Smaug - the greatest and most famous dragon of the Third Age.
His sack of Erebor is legendary, as is the tale of his demise.
But where did this great serpent come from?
And were there others of his kind?
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we will attempt to answer these questions as we look at Smaug,
the Dragons of the Grey Mountains, and their War with the Dwarves.
While we know Smaug would sack Erebor in 2770 TA, we are going to go back further to find
the most likely origin for this chiefest of calamities.
After Morgoth is defeated at the end of the first age, there are still many of his dragons
left in Middle-earth, not to mention at least one balrog.
And it’s with that Balrog where we will begin today’s story.
In 1980 TA, the balrog is awakened by the dwarves of Moria under King Durin VI.
This leads to Durin’s death and the abandonment of Moria by the dwarves.
Driven from their home, a contingent of Durin’s folk under King Thrain I establish Erebor,
the Kingdom Under the Mountain, in 1999.
Most of Durin’s folk, however, would come to dwell in the Grey Mountains, to the Northwest
of Erebor.
One of the few documented stories about a specific dragon comes in the following year
when Scatha the worm, who had captured treasure from the dwarves of the Grey Mountains, is
slain by Fram of the Eotheod people - the ancestors of the Rohirrim.
You can learn more about these men in my video on the Eotheod.
Over 200 years after the Lonely Mountain is inhabited, King Thorin I abandons Erebor (2210)
so he and his people can rejoin the rest of Durin’s Folk in the Grey Mountains.
There they would live in relative peace until the year 2570.
Over the preceding years, the dragons of the north had multiplied and became a mighty force.
In 2570, they make war on the dwarves of the Grey Mountains and begin plundering the halls
of Durin’s Folk.
Impressively, the dwarves hold their own for nineteen years, but in 2589, the dragons come
to the halls of King Dain I.
The King, his son Fror, and likely many others were slain in the attack.
Father and son are killed by a cold-drake - a name for a dragon that could not breathe
fire - outside the halls of the king.
After this final blow in the War of the Dwarves and Dragons, the dwarves of the Grey Mountains
abandon their home.
With the death of King Dain I, the kingship passes to his son Thror - the grandfather
of Thorin Oakenshield.
Thror leads his people back to the Lonely Mountain, re-establishing the Kingdom of Erebor.
Gror, the king’s younger brother, leads a group of Durin’s folk to the Iron Hills,
where they create another settlement.
Gror is the grandfather of Dain II also known as Ironfoot - who would later succeed his
cousin Thorin as King Under the Mountain.
It’s important to note that we don’t know whether Smaug was involved in this conflict
in the Grey Mountains.
Both Smaug and Gandalf refer to him being young when he comes to Erebor in 2770, but
old and strong when Bilbo comes there in 2941 - so it’s entirely possible that he was
either too young to partake in the war - or not even born yet when the war ended in 2589.
With the War of the Dwarves and Dragons now over, the dwarves of Erebor would once again
have a period of peace - this time for around 180 years.
During this time, the Kingdom Under the Mountain flourishes.
However, their old enemy would return - in the form of the greatest dragon of the Third
Age - Smaug the Terrible.
Like many others, Smaug hears of the tremendous wealth of Erebor and in 2770, he flies south
and sacks the kingdom under the mountain.
Tolkien describes Smaug’s flight to be “like a hurricane”.
He attacks at night, catching both the dwarves and the men of Dale off guard.
It is said he first lands on the mountain itself, before flying down to the woods around
Erebor and setting them ablaze.
The dwarven warriors come out of the front gate to fight the dragon, but are all killed.
Smaug then turns his attention to the warriors of Dale - killing most of them, including
Lord Girion - the ancestor of Bard.
The dragon then returns to the mountain slaying more of the dwarves and entering through the
front gate.
Thror and his son Thrain II survive the attack by escaping through the secret Back Door.
Thorin, who was just 24 years old at the time, was one of the few dwarves who wasn’t inside
the mountain during the attack, and manages to escape as well.
