Thus when Fingolfin, High King of the Noldorin Elves, rode alone to Angband to challenge Morgoth to combat, he cried at the gate: 'Come forth, thou coward king, to fight with thine own hand! Den-dweller, wielder of thralls, liar and lurker, foe of Gods and Elves, come! For I would see thy craven face.' Then (it is told) 'Morgoth came
Great call. I think that might be the most gripping duel in the legendarium, in that it's written in a way that isn't remote and mythic, and Sam is a very relatable kind of hero. Plus who hasn't had a terrifying confrontation with a gigantic spider at some point?
Excellent listing good Sir! Perhaps a few less historic but certainly noteworthy with significant outcome might include; - Sam's duel with Shelob - Huan's duel with Carcaroth, and - Earendil with Ancalagon ( though the Eagles played a role)... :)
Ok, before watching, my guesses: Tulkas VS Melkor Fingolfin VS Morgoth Finrod Felagund VS Sauron Huan VS Carcharoth Túrin VS Glaurung (a bit of a stretch) Eärendil VS Ancalagon Eärnur VS Witch King Bard the Bowman VS Smaug (stretch) Thorin VS Bolg (not Azog, I'm looking at you, Jackson!) Nazgûl VS Farmer Maggot Gandalf VS Balrog Éowyn VS Witch King J.R.R. Tolkien VS All the different concepts about Middle Earth that he couldn't pick from, and constantly changed before he wrote tLotR, and even after too.
Farmer Maggot could probably have cast down the Black Gates and the Tower of Barad-Dûr by himself, but he was tending to his fields in his retirement and everyone was too scared to bother him.
What's interesting is who didn't have a major league duel. Aragorn. The closes he came was slaying the Corsair Captain when, as Thorongil, he led a fleet of Gondor on a surprise attack on Umbar that destroyed much of their fleet. It's very much like Tolkien.
that is interesting, especially when you consider he is amongst the greatest warriors of the third age, and yet only ever killed orcs and minor men of darkness in battle
@@concept5631 glorfindel faces them off with Aragorn and the hobbits at bruinen ford. Aragorn faces them at weathertop (as does Gandalf a few nights earlier).
@@DarthGandalfYT It definitely would have been an interesting duel. I wonder how many Numenorean gifts the Witch King retained. If he was one of the great lords of Numenor, maybe even from the line of Elros, and he was born nearly 3000 years before Earnur, he probably would have had a good starting point. Then again, I also wonder how much effort the Witch King actually put into martial prowess. We know Earnur loved the art of combat, and if the Witch King decided to focus on other skills, then I agree with you that Earnur would have won.
Yes, we fought. It was a very difficult battle I had a chance to win but the Witch King was not honorable nor brave, I never had to go Minas Ithil to fight... It was great to know that Eowyn and Merry were able to kill him.
So... what about the showdown between Lúthien and Morgoth in the climax of the Quest of the Silmaril? This wasn't a martial duel, more of a magical one between Lúthien's charm and Morgoth's willpower, but it was possibly the most influential of all of the duels that you mention here! 😉
The Sauron defeated by Gil-galad and Elendil was greatly weakened after the fall of Númenor: "Sauron was, of course, 'confounded' by the disaster, and diminished (having expended enormous energy in the corruption of Númenor). He needed time for his own bodily rehabilitation, and for gaining control over his former subjects. He was attacked by Gil-galad and Elendil before his new domination was fully established." Letter 211
@@istari0 I think it was a little bit of both. Sauron was weakened, Last Alliance knew that and with an oppourtinity they attacked him. Sauron knew Exiles would get stronger if he left them to their own business so he had to kill them fastly and effectively. If it wasnt for the destruction of Numenor, I dont think neither side would start a war.
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 It was Sauron who launched the invasion of Gondor, intending to defeat it before it could establish itself. But he and the forces of Mordor were weak themselves and the invasion was blunted. Once the armies of Gil-Galad and Elendil arrived, they swiftly defeated the forces of Mordor and the seven year siege began.
