108-473: Smaug ( / s m aʊ ɡ / ) is a dragon and the main antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien 's 1937 novel The Hobbit , his treasure and the mountain he lives in being the goal of the quest . Powerful and fearsome, he invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 171 years prior to the events described in the novel. A group of thirteen dwarves mounted a quest to take the kingdom back, aided by the wizard Gandalf and
216-686: A trading card game set in Middle-earth. 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 dragon named Drogoth. In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North , players encounter the dragon Úrgost. Honegger writes that Tolkien's conception of dragons "as intelligent beings with a distinct personality" has been adopted by fantasy authors with
324-547: A "birthday present"; when Déagol refused, Sméagol strangled him and took the Ring. It corrupted his body and mind, turning him into the monstrous Gollum . The Ring manipulated Gollum into hiding in a cave under the Misty Mountains near Mirkwood , where Sauron was beginning to resurface. There Gollum remained for nearly 500 years, using the Ring to hunt Orcs. The Ring eventually abandoned Gollum, knowing it would never leave
432-443: A 4th-century pagan mystery cult temple was excavated at Lydney Park , Gloucestershire. The archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler asked Tolkien asked to investigate a Latin inscription there, which mentioned the theft of a ring, with a curse upon its thief: For the god Nodens . Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to
540-473: A Ring of Power. In Katz's view, Tolkien's story "demonstrate[s] various responses to the question posed by Plato: would a just person be corrupted by the possibility of almost unlimited power?" The question is answered in different ways: Gollum is weak, quickly corrupted, and finally destroyed; Boromir begins virtuous but like Plato's Gyges is corrupted "by the temptation of power" from the Ring, even if he wants to use it for good, but redeems himself by defending
648-516: A bond with the wretched, treacherous creature, while Gollum warmed to Frodo's kindness and made an effort to keep his promise. Gollum however gave in to the Ring's temptation, and betrayed Frodo to the spider Shelob . Believing Frodo to be dead, Sam bore the Ring himself for a short time and experienced the temptation it induced. Sam rescued Frodo from Orcs at the Tower of Cirith Ungol . The hobbits, followed by Gollum, reached Mount Doom, where Frodo
756-537: A broken sword reforged. In the Völsunga saga , these items are respectively Andvaranaut and Gram , and they correspond broadly to the One Ring and the sword Narsil (reforged as Andúril). Tolkien dismissed critics' direct comparisons to Wagner, telling his publisher, "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." Some critics hold that Tolkien's work borrows so liberally from Wagner that it exists in
864-572: A detailed ink and watercolour labelled Conversation with Smaug and a rough coloured pencil and ink sketch entitled Death of Smaug . While neither of these appeared in the original printing of The Hobbit due to cost constraints, both have been included in subsequent editions, particularly Conversation with Smaug . Death of Smaug was used for the cover of a UK paperback edition of The Hobbit . A dragon named 'Slag' features in Gene Deitch 's brief 1967 animated film . Francis de Wolff voiced
972-403: A glimpse of his peculiar under-covering on his previous visit, and was itching for a closer view for reasons of his own. The dragon rolled over. 'Look!' he said. 'What do you say to that?' 'Dazzlingly marvellous! Perfect! Flawless! Staggering!' exclaimed Bilbo aloud, but what he thought inside was: 'Old fool! Why, there is a large patch in the hollow of his left breast as bare as
1080-442: A god-hero, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes the "Hobbit-like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien was extremely interested in the hill's folklore on his stay there; it cites Helen Armstrong's comment that the place may have inspired Tolkien's "Celebrimbor and the fallen realms of Moria and Eregion". The scholar of English literature John M. Bowers writes that
1188-481: A hurricane, and my breath death!' —J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Gandalf realized that Smaug could pose a serious threat if used by Sauron . He therefore agreed to assist a party of Dwarves , led by Thrór's grandson Thorin Oakenshield , who set out to recapture the mountain and kill the dragon. Assuming that Smaug would not recognize the scent of a Hobbit , Gandalf recruited Bilbo Baggins to join
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#17327760428011296-549: 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 but mature very slowly. Because of this, Melkor 's first attempts to use them against his enemies failed, as they were not yet powerful enough to be useful in battle. Tolkien named only four dragons in his Middle-earth writings. Another, Chrysophylax Dives , appears in Farmer Giles of Ham ,
1404-459: A malevolent Ring of Power and re-wrote parts of The Hobbit to fit in with the expanded narrative. The Lord of the Rings describes the hobbit Frodo Baggins 's quest to destroy the Ring and save Middle-earth . Scholars have compared the story with the ring-based plot of Richard Wagner 's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen ; Tolkien denied any connection, but at the least, both men drew on
1512-514: A snail out of its shell!' —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Tolkien made Smaug "more villain than monster ", writes the author and biographer Lynnette Porter; he is "devious and clever, vain and greedy, overly confident and proud." The fantasy author Sandra Unerman called Smaug "one of the most individual dragons in fiction". The Tolkien scholar Anne Petty said that "it was love at first sight", describing Smaug as "frightening, but surprisingly knowable". The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes
