the rest of the Ainur in the Halls of Ilúvatar, and corrupted into the service of Melkor. Once 'fallen' from their original forms, they became, essentially, demons, incapable of discarding their shadowy, fiery forms.

Thanks for catching me on this ill-advised post, Anonymous Rater. In the future, I'd be much obliged if you'd sign your name, or at least make your remarks sound less hostile.

[Nimrodel_9]

Yes, I did mean Angband, Son of Númenor. Thankyou for correcting me. I really need to get more sleep.

[The Ninth Valar]

But wouldn't it be Utumno? Or the Void, perhaps? I was always under the impression that Balrogs were simply corrupted Maiar and as such, were present before the creation of the World.

[Thalionyulma]

I doubt they would have come from the Void. Being Maiar, then they would have been present during Ainulandale, wouldn't they? That was an interesting stage since each ainur's song seemed to seperate each to form a group, to eventually form to what they would become.

What threw me off, really, about the Balrog were that they were sometimes referred to as Children of Morgoth (or to that effect). If my sleep depraved brain is vaguely recalling.

Mockery of the Valar? Or perhaps more closely to that of the Atari (er, did I get the Wizards right?).

[Son of Númenor]

For of the Maiar many were drawn to his splendour in the days of his greatness, and remained in that allegiance down into his darkness; and others he corrupted afterwards to his service with lies and treacherous gifts. Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror. (Valaquenta)

And in Utumno he gathered his demons about him, those spirits who first adhered to him in the days of his splendour, and became most like him in his corruption: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame. Balrogs they were named in Middle-earth in later days. And in that dark time Melkor bred many other monsters of divers shapes and kinds that long troubled the world; and his realm spread now ever southward over Middle-earth. (Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor")

I can't recall Balrogs ever being referred to as the 'Children of Melkor.' Tolkien was very careful about his word choice, and I can't see him using the word 'children' (which has specific divine [e.g. Children of Iluvatar, Children of Aule] or biological denotations in his writing) to describe the servants of a being who is described as barren and incapable of creation.