@@istari0 We already know that. What I am saying is, Exiles and Sauron were both weaker in their current situation. If Sauron had waited; his enemies would grow stronger, if Gil Galad had waited Sauron would recover. Both factions needed to take the first action to defeat their enemies
@@alecbrewton1750 the only information about this duel is in the Unfinished Tales, where it is said:"Celebrimbor, desperate, himself withstood Sauron on the steps of the great door of the Mírdain; but he was grapled and taken captive, and the House was ransacked."
Glorfindel's story is pretty mental, even in the context of Tolkien's world. How favoured by God do you have to be to get reincarnated with more power than a first age eleven leader (who are jacked af in the story?) I often wonder how powerful he actually was after the respawn. Like, was he bordering on maiar level or not a chance? I guess we'll never know.
It must be specified Luthien was the one who made Huan victorious. Huan fled before Sauron in his first sight and he was able to fight with him only after Luthien casted a spell of “drowsiness” upon Sauron. Luthien is always so underrated. I think Gandalf vs Balrog is by far the coolest duel of Middle Earth. I mean they fought for 10 days despite Gandalf being sent to ME in a mortal body. Their fight started with fire than shifted to vapour and water and lastly it ended with ice and lightning.
Luthien's cloak only made Sauron drowsy for a short moment, as far as I understand it She saved her own life, but there's nothing in the text saying she affected the duel between Huan and Sauron - if she didn't use her cloak Sauron would kill her, and then Huan would defeat Sauron anyway. If anyone is underrated from that story it's probably Beren. The greatest Man to ever live, and people make fun of him for not being the equal of a legendary half-maia elf and a divine hound. Luthien saved Beren and did the overall more notable deeds, but Beren saved her multiple times as well despite being of a less powerful species.
@@SNWWRNNG Beren is of course underrated and one of the most loyal characters in Silmarillion but you are wrong. Huan literally FLED before Sauron when he first saw him. Saurons power was too much for him to overcome and why text should specify that spell affected Sauron in his fight with Huan? We see Luthiens spells can work for hours straight such as when she stunned Carcaroth before enterring to Angband. If it wasnt for Luthiens spell, Huan wouldnt even attack Sauron at the first place. Sauron would also be unable to kill him ( Huan had immunity against beast strength and devilry+ prophecy ) but at the end of the day Huan couldnt sucseed in freeing Beren if it wasnt for the spell of Luthien which was described in the Lay of Leithian as “mightier than the spells of Melian”
@@SNWWRNNG Lets not forget that Sauron didn't try to kill Luthien at all, but wanted to deliver her to Morgoth. If he really wanted to kill her, he would have probably succeeded, but his arrogant restraint gave Huan the chance to gain the upper hand.
Here's a question, how did the Corsair's gain enough wood to build their massive navies, they lived in a desert and while I have no doubt there was some vegetation along the rivers, coasts and oasis's, was there truly enough wood to supply the entire region with fire, huts, houses, chairs and other wooden materials plus a massive war navy with hundreds of ships with some of them being of gigantic proportions? I guess during the war of the ring Sauron could have provided the wood from other parts of his empire but the Corsairs always seemed to have a large and powerful navy even before they served Sauron, so where did they get the wood to first maintain their stolen fleet (Castimir sons) then once it was destroyed build new ships.
It was on the coastline so it may not have been a desert there. With the nearbye river, they could have supplemented the rain by using irrigation to help grow enough wood.
Fingolfin vs Morgoth and Gothmog vs Ecthelion were by far the 2 most hype duels I remember in the Silmarillion. Feanor vs Balrogs and Hurin vs Army were awesome as well but they are not duels.
How does one actually master the One Ring? You did a video a while back on 'What if you found the One Ring?', and of course, bad things would happen. Still, how could someone master the Ring?