1620-796: A story separate from the Middle-earth corpus. Chrysophylax is a fire-breathing dragon, described as "cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armoured, but not over bold". Glaurung, first introduced in The Silmarillion , is described as the Father of Dragons in Tolkien's legendarium, and the first of the Urulóki, the Fire-drakes of Angband . He is a main antagonist in The Children of Húrin , in which he sets in motion events that bring about
1728-508: A wide range of styles, including Barbara Hambly , Ursula K. Le Guin , Anne McCaffrey , Christopher Paolini , and Jane Yolen . One Ring The One Ring , also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane , is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story The Hobbit (1937) as a magic ring that grants the wearer invisibility . Tolkien changed it into
1836-469: A wolf among sheep, and where are his sons' sons that dare approach me? I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. Then I was but young and tender. Now I am old and strong, strong, strong, Thief in the Shadows!' he gloated. 'My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings
1944-526: Is "appropriate" that Smaug has "the most sophisticated intelligence" in the book. All the same, Shippey notes, Tolkien has chosen the Old Norse verb smjúga , past tense smaug , rather than the Old English sméogan , past tense smeah —possibly, he suggests, because his enemies were Norse dwarves . Tolkien's biographer John Garth notes the similarity between Smaug's death from Bard's last arrow and
2052-527: Is a beast that displays the typical characteristics of draco without becoming a mere allegorical representative of draconitas (the vice of avarice )." In Honegger's view, Tolkien's innovation, seen best in Smaug, is his creation of "a distinct 'dragon personality'". Whereas Glaurung is a mythical element, and Ancalagon is merely ferocious, Smaug and Chrysophylax Dives "go beyond both the 'primitive' draco ferox ("fierce dragon") of myths and legends as well as
2160-476: Is antiquated', he snapped. 'I am armoured above and below with iron scales and hard gems. No blade can pierce me.' 'I might have guessed it', said Bilbo. 'Truly there can nowhere be found the equal of Lord Smaug the Impenetrable. What magnificence to possess a waistcoat of fine diamonds!' 'Yes, it is rare and wonderful, indeed', said Smaug absurdly pleased. He did not know that the hobbit had already caught
2268-489: Is gradually corrupted, but is saved by his earlier mercy to Gollum, and Gollum's desperation for the Ring. Katz concludes that Tolkien's answer to Plato's "Why be moral?" is "to be yourself". Tolkien stated that The Lord of the Rings was not a point-by-point allegory , particularly not of political events of his time such as the Second World War . At the same time he contrasted 'applicability' which "resides in
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#17327760428012376-568: Is in his view "very cat-like". Smaug was voiced and interpreted with performance capture by Benedict Cumberbatch in Peter Jackson 's three-part adaptation of The Hobbit . From the motion capture, Smaug's design was created with key frame animation. Weta Digital employed its proprietary "Tissue" software, which was honoured in 2013 with a "Scientific and Engineering Award" from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to make
2484-670: The Beowulf dragon . The folklorist Sandra Unerman writes that Smaug's ability to speak, the use of riddles, the element of betrayal, his enemy's communication via birds, and his weak spot could all have been inspired by the talking Germanic dragon Fafnir of the Völsunga saga . The scholar of Icelandic literature Ármann Jakobsson writes that with the encounter with Smaug, the story in The Hobbit becomes "more unexpected, entangled, ambiguous , and political". He argues that Tolkien
2592-606: The Blessed Realm ; and the Númenórean kingdoms had either declined or been destroyed, and had few allies. Of the Ring-bearers, three were alive after the Ring's destruction: the hobbits Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam. Bilbo, having borne the Ring the longest, had his life much prolonged. Frodo was scarred physically and mentally by his quest. Sam, having only briefly kept the Ring, was affected the least. In consideration of
2700-687: The Dwarves , and his son Frór were killed by a "Cold-drake", prompting their people to leave the Grey Mountains. It is commonly assumed that this indicates a dragon which could not breathe fire. Dragon-fire (even that of Ancalagon the Black) is described as not being hot enough to melt the One Ring ; however, four of the Dwarven Rings are consumed by Dragon-fire. All Tolkien's dragons share
2808-677: The Ring of Gyges in Plato 's Republic , which conferred invisibility, though there is no suggestion that Tolkien borrowed from the story. The One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron during the Second Age to gain dominion over the free peoples of Middle-earth . In disguise as Annatar , or "Lord of Gifts", he aided the Elven smiths of Eregion and their leader Celebrimbor in
2916-593: The War of Wrath , the battle that ended the First Age . Some dragons, known as "Fire-drakes" ("Urulóki" in Quenya ), are capable of breathing fire. It is not entirely clear whether the "Urulóki" were only 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 mentions that Dáin I, King of
3024-615: The War of the Ring , crucial in The Scouring of the Shire , came from this hoard. Smaug was the last named dragon of Middle-earth. He was slain by Bard , a descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale. A deadly winged fire-breathing dragon, he was red-gold in colour and his underbelly was encrusted with many gemstones from the treasure-pile he commonly slept upon once he had taken control of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain). The Arkenstone
