Why would a Lord of Gondolin be named Demon? A.K.A. How one elf’s 3-letter name singlehandedly made him one of the most intriguing characters in the entire legendarium despite only being mentioned like, 4 times

russandolly:

A.K.A. Rog, Lord of the
House of the Hammer of Wrath; a summary 

Buckle in ladies and gents, cause this is gonna get long.

Disclaimer: apologies for any typos or shitfuck grammar, but i’ve been staring at this for too long and can no longer see anything. I should also mention that this essay/post/whatever assumes that Rog is a Noldo although it isn’t explicitly stated anywhere.

Before I get into the Mystery surrounding his name, I
will just shortly recap how and where we meet Rog.

The only place we meet Rog at all, is in the earliest versions of the
Fall of Gondolin, in the Book of Lost Tales Part 2. There’s not much about him
as he only appears shortly during the battle. He is an elf of Gondolin, a Lord of one of the twelve houses of Gondolin. I debated whether to include his
parts or not but I feel like you don’t get to feel the full badassry if I
don’t. (I’ll only include the parts of the battle that mention him and his
house, and the bolded parts are the ones I find particularly interesting). We
first meet him as:

“Now the last
of the battalions was
furnished by the folk of the Hammer of Wrath, and of these came many of the
best smiths and craftsmen, and all that kindred reverenced Aulë the Smith more than all other Ainur. They fought with great maces like hammers,
and their shields were heavy, for their arms were very strong. In older days
they had been much recruited by Noldoli who escaped from the mines of Melko,
and the hatred of this house for the works of that evil one and the Balrogs his
demons was exceeding great. Now their leader was Rog, strongest of the Gnomes,
scarce second in valour to that Galdor of the Tree. The sign of this people
was the Stricken Anvil, and a hammer that smiteth sparks about it was set on
their shields, and red gold and black iron was their delight. Very numerous was that battalion, nor had
any amongst them a faint heart, and they won the greatest glory of all those
fair houses in that struggle against doom; yet were they ill-fated, and none
ever fared away from that field, but fell about Rog and vanished from the Earth;
and with them much craftsmanship and skill has been lost for ever”

So during the battle, when the northern gates fell,
Rog, Galdor and their men held the first line of defense:

”Then did Rog shout in a mighty
voice, and all the people of the Hammer of Wrath and the kindred of the Tree
with Galdor the valiant leapt at the foe. There
the blows of their great hammers and the dint of their clubs rang to the
Encircling Mountains and the Orcs fell like leaves; and those of the
Swallow and the Arch poured arrows like the dark rains of autumn upon them, and
both Orcs and Gondothlim fell thereunder for the smoke and the confusion. Great
was that battle, yet for all their valour the Gondothlim by reason of the might
of ever increasing numbers were borne slowly backwards till the goblins held
part of the northernmost city.”

After the Noldor are driven back and Duilin is killed, the Balrogs (with
burning arrows) cut off Rog and his men by starting a fire behind their line of
defense. At this point, Rog has Had Enough:

”Then said Rog in a great voice: “Who now shall fear the Balrogs for all
their terror? See before us the accursed ones who for ages have tormented the
children of the Noldoli, and who now set a fire at our backs with their
shooting. Come ye of the Hammer of Wrath and we will smite them for their
evil.” Thereupon he
lifted his mace, and its handle was long; and he made a way before him by the
wrath of his onset even unto the fallen gate: but all the people of the
Stricken Anvil ran behind like a wedge, and sparks came from their eyes for the
fury of their rage. A great deed was that sally, as the Noldoli sing yet, and
many of the Orcs were borne backward into the fires below; but the men of Rog
leapt even upon the coils of the serpents and came at those Balrogs and smote
them grievously, for all they had whips
of flame and
claws of steel, and were in stature very great. They battered them into nought, or catching at their whips wielded
these against them, that they tore them even as they had aforetime torn the
Gnomes; and the number of Balrogs that
perished was a marvel and dread to the hosts of Melko, for ere that day never
had any of the Balrogs been slain by the hand of Elves or Men.”