Somethng that has been on my mind lately may sound a bit ridiculous but since the ainur could not hurt the children of iluvatar, how was Gandalf able to kill Easterlings, how was Sauron able to kill elves and men or how was even Melkor able to kill Fingolfin or Finwe, any thoughts on this
Fingolfin challenging Morgoth was an act of selfish stupidity. He knew he couldn't end Morgoth, the result didn't matter because Morgoth never led his armies from the front anyway and he deprived his own kingdom of its king when it needed him most. I'm all for acts of valor, I'm not for senseless, useless suicides.
I'd suggest you're missing the point of his rationale. Yes, he knew there was probably only one outcome however, his desire was to prove to his and all peoples, that Morgoth was NOT some indestructible entity that could not be harmed. In this he was resoundingly successful. His actions gave more hope for the future than any long-winded speech could ever accomplish.
@@jeffagain7516 Fat load of good that did. Morgoth's hold over his armies didn't become any weaker, he never led them from the front in the first place and he deprived his own people of a strong ruler which they really could have needed for the upcoming Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
Smeagol vs. fisssshes. Smeagol vs. rabbit. Smeagol vs. nassty elf food. Smeagol vs. fiery chasm...but Maedhros did that one first. You can't go into Gandalf's duel with the Balrog without even mentioning him getting schooled by the Witch King at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and losing handily to Saruman in the Battle of Concussion Sticks. Consider the fact that what we know about his one win is almost entirely what Gandalf himself said about it. Even if we accept the word of a shameless self-promoter, look at his overall record. Duelist Evaluation: Overrated. More seriously, I'm quite fond of Tuor vs. Maeglin. And its epic sequels, Maeglin vs. Gravity and Maeglin vs. Catastrophic Deceleration I, II, and III.
"him (Gandalf) getting schooled by the Witch King at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields" If I understand the meaning of 'getting schooled' correctly, I must ask: when did he get beaten by the Witch king? Sure, the latter boasted a lot but I don't recall reading much action at the gates of Minas Tirith
Movie scenes that contradict the books don't count. The Witch King was not in the same league as Gandalf the White. Heck, even when supported by his fellow Ringwraiths, the Nazgûl couldn't defeat Gandalf the Grey at Weathertop.
Sam v Shelob deserves a mention. One of the biggest dark horse victories.
Thus when Fingolfin, High King of
the Noldorin Elves, rode alone to Angband to challenge Morgoth to combat, he cried at
the gate: 'Come forth, thou coward king, to fight with thine own hand! Den-dweller,
wielder of thralls, liar and lurker, foe of Gods and Elves, come! For I would see thy
craven face.' Then (it is told) 'Morgoth came
Great video! That being said, however, what about Sam vs. Shelob?
Great call. I think that might be the most gripping duel in the legendarium, in that it's written in a way that isn't remote and mythic, and Sam is a very relatable kind of hero. Plus who hasn't had a terrifying confrontation with a gigantic spider at some point?
Excellent listing good Sir!
Perhaps a few less historic but certainly noteworthy with significant outcome might include;
- Sam's duel with Shelob
- Huan's duel with Carcaroth, and
- Earendil with Ancalagon ( though the Eagles played a role)... :)
Morgoth vs fingolfin also have the best art pieces of all time
Ok, before watching, my guesses:
Tulkas VS Melkor
Fingolfin VS Morgoth
Finrod Felagund VS Sauron
Huan VS Carcharoth
Túrin VS Glaurung (a bit of a stretch)
Eärendil VS Ancalagon
Eärnur VS Witch King
Bard the Bowman VS Smaug (stretch)
Thorin VS Bolg (not Azog, I'm looking at you, Jackson!)
Nazgûl VS Farmer Maggot
Gandalf VS Balrog
Éowyn VS Witch King
J.R.R. Tolkien VS All the different concepts about Middle Earth that he couldn't pick from, and constantly changed before he wrote tLotR, and even after too.
Éowyn was the most epic of them all. Female power!!!
Farmer Maggot could probably have cast down the Black Gates and the Tower of Barad-Dûr by himself, but he was tending to his fields in his retirement and everyone was too scared to bother him.