3132-501: The hobbit Bilbo Baggins . In The Hobbit , Thorin describes Smaug as "a most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm ". Critics have identified close parallels with what they presume are sources of Tolkien's inspiration, including the dragon in Beowulf , who is provoked by the stealing of a precious cup, and the speaking dragon Fafnir , who proposes a betrayal to Sigurd . A further source may be Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha , where Megissogwon,
3240-582: The morality of the wearer. The scholar of humanities Frederick A. de Armas notes parallels between Plato's and Tolkien's rings, and suggests that both Bilbo and Gyges, going into deep dark places to find hidden treasure, may have "undergone a Catabasis ", a psychological journey to the Underworld. The Tolkien scholar Eric Katz, without suggesting that Tolkien was aware of the Ring of Gyges, writes that "Plato argues that such [moral] corruption will occur, but Tolkien shows us this corruption through
3348-481: The primitive Germanic verb smúgan , to squeeze through a hole: a low philological jest." Critics have explored what that jest might have been; an 11th-century medical text Lacnunga ("Remedies") contains the Old English phrase wid smeogan wyrme , "against a penetrating worm " in a spell , which could also be translated "against a crafty dragon". The Old English verb meant "to examine, to think out, to scrutinise", implying "subtle, crafty". Shippey comments that it
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3456-400: The "bewilderment" that Smaug spreads: he is enchanted by gold and treasure, and those who come into contact with his powerful presence, what Tolkien describes as "the effect that dragon-talk has on the inexperienced", similarly become bewildered by greed. In Shippey's view, however, the most surprising aspect of Smaug's character is "his oddly circumlocutory mode of speech. He speaks in fact with
3564-558: The 1870 rendering by William Morris of the Victorian Arts and Crafts movement and Icelandic scholar Eiríkur Magnússon . That saga and the Middle High German Nibelungenlied were coeval texts that used the same ancient sources. Both of them provided some of the basis for Richard Wagner 's opera series, Der Ring des Nibelungen , featuring in particular a magical but cursed golden ring and
3672-613: The Black Speech from the full Ring Verse : When Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, it was burning hot, its inscription legible; he transcribed it before it faded. Gandalf learned of the secret inscription from Isildur's account, and heated Frodo 's ring to reveal it, proving it to be the One Ring. Gandalf recited the inscription in Black Speech at the Council of Elrond , causing everyone to tremble: The change in
3780-563: The Crack of Doom, and Sauron's 'fair' body was destroyed in the downfall of Númenor. He may not have worn it at the time, but he "took [it] up again" when his spirit returned to Mordor. Like the Nine Rings, the One Ring physically corrupted mortals who wore it, eventually transforming them into wraiths . Hobbits were more resistant to this than Men : Gollum, who possessed the ring for 500 years, did not become wraith-like because he rarely wore
3888-533: The Fire of Doom", a prophecy soon fulfilled. As the Ring contained much of Sauron's power, it was endowed with a malevolent agency. While separated from Sauron, the Ring strove to return to him by manipulating its bearer to claim ownership of it, or by abandoning its bearer. To master the Ring's capabilities, a Ring bearer would need a well-trained mind, a strong will, and great native power. Those with weaker minds, such as hobbits and lesser Men, would gain little from
3996-518: The Five Armies , Smaug attacks Lake-town. He is killed by Bard with a black arrow and his body falls on the boat carrying the fleeing Master of Lake-town. It is later revealed that Smaug's attack on Erebor was all part of Sauron's design, meaning that Smaug and Sauron were in league with each other. Smaug was considered one of the highlights of the second film of the series; several critics hailed him as cinema's greatest dragon. Critics also praised
4104-649: The Last Alliance, at the cost of their own lives. Elendil's son, Isildur , cut the Ring from Sauron's hand on the slopes of Mount Doom. Though counselled to destroy the Ring, he was swayed by its power and kept it "as weregild for my father, and my brother". A few years later, Isildur was ambushed by Orcs by the River Anduin near the Gladden Fields ; he put on the Ring to escape, but it chose to slip from his finger as he swam, and, suddenly visible, he
4212-524: The Nazgul and the Black Speech of Mordor have been described as "nightmarish". In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , the wearer of the Ring is portrayed as moving through a shadowy realm where everything is distorted. The effects of the Ring on Bilbo and Frodo are obsessions that have been compared with drug addiction ; actor Andy Serkis , who played Gollum , cited drug addiction as an inspiration for his performance. The actual ring for
4320-492: The One Ring, acknowledging that Tolkien may have made use of multiple influences, and had intentionally set about to update the myths. Tolkien's use of the Ring was influenced by Norse mythology . While at King Edward's School in Birmingham, he read and translated from the Old Norse in his free time. One of his first Norse purchases was the Völsunga saga . While a student, he read the only available English translation,
4428-516: The Ring to his adopted heir Frodo Baggins . He briefly gave in to the Ring's power, even calling it "my precious"; alarmed, Gandalf spoke harshly to his old friend to persuade him to give it up, which Bilbo did, becoming the first Ring-bearer to surrender it willingly. By this time Sauron had regained much of his power, and the Dark Tower in Mordor had been rebuilt. Gollum, released from Mordor,