Smaug takes the mountain and the treasure within for his own.
In the aftermath, the area of Erebor and Dale, which had been scorched by the dragon, comes
to be known as the Desolation of Smaug.
Durin’s Folk, once again forced from their home, are left to their exile - eventually
coming to Dunland, where they would live for a time before the War of the Dwarves and Orcs,
culminating in the Battle of Azanulbizar in 2799.
Three years later, in 2802, Thrain II - now king of his people - settles in the Blue Mountains
west of The Shire.
For over 170 years, Smaug dwells with his treasure hoard, leaving only occasionally,
presumably to hunt for food.
We know that he would exit the great gate by night and come to Dale and carry away people
- especially maidens to eat, until Dale is ruined and all the people either dead or gone.
Smaug broods upon his treasure for a total of 171 years.
This causes a phenomenon known as dragon-sickness to come upon the treasure.
This is a somewhat mysterious thing as we really only know it is put upon gold on which
a dragon has long brooded.
Looking back on our earlier tale of Fram of the Eotheod who killed the dragon Scatha - he
refused to part with any of the treasure.
Despite the fact that this treasure likely belonged to dwarves of the Grey Mountains
before being taken by Scatha.
It is believed that Fram was killed by the dwarves for this offense.
Now, if you’re curious what the dwarves did during this time that Smaug broods upon
his treasure - check out my video on Thorin Oakenshield.
We next hear of Smaug when Bilbo Baggins makes his way into the depths of Erebor in October
2941.
After Bilbo steals a cup on October 22, Smaug takes notice.
In The Hobbit it says “Dragons may not have much real use for all their wealth, but they
know it to an ounce as a rule, especially after long possession; and Smaug was no exception.”
This angers the dragon, who leaves his chamber and searches the mountainside for the culprit.
He doesn’t find Bilbo and the dwarves, but does manage to find their ponies.
The next day, Bilbo returns to Smaug’s lair, where they have their famous conversation...
Smaug is enraged by the idea that they would dare attempt revenge upon him.
Knowing that the men of Laketown likely assisted this thief and his dwarf friends, he decides to destroy the town on the lake.
He rose in fire and went away south, towards the running river.
Smaug flies over the lake, avoiding the water so as not to quench his fire. He sets the town ablaze and destroys the great house with a swipe of his tail.
As the destruction rages on, a thrush flies to Bard the bowman.
Another result of Smaug laying on his treasure for so long is that his stomach possesses armor made of gold and gems.
Save for one bare spot.
The thrush had overheard Bilbo telling the dwarves of the bare spot in Smaug’s armor and relays this information to Bard.
Bard fires his last arrow - the black arrow, which had been passed down from generations past - and hits the spot on the dragon’s left breast.
Smaug falls from the sky, destroying Esgaroth in his ruin.
Smaug is slain, but his effects would be felt for days and years to come.
Smaug’s treasure would claim at least two more victims of dragon sickness.
Thorin, as he refuses to part with any of the treasure to help Bard and his people - and after the events of The Hobbit.
After Bilbo is back home, he learns from Gandalf and Balin that King Dain had given the Master of Laketown some of the gold to rebuild what the dragon had destroyed.
The Master instead takes the gold and flees into the waste - a region north of the Lonely Mountain, where he would die of starvation.
Despite the Master’s treachery, Lake-town would indeed be rebuilt further north than before.
Smaug’s bones remained at the location of the former Lake-town.
It is said that his bones could be seen from the shore, but that no one would dare go into the water to retrieve the gems that had lined his belly.
Even in death, Smaug’s very bones struck fear into the hearts of men.
While we don’t know of any other dragons by name or by deed after Smaug’s time, Gandalf implies that there are dragons still around after Smaug’s death.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf reveals to Frodo that Bilbo’s ring is in fact The One Ring, he states
It’s yet another fun thing to think and theorize about - the possibility of dragons being around after Smaug.
As for Ancalagon, Glaurung, and the other dragons of the first age - we will have to cover them in a future video.
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