I love all of the duels that you talked about
Isn't it obvious? The duel between Sauron & Finrod was a Rap Battle 😉
I hope were will be a FNF mode for this 😂😂
Sauron had them bars straight from the unseen
Sauron getting his shit absolutely wrecked by the Goodest Boy in Arda will never not amuse me.
What's interesting is who didn't have a major league duel. Aragorn. The closes he came was slaying the Corsair Captain when, as Thorongil, he led a fleet of Gondor on a surprise attack on Umbar that destroyed much of their fleet. It's very much like Tolkien.
that is interesting, especially when you consider he is amongst the greatest warriors of the third age, and yet only ever killed orcs and minor men of darkness in battle
He stands against the Ringwraith's at weathertop though and drives them off. Only a mighty hero could do so.
Wasn't that Glorfindel or am I misremembering? @@anaussie213
@@concept5631 glorfindel faces them off with Aragorn and the hobbits at bruinen ford. Aragorn faces them at weathertop (as does Gandalf a few nights earlier).
I think it would be an epic duel between Eärnur and the Witch-King, if that ever happened
I think there's a good chance Earnur would've won, which is why I believe the duel never happened. It was almost certainly a trap.
@@DarthGandalfYT It definitely would have been an interesting duel. I wonder how many Numenorean gifts the Witch King retained. If he was one of the great lords of Numenor, maybe even from the line of Elros, and he was born nearly 3000 years before Earnur, he probably would have had a good starting point. Then again, I also wonder how much effort the Witch King actually put into martial prowess. We know Earnur loved the art of combat, and if the Witch King decided to focus on other skills, then I agree with you that Earnur would have won.
Yes, we fought. It was a very difficult battle I had a chance to win but the Witch King was not honorable nor brave, I never had to go Minas Ithil to fight...
It was great to know that Eowyn and Merry were able to kill him.
Earnrur vs the Witch King could have been epic but we'll never know. Also the Fellowship vs the troll.
Was Fingolfin vs. Morgoth the inspiration for Dark Souls?
Thank you
👍👍 loved it
So... what about the showdown between Lúthien and Morgoth in the climax of the Quest of the Silmaril? This wasn't a martial duel, more of a magical one between Lúthien's charm and Morgoth's willpower, but it was possibly the most influential of all of the duels that you mention here! 😉
Great video!
The Sauron defeated by Gil-galad and Elendil was greatly weakened after the fall of Númenor:
"Sauron was, of course, 'confounded' by the disaster, and diminished (having expended enormous energy in the corruption of Númenor). He needed time for his own bodily rehabilitation, and for gaining control over his former subjects. He was attacked by Gil-galad and Elendil before his new domination was fully established." Letter 211
Thx for the citation 👌🏼
Of course, he was also the one who started that war.
@@istari0 I think it was a little bit of both. Sauron was weakened, Last Alliance knew that and with an oppourtinity they attacked him. Sauron knew Exiles would get stronger if he left them to their own business so he had to kill them fastly and effectively. If it wasnt for the destruction of Numenor, I dont think neither side would start a war.
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 It was Sauron who launched the invasion of Gondor, intending to defeat it before it could establish itself. But he and the forces of Mordor were weak themselves and the invasion was blunted. Once the armies of Gil-Galad and Elendil arrived, they swiftly defeated the forces of Mordor and the seven year siege began.
@@istari0 We already know that. What I am saying is, Exiles and Sauron were both weaker in their current situation. If Sauron had waited; his enemies would grow stronger, if Gil Galad had waited Sauron would recover. Both factions needed to take the first action to defeat their enemies
There was also the duel between Celebrimbor and Sauron during the Fall of Eregion
I didn’t think celebrimbor ever fought Sauron I thought he was captured by orcs
@@alecbrewton1750 the only information about this duel is in the Unfinished Tales, where it is said:"Celebrimbor, desperate, himself withstood Sauron on the steps of the great door of the Mírdain; but he was grapled and taken captive, and the House was ransacked."
Please do some First age What ifs !
THE OUTTRO DAMMIT I LAUGHED SO HARD I STARTED COUGHING
Fingolfgin and Morgoth forsure thanks for the video :).