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4536-556: The Ring – provides the " eucatastrophe " for a happy ending. The work is thus, Rosebury asserted, very tightly constructed, the expansive descriptions and the Ring-based plot fitting together exactly. The Ring offers power to its wearer, and progressively corrupts the wearer's mind to evil. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey applies Lord Acton 's 1887 statement that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men" to it. He notes that
4644-405: The Ring, he could control the power of all the other Rings, and thus he was significantly more powerful after its creation than before; but by binding his power within the Ring, Sauron became dependent on it. The Ring seemed to be made simply of gold, but it was completely impervious to damage, even to dragon fire (unlike other rings). It could be destroyed only by throwing it into the pit of
4752-549: The Ring, let alone realize its full potential. Even for one with the necessary strength, it would have taken time to master the Ring's power sufficiently to overthrow Sauron. The Ring did not render its bearer omnipotent. Three times Sauron suffered military defeat while bearing the Ring, first by Gil-galad in the War of Sauron and the Elves, then by Ar-Pharazôn when Númenórean power so overawed his armies that they deserted him, and at
4860-476: The Ring. Except for Tom Bombadil , nobody seemed to be immune to the corrupting effects of the One Ring, even powerful beings like Gandalf and Galadriel, who refused to wield it out of the knowledge that they would become like Sauron himself. Within the land of Mordor where it was forged, the Ring's power increased so significantly that even without wearing it the bearer could draw upon it, and could acquire an aura of terrible power. When Sam encountered an Orc in
4968-403: The Rings combines a slow, descriptive series of scenes or tableaux illustrating Middle-earth with a unifying plotline in the shape of the quest to destroy the Ring. The Ring needs to be destroyed to save Middle-earth itself from destruction or domination by Sauron. The work builds up Middle-earth as a place that readers come to love, shows that it is under dire threat, and – with the destruction of
5076-526: The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes is rarely picked up by readers, is that Tolkien chose dates of symbolic importance in Christianity for the quest to destroy the Ring. It began in Rivendell on 25 December, the date of Christmas , and ended on Mount Doom on 25 March, a traditional Anglo-Saxon date for the crucifixion . The scholar of the humanities Brian Rosebury noted that The Lord of
5184-449: The Tower of Cirith Ungol while holding the Ring, he appeared to the terrified Orc as a powerful warrior cloaked in shadow "[holding] some nameless menace of power and doom". Similarly at Mount Doom, when Frodo and Sam were attacked by Gollum, Frodo grabbed the Ring and appeared as "a figure robed in white... [that] held a wheel of fire". Frodo told Gollum "in a commanding voice" that "If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into
5292-625: The Withered Heath beyond the Grey Mountains. Smaug was "the greatest of the dragons of his day", already centuries old at the time he was first recorded. He heard rumours of the great wealth of the Dwarf -kingdom of Erebor , which had a prosperous trade with the Northmen of Dale . Smaug "arose and without warning came against King Thrór and descended on the mountain in flames". After driving the Dwarves out of their stronghold, Smaug occupied
5400-498: The approach of war in 1938 "had had some effect on it": The Lord of the Rings was applicable to the horror of war in general, as long as it was not taken as a point-by-point allegory of any particular war, with false equations like "Sauron= Satan or Hitler or Stalin , Gandalf=God or Churchill , Aragorn=Christ or MacArthur , the Ring=the atomic bomb , Mordor= Hell or Russia or Germany". One aspect of such applicability, which
5508-491: The army of the godlike Valar , Morgoth sent Ancalagon to lead a flight of dragons from his fortress of Angband to destroy his enemies. So powerful was the assault that the army of the Valar was driven back from the gates of Angband. Eärendil in his airborne ship Vingilot , aided by Thorondor and his great Eagles , battled Ancalagon's dragons for an entire day. At length Eärendil gained the upper hand, throwing Ancalagon down on
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#17327760428015616-475: The bare patch on Smaug's underside. Still enraged, Smaug flew south to Lake-town and set about destroying it. The townsmen's arrows and spears proved useless against the dragon's armoured body. The thrush told Bard the Bowman of Smaug's one weak spot, a bare patch on the dragon's belly. With his last arrow, Bard killed Smaug by shooting into this place. The dragon stopped short in his boasting. 'Your information
5724-526: The cave whilst he bore it. Gollum eventually left the Misty Mountains to track down the Ring. He was drawn to Mordor, where he was captured. Sauron tortured and interrogated him, learning that the Ring had been found and was held by one "Baggins" in the land of " Shire ". The Ring began to strain Bilbo, leaving him feeling "stretched-out and thin", so he decided to leave the Shire, intending to pass
5832-480: The characteristic aggressive politeness of the British upper class, in which irritation and authority are in direct proportion to apparent deference or uncertainty." In sharp contrast to this is his vanity in response to flattery, rolling over "absurdly pleased" as Tolkien narrates, to reveal his marvellously armoured belly. Shippey comments that such paradoxes, "the oscillations between animal and intelligent behaviour,
5940-507: The contrast between creaking politeness and plain gloating over murder" join to create Smaug's principal attribute, "wiliness". The Christian commentator Joseph Pearce describes Smaug's weak spot as his Achilles heel , noting his boastful over-confidence in his own indestructibility, and seeing in the fact that the vulnerability is over his heart a sign that "it is the wickedness of his heart which will lead to his downfall". Pearce likens Smaug's pride to that of Achilles , whose pride leads to
