Smaug is the gigantic dragon imagined by Tolkien to oppose his heroes in The Hobbit. If he is not the only dragon to have roamed the universe of Middle-earth, he is certainly the best known of all. However, this terrible flame-breathing saurian still keeps a few secrets hidden in the coffers of his immense treasure. From its place in Tolkien’s writings to its role in Peter Jackson’s films, here’s a look back at 7 facts that you (perhaps) didn’t know about Smaug.
#7 Tolkien doesn’t know how he invented the characters
In his correspondence with WH Auden (an English poet), JR R. Tolkien says he doesn’t remember how he started writing his short story The Hobbit. Apparently one summer when he was busy correcting papers, he wrote on a blank page the first sentence of Hobbit: “In a hole lived a hobbit”, without knowing where this idea came from. Tolkien also states that he does not remember the exact date on which he wrote this sentence or the first chapter, but only that nothing was consciously planned and the story came to him effortlessly.
Nevertheless, John D. Rateliff, in The History of the Hobbit, suggests that writing of the story did not begin before the summer of 1930. In the very first draft of the Hobbit, The Fragment of Pryftanthe first version of what will become Smaug appears. However at this stage the dragon is still called Pryftan. The name Smaug only appears during the second phase of writing of the Hobbit.
#6 Smaug is different from other Dragons
Dragons are among the powerful creatures of Middle Earth. They are the only creatures to have been completely invented by the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. By their origin, the first Dragons were devoted to their creator but when at the end of the War of Wrath, Morgoth was destroyed, almost all the dragons disappeared. Hundreds of years laterwhen Sauron becomes the new Dark Lord, he hopes to be able to legitimately count Smaug among his troops. The fact that Smaug joins Sauron’s Forces is one of Gandalf’s worst fears. Except that Sauron is not Morgoth…
Smaug doesn’t really care about Sauron’s power or ambitions. The dragon is obviously only interested in his personal comfort. Sleeping in the gigantic treasure of Erebor seems to be more than enough for him. On the other hand, it is not impossible to imagine that if Smaug had not died before the War of the Ring, Sauron could have coaxed him by promising him even greater treasure once Middle-earth is enslaved. Beyond this possible exchange, some think that it is not impossible that Smaug is not loyal to a master of darkness simply because it would have a different story than the first Dragons of Morgoth.
#5 Smaug is surely a young Dragon
Nothing official is known about Smaug before his sudden attack on Dale and Erebor. By the time he appears, the Dragons have more or less disappeared. However, what we know about the Last Dragons of Middle-earth tells us part of the origins of Smaug. In all likelihood, it is possible that Smaug was born in the Third Age and hailed from the Dry Heath, like other dragons of this era. Indeed, Gandalf noted that Smaug was not fully developed during the fall of Erebor and Dale, and that the dragon would not have been able to sneak into the dwarves’ mine if he had had a adult size. Smaug would therefore not be a dragon of Morgoth but a young Dragon born recently and naturally.
On the other hand, only two dragons survived the War of Wrath. However, it is never specified that Smaug experienced this war. However, it should still be noted that it is also possible that all the remaining dragons from this era did not necessarily participate in the war. Smaug in Erebor has resided in the mountain for 171 years and appears to emerge from the mine much larger and stronger than at its entrance. A detail that corresponds to what we know about Glaurung (one of the first dragons) who reached adult size (but not yet maximum) around the age of 195, a period quite similar to the case of Glaurung.
#4 Smaug has a slightly overused amount of nicknames
As different books describe the universe of Middle Earth, Tolkien created a number of characters whose names have become references in modern fantasy. Some of them are so famous throughout Middle-earth thatthey sometimes inherit many nicknames and other claims to fame. Éowyn, for example, obtains 6 titles, nicknames and pseudonyms (Lady of Rohan, The White Lady of Rohan, Dernhelm, Lady of Bras-Écu, the Lady of Ithilien and Lady of Emyn Arnen). However, in this little game, we must recognize that Smaug beats all records.