Glorfindel's story is pretty mental, even in the context of Tolkien's world. How favoured by God do you have to be to get reincarnated with more power than a first age eleven leader (who are jacked af in the story?) I often wonder how powerful he actually was after the respawn. Like, was he bordering on maiar level or not a chance? I guess we'll never know.
Earendil vs Ancalagon is my favorite other than the ones you mentioned
Does Hurin's last stand at Nirnaeth Arnoiediad count? "Aure Entuluva!"
Not sure if 1 versus 10,000+ counts as a duel, but I've thought about doing a video on last stands, and that would definitely be #1.
Maybe a video idea; why did Morgoth's taint affect elves and men differently?
*runs off to register "Morgoth's Taint" as a rock band name*
What about Denethor vs tomatoes?
What about Tulkas VS Melkor?
Or Melkor VS Ungoliant although they both survived?
Or poor Sam VS Shelob?
It must be specified Luthien was the one who made Huan victorious. Huan fled before Sauron in his first sight and he was able to fight with him only after Luthien casted a spell of “drowsiness” upon Sauron. Luthien is always so underrated.
I think Gandalf vs Balrog is by far the coolest duel of Middle Earth. I mean they fought for 10 days despite Gandalf being sent to ME in a mortal body. Their fight started with fire than shifted to vapour and water and lastly it ended with ice and lightning.
I don’t think luthien is underrated ,she may be overrated
@@talesoftheeldar8688 She is superior to every single elf. Everyone says Fingolfin and Feanor has the better of her. She is underrated
Luthien's cloak only made Sauron drowsy for a short moment, as far as I understand it She saved her own life, but there's nothing in the text saying she affected the duel between Huan and Sauron - if she didn't use her cloak Sauron would kill her, and then Huan would defeat Sauron anyway.
If anyone is underrated from that story it's probably Beren. The greatest Man to ever live, and people make fun of him for not being the equal of a legendary half-maia elf and a divine hound. Luthien saved Beren and did the overall more notable deeds, but Beren saved her multiple times as well despite being of a less powerful species.
@@SNWWRNNG Beren is of course underrated and one of the most loyal characters in Silmarillion but you are wrong. Huan literally FLED before Sauron when he first saw him. Saurons power was too much for him to overcome and why text should specify that spell affected Sauron in his fight with Huan? We see Luthiens spells can work for hours straight such as when she stunned Carcaroth before enterring to Angband. If it wasnt for Luthiens spell, Huan wouldnt even attack Sauron at the first place. Sauron would also be unable to kill him ( Huan had immunity against beast strength and devilry+ prophecy ) but at the end of the day Huan couldnt sucseed in freeing Beren if it wasnt for the spell of Luthien which was described in the Lay of Leithian as “mightier than the spells of Melian”
@@SNWWRNNG Lets not forget that Sauron didn't try to kill Luthien at all, but wanted to deliver her to Morgoth. If he really wanted to kill her, he would have probably succeeded, but his arrogant restraint gave Huan the chance to gain the upper hand.
“If you want to duel someone, pick a child.”
Breaking News: child violence up 700% after Lord of the Rings fans follow advice from TH-camr
Here's a question, how did the Corsair's gain enough wood to build their massive navies, they lived in a desert and while I have no doubt there was some vegetation along the rivers, coasts and oasis's, was there truly enough wood to supply the entire region with fire, huts, houses, chairs and other wooden materials plus a massive war navy with hundreds of ships with some of them being of gigantic proportions? I guess during the war of the ring Sauron could have provided the wood from other parts of his empire but the Corsairs always seemed to have a large and powerful navy even before they served Sauron, so where did they get the wood to first maintain their stolen fleet (Castimir sons) then once it was destroyed build new ships.
3D printers. Or China.
Idk but it's mentioned that there are dense forests in Far Harad
It was on the coastline so it may not have been a desert there. With the nearbye river, they could have supplemented the rain by using irrigation to help grow enough wood.