6048-629: The death of his best friend , and of many Greeks; and to the cockerel Chauntecleer in Geoffrey Chaucer 's " The Nun's Priest's Tale ", where a boastful reply to the flattering fox causes the cockerel's fall. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was a professor of English Literature at Oxford University . He was a prominent scholar of the Old English poem Beowulf , on which he gave a lecture at the British Academy in 1936. He described
6156-613: The death of Megissogwon in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha . Megissogwon was the spirit of wealth, protected by an armoured shirt of wampum beads. Hiawatha shoots in vain, until he has only three arrows left. Mama the woodpecker sings to Hiawatha where Megissogwon's only weak point is, the tuft of hair on his head, just as Tolkien's thrush tells Bard where to shoot at Smaug. Tolkien created numerous pencil sketches and two pieces of more detailed artwork portraying Smaug. The latter were
6264-434: The dragon as realistic as possible. In addition, Weta Digital supervisor Joe Letteri said in an interview for USA Today that they used classic European and Asian dragons as inspirations to create Smaug. The Telegraph stated that Cumberbatch had "the authority to make of Smaug a cunning nemesis". In the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , the audience sees only his legs, wings, and tail, and his eye;
6372-696: The dragons in the Legendarium , the winged dragons had not yet been devised by Morgoth at the time of the Fall of Gondolin. The first winged dragons appeared at the same time as Ancalagon the Black. In the late Third Age , the dragons bred in the Northern Waste and Withered Heath north of the Grey Mountains. In Tolkien's works, dragons are quadrupedal , and may be either flightless, like Glaurung, or winged, like Smaug . Winged dragons first appeared during
6480-541: The earliest drafts of " The Fall of Gondolin ", the Lost Tale that is the basis for The Silmarillion , the Dark Lord Morgoth (here called Melkor ) sends mechanical war-machines in the form of dragons against the city; some serve as transport for Orcs . These do not appear in the published Silmarillion , edited by Christopher Tolkien , in which real dragons attack the city. As in the later conception of
6588-470: The end of the Second Age with his personal defeat by Gil-galad and Elendil. Tolkien indicates in a speech by Elrond that such a defeat would not have been possible in the waning years of the Third Age , when the strength of the free peoples was greatly diminished. There were no remaining heroes of the stature of Gil-galad, Elendil, or Isildur; the strength of the Elves was fading and they were departing to
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#17327760428016696-547: The eye is showcased in the final scene of the film. Smaug is a topic of discussion among the White Council as Gandalf's reason to support Thorin Oakenshield 's quest. Smaug appears in the second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug . In an interview with Joe Letteri, Smaug's design was changed to the wyvern -like form shown in the film after the crew saw how Benedict Cumberbatch performed Smaug while moving around on all four limbs. In The Hobbit: The Battle of
6804-459: The eye of the dark power that rules the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of the Ring A mortal wearing the Ring became effectively invisible except to those able to perceive the non-physical world, with only a thin, shaky shadow discernible in the brightest sunlight. All the same, when Sam wore the ring on the edge of Mordor, "he did not feel invisible at all, but horribly and uniquely visible; and he knew that somewhere an Eye
6912-501: The films was designed and created by Jens Hansen Gold & Silversmith in Nelson, New Zealand , and was based on a simple wedding ring . Polygon highlighted that "the workshop produced approximately 40 different rings for the films. Most expensive were the 18 carat solid gold 'hero' rings, sized ten for Frodo’s hand and 11 for the chain. [...] To save money — though not time — the workshop used gold-plated sterling silver for most of
7020-607: The freedom of the reader", with 'allegory' which resides in "the purposed domination of the author". He stated that had the Second World War "inspired or directed the development of the legend" as an allegory, then the fate of the Ring, and of Middle-earth, would have been very different: Anne C. Petty, writing in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , notes that Tolkien was all the same quite capable of using "allegorical elements when it suited his purpose", and that he agreed that
7128-443: The goblins by remaining invisible, but he chose not to tell Gandalf and the dwarves that the Ring had made him invisible. Instead he told them a story that followed the first edition: that Gollum had given him the Ring and shown him the way out. Gandalf was immediately suspicious of the Ring, and later forced the real story from Bilbo. Scholars have identified numerous more or less plausible sources for, or at least parallels with,
7236-503: The hobbits to his own death; the "strong and virtuous" Galadriel, who sees clearly what she would become if she accepted the ring, and rejects it; the immortal Tom Bombadil, exempt from the Ring's corrupting power and from its gift of invisibility; Sam who in a moment of need faithfully uses the ring, but is not seduced by its vision of "Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age"; and finally Frodo who
7344-563: The interior of the mountain for the next 150 years, guarding a vast hoard of treasure. He destroyed the town of Dale; the Men retreated to the Long Lake, where they built Lake-town of houses on stilts, surrounded by water to guard against the dragon. 'The King under the Mountain is dead and where are his kin that dare seek revenge? Girion Lord of Dale is dead, and I have eaten his people like