So we know that Rog and his battalion were the first to ever slay a
Balrog and also weren’t scared of shit. These motherfuckers literally beat the shit out of balrogs and used their whips against them. Not only
that, Next up is:

“Then Gothmog Lord
of Balrogs gathered all his demons that were about the city and ordered them
thus: a number made for the folk of the Hammer and gave before them, but the
greater company rushing upon the flank contrived to get to their backs, higher
upon the coils of the drakes and nearer to the gates, so that Rog might not win
back save with great slaughter among his folk. But Rog seeing this essayed not
to win back, as was hoped, but with all
his folk fell on those whose part was to give before him; and they fled before
him now of dire need rather than of craft. Down into the plain were they harried, and their shrieks rent the airs
of Tumladin. Then that house of the Hammer fared about smiting and hewing the
astonied bands of Melko till they were hemmed at the last by an overwhelming
force of the Orcs and the Balrogs, and a fire-drake was loosed upon them. There
did they perish about Rog hewing to the last till iron and flame overcame them,
and it is yet sung that each man of the Hammer of Wrath took the lives of seven
foemen to pay for his own. Then did dread fall more heavily still upon the
Gondothlim at the death of Rog and the loss of his battalion, and they gave
back further yet into the city, and Penlod perished there in a lane with
his back to the wall, and about him many of the men of the Pillar and many of
the Tower of Snow.”

In short: During
the fall of Gondolin, Rog and his house held the first line of defense when the
northern gates fell, slaughtered a shitton of orcs and balrogs, were the FIRST
elves or men to EVER kill balrogs, had orcs fleeing from their faces literally
screaming, and were eventually slaughtered, every last man.

After this went down, the orcs were scared shitless because of how
brutally Rog had hacked down the Balrogs:

”Fearful
too they were for that slaughter Rog had done amid the Balrogs, because of
those demons they had great courage and confidence of heart. ”

So that was the last of Rog and the House of the Hammer of
Wrath. Not a single one of them survived. There’s not much info on them, but in
the little info that we do get, I think we can all safely conclude that Rog was
Fucking Badass, and so was everyone in his house. A little further on in the
battle after the elves had been driven back to the King’s Square, it’s mentioned
that:

”In that
host of survivors are some, be it however few, of all the kindreds [Houses]
save of the Hammer of Wrath alone”

😦

The rest of the fall of Gondolin is history.

Now on to the Mystery of Rog’s name:

Rog is one of the most interesting obscure characters to me, because
he’s not like any other elf we meet (we barely even meet him at all but still).
In fact, everything we’re told about him points to him being a Very Different
elf.

The (first) elephant in the room here is obviously the name: Rog. Which
means demon, literally, in Sindarin
and, in Gnomish as is told in the
Book of Lost Tales Part 2:

“Balcmeg In NFG it
is said that Balcmeg ‘was a great fighter among the Orclim (Orqui say the Elves)
who fell to the axe of Tuor—’tis in meaning “heart of evil”.’ (For-lim in Orclim see Gondothlim.) The
entry for Balrog
in NFG says: ‘Bal
meaneth evilness, and Balc
evil, and Balrog
meaneth evil demon.’ GL has balc ‘cruel’: see I.250 (Balrog).”

Back then Tolkien still referred to the Noldor as Gnomes (haha) and
Balrog translated as cruel/evil demon in ”Gnomish”.

In the
Silmarillion we get this:

“rauko   ‘demon’
in Valaraukar;
Sindarin raug,
rog in Balrog.”

And on the Tolkien gateway website I read about Rog’s name that:

“The
meaning or etymology of the name is unclear, but in the context of the later
works, it means “demon” as an element in Balrog.^[2][3] The Qenya form of his name
was Rōka.^”

The last past (Rōka)
was apparently taken from the 13th issue of Parma Eldalamberon, which unfortunately I do not have, so I can’t confirm that (although
I don’t see why it wouldn’t be true).

So why would Tolkien name an elf, much less a lord of Gondolin, Demon? Right off the bat, we can tell,
that this elf is Very Different. Christopher Tolkien was confused by this too,
and in the notes of the Book of Lost Tales Part 2, he says:

“In the version of ‘The Silmarillion’ made in 1930
(See footnote on p. 208), the last account of the Fall of Gondolin to be
written and the basis for that in chapter 23 of the published work, the text
actually reads: ‘…much is told in The
Fall of Gondolin: of the death of Rog without the walls,
and of the battle of Ecthelion of the Fountain’, &c. I removed the reference to Rog (The
Silmarillion p. 242) on the grounds that it was absolutely certain that
my father would not have retained this name as that of a lord of Gondolin.”

So, Chris Tolkien actually left Rog out of the Silmarillion because he
didn’t think that Tolkien would have kept the name for him.

But u know what
Christopher Tolkien, IDC. He was a lord of Gondolin and his name is Valid.