The whole place isn’t desert, there are some trees.
Sequel video: middle earth's greatest dudes? Fins, noggin, duuuuuude🐢
Should do top ten battles that changed me history? 😊
Where is Beren vs the lord of nogrod and Fram vs scatha ?
Eru v. Númenor
Túrin v. Saeros
Isildur v. Ork archers
Helm Hammerhand v. Freca
Frodo v. Barrow-Wight
Fram v. Scatha
Azaghâl v. Glaurung
That last one.
Also Luthien dueling Mandos' emotions.
Fingolfin vs Morgoth and Gothmog vs Ecthelion were by far the 2 most hype duels I remember in the Silmarillion. Feanor vs Balrogs and Hurin vs Army were awesome as well but they are not duels.
It's obvious it's not a good idea to fight a Balrog.
The lack of Dwarven representation in this list is noted.
I suppose I could've had Glaurung vs Azaghal. I can't think of any other duels.
@@DarthGandalfYTDain vs Azog
Grond!! Grond!! Grond!!
How does one actually master the One Ring? You did a video a while back on 'What if you found the One Ring?', and of course, bad things would happen. Still, how could someone master the Ring?
Eomer vs Ugluk☝️
where my jools at?
Somethng that has been on my mind lately may sound a bit ridiculous but since the ainur could not hurt the children of iluvatar, how was Gandalf able to kill Easterlings, how was Sauron able to kill elves and men or how was even Melkor able to kill Fingolfin or Finwe, any thoughts on this
They should Not, but they could If they wanted to
"If you want to duel someone, pick a child". That was what Voldemort did.
Fingolfin challenging Morgoth was an act of selfish stupidity. He knew he couldn't end Morgoth, the result didn't matter because Morgoth never led his armies from the front anyway and he deprived his own kingdom of its king when it needed him most. I'm all for acts of valor, I'm not for senseless, useless suicides.
I'd suggest you're missing the point of his rationale.
Yes, he knew there was probably only one outcome however, his desire was to prove to his and all peoples, that Morgoth was NOT some indestructible entity that could not be harmed.
In this he was resoundingly successful. His actions gave more hope for the future than any long-winded speech could ever accomplish.
@@jeffagain7516 Fat load of good that did. Morgoth's hold over his armies didn't become any weaker, he never led them from the front in the first place and he deprived his own people of a strong ruler which they really could have needed for the upcoming Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
Turin vs glaurung
I wonder who would win…sauron’s kid vs aragorn’s kid
Smeagol vs. fisssshes. Smeagol vs. rabbit. Smeagol vs. nassty elf food. Smeagol vs. fiery chasm...but Maedhros did that one first.
You can't go into Gandalf's duel with the Balrog without even mentioning him getting schooled by the Witch King at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and losing handily to Saruman in the Battle of Concussion Sticks. Consider the fact that what we know about his one win is almost entirely what Gandalf himself said about it. Even if we accept the word of a shameless self-promoter, look at his overall record. Duelist Evaluation: Overrated.
More seriously, I'm quite fond of Tuor vs. Maeglin. And its epic sequels, Maeglin vs. Gravity and Maeglin vs. Catastrophic Deceleration I, II, and III.
"him (Gandalf) getting schooled by the Witch King at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
If I understand the meaning of 'getting schooled' correctly, I must ask: when did he get beaten by the Witch king? Sure, the latter boasted a lot but I don't recall reading much action at the gates of Minas Tirith
I think you're getting events from the books mixed up with events from that trashy film adaptation.
@@TheMarcHicks I thought PJ was adapting the trippy old rotoscope movie. I had _no idea_ Bakshi wrote books first. Are they good reading? :P
Movie scenes that contradict the books don't count. The Witch King was not in the same league as Gandalf the White. Heck, even when supported by his fellow Ringwraiths, the Nazgûl couldn't defeat Gandalf the Grey at Weathertop.
@@istari0 _"...the Nazgûl couldn't defeat Gandalf the Grey at Weathertop."_ Source: Gandalf the Grey.