Baling Shi xi bei tong yi ji

Balin’s Dolorous Stroke is the blow Balin delivers to King Pellam with a spear after his sword breaks. Framed by the preceding interment of twelve kings and Merlin’s prophecy, the encounter marks a pivotal turn in Balin’s story: a fight between two men becomes the fulfillment of a foretold calamity.

Prophecy and Context

The episode follows the burial of twelve kings, accompanied by Merlin’s prophecy that Balin would give the Dolorous Stroke. That sequence gives the later combat a weight beyond its immediate circumstances: the blow has been announced in advance and linked to the fate of rulers. The chapter heading identifies Merlin’s prophecy as part of the event’s narrative frame, while the account of the interment establishes the scale of the loss that precedes it.

The Fight with King Pellam

Balin fights King Pellam, but his sword breaks during the combat. He takes up a spear and strikes Pellam with it; the narrative names this blow the Dolorous Stroke. The broken sword and substituted spear make the stroke a sudden reversal within the fight, while its prophetic designation turns the weapon’s use into the realization of Merlin’s warning.

Consequences and Significance

The headings place the stroke within a sequence that begins with the burial of twelve kings and continues with Balin’s deliverance by Merlin. They establish the stroke as more than an isolated exchange of arms: it stands at the center of a foretold disaster and helps organize the surrounding episodes into a tragic sequence. The supplied account identifies the participants, the broken sword, the spear, and the prophecy, but does not specify the stroke’s physical effects on Pellam; those details cannot be stated more precisely here.