In universe there are two possible explanations for where he got his
name. Either:

• Rog was his birth name; his parents named him Rog. 
• Rog was a name that was given to him/that he chose
  himself, at some point in his life

Both are interesting:

Rog was his birth-name

Why would a Noldorin couple name their child Demon, literally? Can you imagine this dude’s parents taking one
look at their baby and going like, “yup. His name will be Demon. Perfect”. It’s
especially striking, taking in consideration how fucking obsessed the Noldor
were with naming things, and linguistics in general.

Noldorin elves were given two names by their parents; a father-name and
a mother-name. The father-name would usually be similar to/derived from the
father’s own name (like how Fëanor named all his seven sons various different
variations of Finwë), and the mother-name was sometimes given a little later
and usually had some prophetic insight. Tolkien says in the Shibboleth of
Fëanor (in the note on mother-names) that:

“For  the
mothers  of  the
Eldar  were gifted  with deep
insight into their
children’s  characters  and
abilities,  and  many had
also the gift of prophetic foresight”

So, if Rog was his parent-given name, 1) either his dad was named
something similar (which begs the question; why?) or 2) his mom named him Rog
because she saw something in his character or future that… was fitting of the
name Demon? Which also begs the question; WHY? I mean we know he wasn’t evil, so
it couldn’t have been that, and given how much the Noldor in particular fucking
despised Morgoth and all of his minions, including Balrogs, why would they
name their kid demon??

Obviously, Rog was, as I have mentioned, Very Different. It doesn’t
matter how you twist and turn it, the idea of two Noldorin elves naming their
child Rog is a peculiar thought. However I personally prefer the second option:

Rog was his chosen
name

Going back to Tolkien’s note on mother-names in the Shibboleth of
Fëanor, it says that:

“In  addition
any  of  the
Eldar  might  acquire
an  epessë (‘after name’),  not
necessarily  given  by
their  own  kin,
a   nickname   mostly
given  as  a
title  of  admiration  
or  honour.   Later
some among  the   exiles
gave   themselves  names,  
as  disguises   or  in
reference  to  their
own  deeds  and
personal  history:   such
names were  called  kilmessi
‘self-names’   (literally  names  
of  personal choice).(16)”  

So, if Rog wasn’t a name given to him by his parents, he either picked
it himself or he was given the name by others. Both options are hella
interesting.

If he chose the name himself, it was either a disguise or ” or
in reference  to  their
own  deeds  and
personal  history:”. Firstly,
I don’t see why he would have had a need for a disguise in Gondolin, so that
leaves us with the second option. But what kind of fucking deeds or personal
history would he, a Noldorin, elfy, elf lord of Gondolin, have had that was
worthy of the name Demon?

Or if it was given by others, it was most likely ”as  a  title
of  admiration   or
honour”. Now it does that it wasn’t necessarily given by their own
kin, but either way, in what fucking world, especially among demon-despising
Noldor, would the name Demon be  “a  title
of  admiration   or
honour”? Again, this clearly indicates that Rog was a Very Different
elf.

We won’t ever get the true answer to this, unfortunately, but I have my
own theories. Now if we go back to the first paragraph I quoted from the Book
of Lost Tales, which is pretty much the only description we have of him, we’re
told several things about Rog:

“Now the last
of the battalions was
furnished by the folk of the Hammer of Wrath, and of these came many of the
best smiths and craftsmen, and all that kindred reverenced Aulë the Smith more than all other Ainur. They fought with great maces like
hammers, and their shields were heavy, for their arms were very strong. In
older days they had been much recruited by Noldoli who escaped from the mines
of Melko, and the hatred of this house for the works of that evil one and the
Balrogs his demons was exceeding great. Now their leader was Rog, strongest of
the Gnomes, scarce second in valour to that Galdor of the Tree. The sign of
this people was the Stricken Anvil, and a hammer that smiteth sparks about it
was set on their shields, and red gold and black iron was their delight. Very
numerous was that battalion, nor had any amongst them a faint heart, and they
won the greatest glory of all those fair houses in that struggle against doom;
yet were they ill-fated, and none ever fared away from that field, but fell
about Rog and vanished from the Earth; and with them much craftsmanship and
skill has been lost for ever.”