7452-458: The last and most powerful king of Númenor, landed at Umbar with an immense army, forcing Sauron's armies to flee. Sauron was taken to Númenor as a prisoner. Tolkien wrote in a 1958 letter that the surrender was both "voluntary and cunning" so he could gain access to Númenor. Sauron used the Númenóreans' fear of death to turn them against the Valar , and manipulate them into worshipping his master, Morgoth , with human sacrifice . Sauron's body
7560-426: The making of the Rings of Power . He then secretly forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . Sauron intended it to be the most powerful of all Rings, able to rule and control those who wore the others. Since the other Rings were powerful on their own, Sauron was obliged to place much of his own power into the One to achieve his purpose. Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron. With
7668-525: The mechanical war-dragons of The Fall of Gondolin . Tolkien went on to create Smaug, a powerful and terrifying adversary, in The Hobbit . Dragons are only mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien's conception of the dragon has been adopted both in games loosely based on his Middle-earth writings, and by other fantasy authors. Several taxa have been named after Tolkien's dragons, including both extinct and living species. Several taxa , including girdled lizards, shield bugs, and ants, carry
7776-537: The name Smaug . Dragons are already present in The Book of Lost Tales . Tolkien had been fascinated with dragons since childhood. As well as "dragon", Tolkien called them "drake" (from Old English draca , in turn from Latin draco and Greek δράκων ), and "worm" (from Old English wyrm , "serpent", "dragon"). Tolkien named four dragons in his Middle-earth writings. Like the Old Norse dragon Fafnir , they are able to speak, and can be subtle of speech. In
7884-702: The name of the Elven-smith Celebrimbor, who forged the Elf-rings, is the Sindarin for "Silver Hand". A source that Tolkien "might have borrowed" from, though there is no evidence for this, is Plato 's Republic . Its second book tells the story of the Ring of Gyges that gave its owner the power of invisibility. In so doing, it created a moral dilemma , enabling people to commit injustices without fearing they would be caught. In contrast, Tolkien's Ring actively exerts an evil force that destroys
7992-528: The opinion is distinctively modern, and that other modern authors such as George Orwell with Animal Farm (1945), William Golding with Lord of the Flies (1954), and T. H. White with The Once and Future King (1958) similarly wrote about the corrupting effects of power. When the critic Colin Manlove described Tolkien's attitude to power as inconsistent, arguing that the supposedly overwhelming Ring
8100-419: The parallels between Smaug and the unnamed Beowulf dragon . "old twilight-ravager ... hot and fierce-minded" ... "that worm's war was / widely seen" "treasure-guardian" "was then furious / the barrow 's keeper wanted the enemy / with fire to revenge precious drinking-cup ." "naked hate-dragon, flying by night, wreathed in fire" "the one who on high heath / hoard watched steep stone-barrow /
8208-570: The path up to it unknown to any." "a heathen hoard" Smaug's ability to speak, the use of riddles, the element of betrayal, his enemy's communication via birds, and his weak spot could all have been inspired by the talking dragon Fafnir of the Völsunga saga . Shippey identified several points of similarity between Smaug and Fafnir. Tolkien noted, in a joking letter that he was surprised to see published in The Observer in 1938, that "the dragon bears as name—a pseudonym —the past tense of
8316-666: The peaks of Thangorodrim , destroying both Ancalagon and the towers. With his last and mightiest defender slain, Morgoth was defeated and made captive, thus ending the War of Wrath. Scatha was a mighty "long-worm" of the Grey Mountains . Little is known of Scatha except that he was slain by Fram in the early days of the Éothéod , the ancestors of the Riders of Rohan . Scatha's name was likely taken from Anglo-Saxon sceaða , "injurious person, criminal, thief, assassin". After slaying Scatha, Fram's ownership of his recovered hoard
8424-468: The poem as one of his "most valued sources" for The Hobbit . Many of Smaug's attributes and behaviour in The Hobbit derive directly from the unnamed "old night-ravager" in Beowulf : great age; winged, fiery, and reptilian form; a stolen barrow within which he lies on his hoard; disturbance by a theft; and violent revenge on the lands all about, flying and attacking at night. The scholars of English literature Stuart D. Lee and Elizabeth Solopova analyse
8532-488: The protagonist Túrin Turambar 's eventual suicide before being slain by him. Glaurung is shown to use his ability to control and enslave Men using his mind to wipe the memory of Túrin's sister Nienor, though it was restored after Glaurung had perished. He is described as having four legs and the ability to breathe fire, but no wings. Ancalagon the Black ( Sindarin : rushing jaws from anc "jaw", and alag "impetuous" )
8640-400: The quest . Upon reaching Erebor, the Dwarves sent Bilbo into Smaug's lair, and he was initially successful in stealing a beautiful golden cup as Smaug slept. Knowing the contents of the treasure hoard to the ounce, Smaug quickly realized the cup's absence upon awakening and searched for the thief on the Mountain. Unsuccessful, he returned to his hoard to lie in wait. The Dwarves sent Bilbo down
8748-507: The red dragon in the long-lost 1968 BBC radio dramatization . Richard Boone voiced Smaug in the 1977 animated film by Rankin/Bass . Austin Gilkeson calls the film's depiction of Smaug "distinctly feline" as he has cat-like eyes and whiskers "and a lush mane". Gilkeson comments that the result does not resemble Western dragons , but that it works well, not least because Smaug's nature as an "intelligent, deadly, greedy" and lazy predator
