Dragon (Middle-earth)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dragons of Middle-earth |
|---|
| Ancalagon |
| Glaurung |
| Scatha |
| Smaug |
J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.
The dragons were created by Morgoth during the First Age, when Glaurung first appeared. It is probable Morgoth created them by corrupting some unknown stock of animals through his dark arts. Dragons were capable of breeding on their own, and in later ages the Withered Heath was purportedly their spawning ground.
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[edit] Taxonomy
Tolkien designed his own taxonomic system for dragons, based on two factors:
[edit] Means of locomotion
- Some dragons (Glaurung) walked on four legs, like Komodo dragons or other lizards.
- Other dragons (Ancalagon, Smaug) could both walk on four legs and fly using wings. Winged-dragons only first appeared during the War of Wrath, the battle that ended the First Age, so all dragons introduced before the end of the First Age could not fly (such as Glaurung), although breeds of wingless dragons did survive into later ages.
[edit] Fire breathing
- The Urulóki (singular Urulokë, Fire-drakes) could breathe fire. It is not entirely clear whether the term "Urulóki" referred only to the first dragons such as Glaurung that could breathe fire but were wingless, or to any dragon that could breathe fire, and thus include Smaug.
- In Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien mentioned a "Cold-drake". It is commonly assumed, though not stated, that this term indicated a dragon which could not breathe fire, rather than one who "breathed" cold like the White Dragons of Dungeons & Dragons.
[edit] Other characteristics
All of Tolkien's dragons also shared a love of treasure (especially gold), subtle intelligence, immense cunning, great physical strength, and a hypnotic power called "dragon-spell". They are extremely powerful and dangerous, though they mature very slowly. Because of this, Melkor's first attempts to use them against his enemies failed, as they had not yet become powerful enough to become extremely useful in battle.
Dragon-fire (even that of Ancalagon the Black) is stated as not being hot enough to melt the One Ring however four of the Dwarven Rings were consumed by Dragon-fire.
[edit] Named dragons
- Glaurung — Father of Dragons, slain by Túrin Turambar. First of the Urulóki, the Fire-drakes of Angband. He had four legs and could breathe fire, but he did not have wings. He was the smallest of the great dragon to appear in Middle-earth.
- Ancalagon the Black — Largest of all dragons to appear in Middle-earth, mightiest of the Winged-dragons, slain by Eärendil in the War of Wrath.
- Scatha — Slain by Fram of the Éothéod. Described as a "long-worm", although this imparticular term seems to be more of an expression rather than a separate taxonomic group. He was the third largest of the named dragons, he was longer than Glaurung.
- Smaug — The last great dragon of Middle-earth, slain by Bard, a descendant of Girion Lord of Dale. A winged Urulokë, second largest to appear in Middle-earth.
Other dragons were present at the Fall of Gondolin. In the late Third Age, the dragons bred in the Northern Waste and Withered Heath north of the Ered Mithrin. Dáin I of Durin's folk was killed by a cold-drake.
[edit] Earlier conceptions
Dragons are already present in The Book of Lost Tales, the earliest Middle-earth-related[1] narratives written by Tolkien starting in 1917, eventually posthumously published in two volumes as part of The History of Middle-earth series, which was edited and includes commentary by his son Christopher.
In the earliest drafts of "The Fall of Gondolin", the first ever to be written, Morgoth (here called Melko) sends mechanical war machines in the form of dragons against the city; some even serve as armoured personnel carriers for Orcs. These machines do not appear in the published Silmarillion, also edited by Christopher Tolkien, where real dragons attack the city. Real dragons were classified by the presence of wings or ability to fly: the winged, flying ones were smaller and could not breathe fire; the unwinged ones were larger and did breathe fire. These distinctions do not apply to Tolkien's later Ancalagon and Smaug, who had wings and could breathe fire.[2].
[edit] Non-canon dragons
Iron Crown Enterprises, when they possessed the licensing rights for games made from Tolkien's books, expanded the selection of named dragons considerably in both Middle-earth Role Playing and The Wizards, a trading card game set in Middle-earth. Also in the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, based on Peter Jackson's film trilogy, there is a character named Drogoth who takes the place of the three canonical dragons.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Actually, at this stage Tolkien had yet to apply the term "middle-earth" to his work; he used terms like "the Great Lands" instead.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1984). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.): The Book of Lost Tales II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-36614-3.
[edit] External links
- Encyclopedia of Arda article on Middle-earth's dragons
- Ardapedia article on Middle-earth's dragons in slovak
| J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium | |
|---|---|
| Published during his lifetime: | The Hobbit • The Lord of the Rings • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil • The Road Goes Ever On |
| Posthumous publications: | The Silmarillion • Unfinished Tales • The History of Middle-earth (12 volumes) • Bilbo's Last Song • The Children of Húrin • The History of The Hobbit |
| Lists of articles: | By category • By name • Writings • Characters • Peoples • Rivers • Realms • Ages |