We’re told that he:

• Was the lord of the House of the Hammer of Wrath
• Was the strongest of all the Noldor
• You know that means this guy was fucking ripped right?
• Scarce second in
  valour to that of Galdor of the Tree. Not only strong as hell, but also
  brave as shit
• Was an absolute fucking badass
• Died during the Fall of Gondolin

And we are told about his house, the House of the Hammer of Wrath that:

• This house had the best smiths and craftsmen and much skill and craftsmanship was lost with
  them
• Were big fans of Aulë
• Were absolutely fucking SHREDDED; “They fought with great maces like hammers,
  and their shields were heavy, for their
  arms were very strong”
• None of that slender elf shit. These dudes were buff
  and their lord was Lord Buff of all the Noldor
• Were mostly made of up elves who had escaped captivity
  in Angband (<- this is VERY important)
• Absolutely
  fucking despised Morgoth and his Balrogs

First, look at the last point: “the hatred of this house for the works of that evil one and
the Balrogs his demons was exceeding great”

So these people hated Morgoth and his balrogs even more than the average
Noldo (which says a lot).

So WHHYYYYYYYYYYYYY, would their Lord be named, fucking Rog? u see why I find this buff elf so
interesting?

And right before that it says; ” In older days they [House of the Hammer of Wrath] had
been much recruited by Noldoli who escaped from the mines of Melko”

This is very very interesting, because we have been told in the Silmarillion
that elves who escaped captivity were often not welcomed back by their people, and were often ostracized and
distrusted because people feared that they might still be under Morgoth’s
influence:

“Many of
the Noldor and the Sindar they took captive and led to Angband, and made them
thralls, forcing them to use their skill and their knowledge in the service of
Morgoth. And Morgoth sent out his spies, and they were clad in false forms and
deceit was in their speech; they made lying promises of reward, and with
cunning words sought to arouse fear and jealousy among the peoples, accusing
their kings and chieftains of greed, and of treachery one to another. And because of the curse of the
Kinslaying at Alqualondë these lies were often believed; and indeed as the
time darkened they had a measure of truth, for the hearts and minds of the
Elves of Beleriand became clouded with despair and fear. But ever the Noldor feared most the treachery of those of their own
kin, who had been thralls in Angband; for Morgoth used some of these for his
evil purposes, and feigning to give them liberty sent them abroad, but their
wills were chained to his, and they strayed only to come back to him again.
Therefore if any of his captives escaped in truth, and returned to their own
people, they had little welcome, and wandered alone outlawed and desperate.”

So we know that the Noldor fucking hate Morgoth and his demons, and rarely
accepted escaped thralls back into society.

And yet we’re told that the House of the Hammer of Wrath was made up
mostly of elves who had escaped captivity, and that the lord of this house was
named, again, fucking Demon.

I don’t know shit about how Houses work but I assume that Rog, as the
lord, is the one who welcomed/recruited people into his house. So why would a
Noldo elf not only trust, but also welcome these escaped thralls into his house,
in a society that rejected them? This all points to one conclusion: Rog was a
Very Different elf.

I have my own headcanon about Rog, which is basically; he was a former thrall
himself. Now, this headcanon is already popular here on tumblr (and by popular,
I mean popular among the few people in the silm fandom who actually acknowledge
his existence, which is, approximately, 8 people and a shoelace). But before I
get into this headcanon, let’s just ignore this idea for a moment and look at
him as an “average” elf.

Even if we go by the notion that he was not a former thrall, I
personally think it says a lot about his character that he would not only
welcome former thralls, but also recruit them into his house and give them a
home and sense of belonging after the rest of their society gave them ”little welcome”. Hell, it’s especially outstanding to me that he
would do this if he was not a former thrall himself. In the passage I quoted
earlier it says that:

“And because of the curse of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë these lies were often
believed;(..)“

In that curse, which is the Doom of the Noldor, it says that:

”To evil end shall all
things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of
treason, shall this come to pass. ”

The Noldor were already wary of treason among themselves because the
doom had told them that it would come to pass. This also meant that the Noldor
were especially distrustful of escaped thralls because of that ”fear of treason”.

And yet here comes Rog, this fucking delightful demon ass elf and says,
no, you know what, fuck that, I don’t believe that. I love this because:

On one hand it could be an outright rejection of the Doom; the rest of
the Noldor distrusted the thralls for reasons, but also as a result of the
Doom, yet he refused to do so. He said, “I heard what you said and I say fuck
that. I don’t believe our people will turn against each other so easily, I
don’t believe that all of us are doomed”.

On the other hand it could be that Rog believed the Doom to be
completely true and decided to heed the warnings in it. The warning being:

”To evil
end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason,
shall this come to pass. ”

To evil end shall all things turn, not only because of actual betrayal,
but also because of the fear of
betrayal. The Doom literally warns the Noldor that their paranoia will be a
part of what leads to their evil end.
Rog understood this and refused to be a part of it.