8856-447: The researcher's collections for about 60 years until it was discovered. Dragons in Middle-earth J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons based on those of European legend, but going beyond them in having personalities of their own, such as the wily Smaug , who has features of both Fafnir and the Beowulf dragon . Dragons appear in the early stories of The Book of Lost Tales , including
8964-464: The rings. [...] For many fans, the ring used in close-ups — like the scene where the Ring slips away from Frodo to lure Boromir in the snow at Caradhras, or when arguing participants in the Council of Elrond are shown reflected in the Ring’s surface — is the real hero ring. In order to capture the ring’s sheen in high definition, that prop was a full eight inches wide — too big even for Hansen’s tools. Instead,
9072-484: The same mythology. Another source is Tolkien's analysis of Nodens , an obscure pagan god with a temple at Lydney Park , where he studied the Latin inscriptions, one containing a curse on the thief of a ring . Tolkien rejected the idea that the story was an allegory , saying that applicability to situations such as the Second World War and the atomic bomb was a matter for readers. Other parallels have been drawn with
9180-490: The second edition, after losing the Riddle Game to Bilbo, Gollum went to get his "Precious" to help him kill and eat Bilbo, but found the Ring missing. Deducing from Bilbo's last question—"What have I got in my pocket?"—that Bilbo had found the Ring, Gollum chased him through the caves, not realizing that Bilbo had discovered the Ring's power of invisibility and was following him to the cave's mouth. Bilbo escaped Gollum and
9288-459: The secret tunnel a second time. Smaug sensed Bilbo's presence immediately, even though Bilbo had rendered himself invisible with the One Ring , and accused the Hobbit (correctly) of trying to steal from him. During his discourse with the dragon, Bilbo noticed a small bare patch on Smaug's jewel-encrusted underbelly, and narrowly escaped. A thrush overheard Bilbo's account of the meeting, and learnt of
9396-619: The shadow of Wagner's. Others, such as Gloriana St. Clair , attribute the resemblances to the fact that Tolkien and Wagner had created works based on the same sources in Norse mythology . Tom Shippey and other researchers hold an intermediary position, stating that the authors indeed used the same source materials, but that Tolkien was indebted to some of the original developments, insights and artistic uses of those sources that first appeared in Wagner, and sought to improve upon them. In 1928,
9504-422: The spirit of wealth, is protected by an armoured shirt, but whose one weak spot is revealed by a talking bird. Commentators have noted Smaug's devious, vain, and proud character, and his aggressively polite way of speaking, like the British upper class . Smaug was voiced and interpreted with performance capture by Benedict Cumberbatch in Peter Jackson 's film adaptations of The Hobbit . Dragons lived in
9612-605: The temple of Nodens. The curse is matched by the inscription on the Ring of Silvianus , a Roman gold ring of around the 4th century, found near a former Roman town, Silchester ; both it and the curse stone name Senicianus as the ring-thief. The Anglo-Saxon name for the place was Dwarf's Hill, and in 1932 Tolkien traced Nodens to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám , "Nuada of the Silver-Hand". Shippey thought this "a pivotal influence" on Tolkien's Middle-earth, combining as it did
9720-412: The thoughts and actions of his characters". In Katz's view, Plato tries to counter the "cynical conclusion" that moral life is chosen by the weak; Glaucon thinks that people are only "good" because they suppose they will be caught if they are not. Plato argues that immoral life is no good as it corrupts one's soul. So, Katz states, according to Plato a moral person has peace and happiness, and would not use
9828-615: The trials Bilbo and Frodo faced, the Valar allowed them to travel to the Undying Lands , accompanying Galadriel , Elrond , and Gandalf . Sam is also said to have been taken to the Undying Lands, after living in the Shire for many years and raising a large family. Tolkien emphasized that the restorative sojourn of the Ring-bearers in the Undying Lands would not have been permanent. As mortals, they would eventually die and leave
9936-472: The user's native capacity. In the same way, it amplified any inherent power its owner possessed. A mortal .. who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades : he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under
10044-464: The visual effects company Weta Digital and Cumberbatch's vocal and motion-capture performance for giving Smaug a fully realized personality, "hiss[ing] out his words with cold-blooded vitriol". In the 2014 video game Lego The Hobbit , the portrayal departs more from the book; rather than ever more closely simulating the book's characters, the scholar Carol L. Robinson notes, the technology has allowed new fiction to be created. In 2012, Smaug's wealth
10152-503: The volcanic Mount Doom where it had been forged. Like some lesser rings, but unlike the other Rings of Power, it bore no gem. It could change size, and perhaps its weight, and could suddenly expand to escape from its wearer. Its identity could be determined by placing it in a fire, when it displayed a fiery inscription in the Black Speech that Sauron had devised. This was written in the Elvish Tengwar script, with two lines in
10260-516: The whimsical draco timidus ("timid dragon") of contemporary children's literature." Thus, Honegger concludes, Tolkien's "good dragons" admit their mythical ancestry but are at the same time recognisably modern characters. When Iron Crown Enterprises gained the licensing rights for games made from Tolkien's books, they expanded the selection of named dragons beyond the Middle-earth canon in both Middle-earth Role Playing and The Wizards ,
