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Revision as of 11:30, 1 April 2015
Ancalagon, also known as Ancalagon the Black, was the greatest of all winged dragons bred by Morgoth during the First Age, and possibly the largest dragon to have ever lived.
Biography
Ancalagon the Black faces Eärendil, by Rubendevela
During the War of Wrath, Eärendil came out of the west in Vingilot, accompanied by the Eagles of Manwë led by Thorondor, and they and Eärendil dueled with Ancalagon and the other Dragons for an entire day. Eventually, Eärendil was victorious, throwing Ancalagon upon Thangorodrim and destroying its towers. The fall of Ancalagon marked the end of Morgoth's final resistance.[2]
Later mentions
Gandalf spoke of him as he told Frodo the true origin of his Ring. "It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself."[3]
Etymology
The name Ancalagon is Sindarin which means "Rushing Jaws" from anca ("Jaws") and the root alak- ("Rushing").[4]
Other Names
The Middle English translation for Ancalagon is Andracca from and- ("opposition"), anda ("hatred, envy"), and draca ("dragon").[5]
Character
Ancalagon's size is not specified, but may be gigantic due to the destruction of "the towers of Thangorodrim", which are elsewhere identified with the three smoking peaks of the mountain.[6] However, his size is never directly specified and some powerful but small creatures are able to cause great destruction even in death, such as Durin's Bane breaking the slopes of Celebdil. Like all other Urulóki, Ancalagon breathed fire, which was said to be hotter than any other dragon's flame.
Trivia
- In 1977, an extinct genus of worms from the Cambrian Burgess Shale was named Ancalagon, inspired by Tolkien's dragon.[7]
Gallery
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This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Ancalagon. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with The One Wiki to Rule Them All, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. |
References
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 11: The War of the Jewels, V. The Tale of Years
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIV: "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter II: "The Shadow of the Past"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 4: The Shaping of Middle-earth, III: "The Quenta", Appendix 1: Translation of Quenta Noldorinwa into Old English
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Thangorodrim"
- ↑ "Ancalagon minor". The Burgess Shale.