So not only was he strong as hell and brave as shit, he was also smart
as fuck.

Rog looked at these escaped thralls, looked at how they were treated and
said fuck that, I won’t stand for this behavior. We’re better than this, our
people are better than this. If the rest of society won’t help you, I will. Y’all
can abandon these people but I fucking won’t. This elf gave escaped thralls a
second chance, a fresh start. He was trusting and accepting when the rest of
their people was not. He made them his family when the rest of their people
disowned them. It’s no wonder every one of them died defending him to the last.

Do you think that the rest of his people ostracized him because of this?
Because of him bringing these newly freed people back into their society?
Because they believed he was endangering them all? Why is he bringing these cursed people here? Who does he think he is?
Doesn’t he know that they’re Morgoth’s spies? Why would he trust those demons?
Maybe he’s one of them. Maybe he’s one himself. Demon.

Maybe they named him that, or maybe he gave himself that name in
defiance of their sneers and whispers. If they would name him Rog, then Rog he
would be.

Or maybe they wouldn’t say such about him, but sneer at his people
behind his back. Fraudulent smiles and kind words in the courts and as soon as
he’s gone they glare at the people of his house, throwing disgusted glances and
rude comments. He may have accepted you,
but we have not. You are still demons, they say.

He knows this, though.
He knows this and he says, if you
consider my people spies, then consider me one as well. If you call my people
demons, then call me such as well. My name will be Rog. And you will address me as such.

——-

Or maybe he was a former thrall himself.

Maybe he was captured and enslaved and tortured in Angband for Eru knows
how long, waiting for the right day, the perfect time for him to escape. Rog
had never been one to give up, never been one to let people decide his fate for
him. That’s what he told himself when the whip cracked across his back, when
the orcs would burn him with hot iron (so different from the cutting cold of
the Helcaraxë. How ironic to have gone from that icy hell wishing for some
warmth, to end up in this fiery one, begging for some cool air). It became a mantra.

And the right day, the perfect time finally came and he fought and
slaughtered his way of out of that prison, leaving nothing but blood and fear
in his path. He made his way out of those accursed lands, by bloody feet,
crawling when necessary, all the time comforted by and clinging to the thought
of home.

Only to finally come home and be rejected and cast out.

So are we really surprised that he took in and welcomed former thralls
into his house? He was one of them. He knew exactly how it felt to be in captivity
for Eru knows how long, hoping, dreaming, longing
to go back home to their people, their family,

And then to finally escape and come back, only to be cast out and
rejected by that very home. He knew how that felt, he was all too familiar with
that hurt, that betrayal. So if home
wouldn’t take them back, he would. Because he was one of them. And If home
rejected them, they would make their own.

Maybe he chose his name as a disguise during his captivity; he wore the
name like a shield and in defiance of the sneering orcs and their mocking
comments about him; ”you know how orcs
are made don’t you, elf? It won’t be long before you become one of us. You’ll
be a demon soon enough” followed by roaring laughter and whiplashes. But
he’d be damned if he let orcs or Morgoth, or anyone else decide his fate. So if
demon he was to be, he would be so of his
own accord, and no one elses. If he was to be a demon, then he would be Rog.

Or maybe he chose the name after his captivity, when he came back among
his people and was met with distrustful glares and sneers. Demon, they’d whisper, Spy of
Morgoth. Look at his face, look at
his body. He no longer has the grace of our people. Only scars. He’d be
lying if he said it didn’t hurt like hell to be treated like this by his own people,
but he had never been one to give up and he’d be damned if he let orcs or
Morgoth, or anyone else decide his
fate.  So if demon he was to be, he would
be so of his own accord, and no one else’s.
If he was to be a demon, then he would be Rog.

And he was. By Eru, he was, truly, Rog,
they all realized when they first saw him fight. Now the Noldor had no love or
care for orcs, but watching this elf, this Demon
fight was truly something else. The pure hate that radiated of him, the
sheer brutality in which he would slaughter any orc in his way, the way he
would mutilate his enemies and make
them suffer was something his people
had never seen before. Demon indeed, they
thought. Rog. A name well-earned.

Certainly, the orcs had been right when they said, he’d be a demon. They
were absolutely right, when they told that handsome young elf that he would
become a nightmare. They just didn’t realize he’d be their nightmare.