10368-539: The wizard's voice was astounding. Suddenly it became menacing, powerful, harsh as stone. A shadow seemed to pass over the high sun, and the porch for a moment grew dark. All trembled, and the Elves stopped their ears. After forging the ring, Sauron waged war on the Elves. He destroyed Eregion and killed Celebrimbor , the maker of the three Elf-rings. King Tar-Minastir of Númenor sent a great fleet to Middle-earth, and with this aid Gil-galad destroyed Sauron's army and forced Sauron to return to Mordor. Later, Ar-Pharazôn,
10476-586: The world of Eä . The Ring began as a plot device, not a central narrative theme. As told in The Hobbit , Bilbo found the Ring while lost in the tunnels near Gollum's lair. In the first edition , Gollum offers to surrender the Ring to Bilbo as a reward for winning the Riddle Game . When Tolkien was writing The Lord of the Rings , he realized that the Ring's grip on Gollum would never permit him to give it up willingly. He therefore revised The Hobbit : in
10584-520: Was a dragon bred by Morgoth during the First Age, as told in The Silmarillion . He was one of Morgoth's most powerful servants, the mightiest of all dragons, and the first of the winged "fire-drakes". He arose like a storm from the pits of Angband beneath the Iron Mountains , as a last defence of the realm of Dor Daedeloth . Near the end of the War of Wrath that pitted Morgoth's armies against
10692-462: Was buried right in the pile he slept on, but Smaug never noticed it. Smaug had only a single weakness: there was a hole in his jewel encrusted underbelly on his left breast area. The hobbit Bilbo Baggins discovered this weakness, and the information led to Smaug's death above Esgaroth . Tolkien's dragons were inspired by medieval stories, including those about Fafnir in Germanic mythology and
10800-469: Was captured by Aragorn . Gandalf learned from Gollum that Sauron now knew where to find the Ring. To prevent Sauron from reclaiming his Ring, Frodo and eight companions set out from Rivendell for Mordor to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom . During the quest , Frodo gradually fell under the Ring's power. When he and his faithful servant Sam Gamgee discovered Gollum on their trail and "tamed" him into guiding them to Mordor, Frodo began to feel
10908-449: Was destroyed in the Fall of Númenor , but his spirit travelled back to Middle-earth and wielded the One Ring in renewed war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Tolkien wrote, "I do not think one need boggle at this spirit carrying off the One Ring, upon which his power of dominating minds now largely depended." Gil-galad and Elendil destroyed Sauron's physical form at the end of
11016-575: Was effectively translating the subtext of his Old Norse sources, creating in his dragon a far more subtle, uncanny, and frightening monster than those in the earlier, more or less unconnected, travel narrative episodes. The use of dragons as an allegorical device lasted until the early 20th century. Tolkien makes clear that he prefers the actual dragon, draco (just meaning "dragon" in Latin ), to any kind of abstract or moralising usage, which Tolkien names draconitas . The Tolkien scholar Thomas Honegger notes that Tolkien pointed out that "a 'good dragon'
11124-483: Was estimated at $ 61 billion, placing him in the Forbes Fictional 15 . In 2011, scientists named a genus of southern African girdled lizards, Smaug . The lizards were so named after the fictional dragon for being armoured, dwelling underground, and native to Tolkien's birthplace, Bloemfontein . In 2015, a new species of shield bug was named Planois smaug , because of its size and its status "sleeping" in
11232-627: Was handed over easily enough by Sam and Bilbo, and had little effect on Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, Shippey replies in "one word" that the explanation is simple: the Ring is addictive, increasing in effect with exposure. Other scholars concur about its addictive nature. In the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings , the Nazgûl chant the Ring-inscription; the BBC Radiophonic Workshop 's sound effects for
11340-548: Was killed by the Orcs. Since the Ring indirectly caused Isildur's death, it was known in Gondorian lore as "Isildur's Bane". The Ring remained hidden on the river bed for almost two and a half millennia, until it was discovered on a fishing trip by a Stoor hobbit named Déagol . His friend and relative Sméagol, who had gone fishing with him, was immediately ensnared by the Ring's power and demanded that Déagol give it to him as
11448-481: Was overcome by the Ring's power and claimed it for himself. At that moment, Gollum bit off his finger, taking back the Ring, but, gloating, he and the Ring fell into the fires of Mount Doom. The Ring and Sauron's power were destroyed. The Ring's primary power was control of the other Rings of Power and domination of the wills of their users. The Ring also conferred power to dominate the wills of other beings whether they were wearing Rings or not—but only in proportion to
11556-430: Was searching for him". Sam was able to understand the Black Speech of Orcs in Mordor during his brief possession of the One Ring. The Ring extended the life of a mortal possessor indefinitely, preventing natural aging. Gandalf explained that it did not grant new life, but that the possessor merely continued until life became unbearably wearisome. The Ring did not protect its bearer from destruction; Gollum perished in
11664-493: Was then disputed by the Dwarves of that region. Fram rebuked this claim, sending them instead Scatha's teeth, with the words, "Jewels such as these you will not match in your treasuries, for they are hard to come by." This led to his death in a feud with the Dwarves. The Éothéod retained at least some of the hoard, and brought it south with them when they settled in Rohan . The silver horn that Éowyn gave to Merry Brandybuck after
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