From the start, Smaug is almost always accompanied by the nickname “the Golden”, but when the Dragon meets Bilbo, things become somewhat complicated. During Smaug and Bilbo’s conversation, the hobbit calls him names or epithets several times that seem not to really surprise the dragon. It can therefore be assumed that the following list of names is regularly attributed to Smaug: The Chief and Greatest of Calamities, The Golden (obviously), The Inscrutable, King Under the Mountain, Lord Smaug, The Magnificent, The Mighty, O Smaug, The Stunning, The Terrible, The Tremendous, The Tyrannical, The D ‘an Immeasurable Wealth, Your Magnificence Greatness.
#3 Smaug can destroy rings of power
The One Ring was forged by Sauron himself at Mount Doom. Gandalf reveals that no dragon fire would be hot enough to melt the One Ring, meaning that‘it could only be destroyed in the fires from which it came. Neither Smaug nor Ancalagon the Black, the Greatest Dragon, would have been capable of destroying the One Ring. On the other hand, this is not really the case for the other rings. imagined and distributed by Sauron.
The “lesser” Rings of Power were crafted by the elven blacksmith Celebrimbor. These were grouped into three rings for Elves, seven rings for Dwarves, and nine rings for Men. Now, for these rings, the dragon’s fire is hot enough to melt them. The fact is, moreover, that four of the seven rings given to the Dwarves were described as having been consumed by dragon fire.
#2 Smaug changed his appearance between the first and second films
Although he is a major antagonist in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, Smaug never appears clearly in the first part, An Unexpected Journey. Weta Workshop Studios’ work on the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films is considered a major breakthrough for the creation of computer-animated characters. In this area, Smaug is clearly one of their greatest successes. However, the dragon, played in motion capture by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, has undergone some changes in appearance throughout production.
So, Smaug originally had six limbs – four legs and two wings – more or less easily identifiable in the prologue of the theatrical release An Unexpected Journey. The most observant spectators will therefore perhaps have noticed that this was modified from the following film. In the end, when the dragon is finally fully revealed, it has two back legs and two front legs with its wings attached. For the record, Gollum had suffered a similar fate in the first trilogy, where this character slightly changes design between The Fellowship of the Ring and the moment when it is fully revealed in The Two Towers.
#1 The Expanded Universe imagined a mediator between Smaug and Sauron
The relationship between Smaug and Sauron is difficult to truly grasp. Some elements suggest that the Dragon may have been aware of Sauron’s plan (he knows of the existence of the One Ring, for example), others indicate that there was little chance that they would be able to hear about a proposed alliance. Faced with this vagueness, the game Le Lord of the Rings online had fun imagining a character who would have allowed Sauron and Smaug to exchange in a reasonably calm manner: Karazgar, the Weeping Warrior.
This character is a Black Númenórean (a people who refuse the authority of gods and elves) part of the rare Gúrzyul. The Gúrzyul are humans selected by Sauron for their aptitude for black magic, the best known of them being the Mouth of Sauron. By the time players encounter Karazgar, he is no longer a follower of Sauron. The player tracks him through Eryn Lasgalen and the lands of Dale. This hunt allows them to discover archives retracing its history. Karazgar had the magical ability to tame dragons.
If taming a dragon as gigantic and dangerous as Smaug was beyond his abilities, on the other hand, he had the possibility of exchanging with him without ending up being devoured, unlike the first messenger sent by Sauron to the Dragon. Through Karazgar, Sauron sent 3 relics related to dragon-slaying dwarves. Thus stirring up Smaug’s hatred for the dwarves, Sauron would have obtained assurance that the Dragon would help him in his war against free peoples. The death of the Dragon, thanks to the actions of Gandalf (and the well-aimed shot of Bard the archer), deprived Sauron of the one who could have been his best ally. Moreover, for the anecdote, the rest of Smaug’s bones can be discovered in the game.
And if you liked this article, don’t hesitate to discover 9 facts you didn’t know about The Goblin King, Azog, Sauron, The Balrog, Gollum, Shelob, Éowyn, Éomer, Boromir, Gandalf, Gimli, Théoden, Bilbo, Arwen , Merry, Gollum, The Uruk-hai, The Elves, Radagast, Treebeard, The Mouth of Sauron, Grima Serpenttongue, Bard, Beorn and The Witch King of Angmar.
Keywords :
The Lord of the Ringslord of the ringsthe rings of powerTolkienPeter JacksonmovieepisodeseriesSagasaurongandalfbilboBilbo
