Ancalagon the Black

Ancalagon the Black is the greatest of the winged dragons in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, unleashed by Morgoth at the end of the First Age and slain by the mariner Eärendil in a battle in the sky.

The Story

At the end of the First Age, the armies of the Valar march against Morgoth and break his forces in the War of Wrath. In desperation, Morgoth releases a weapon he has kept hidden: the winged dragons, never seen before. Ancalagon the Black is the mightiest of them. The dragons pour out of Angband with thunder, lightning, and fire, and for a moment they drive the hosts of the Valar back.

Then Eärendil the mariner arrives, sailing his flying ship Vingilot through the sky, with the Silmaril shining on his brow and the great eagles beside him. He fights the dragons in the air through a whole night. Before dawn he kills Ancalagon, and the dragon's huge body falls onto the towers of Thangorodrim, the mountains above Angband, and shatters them. Morgoth is defeated soon after.

Appearance and Powers

Tolkien says very little about Ancalagon's looks beyond his name, which suggests a black hide, and his place as the first and greatest of the winged fire-drakes. His size is the main point: his fall is enough to break a mountain range. The Silmarillion gives him no speeches and no hoard. He is a force of war rather than a character.

Origins and Sources

Ancalagon's first appearance in print is a single line in The Fellowship of the Ring (1954). Gandalf tells Frodo that the One Ring cannot be destroyed by ordinary fire, and that not even the fire of Ancalagon the Black could have harmed it, though dragon-fire might once have melted lesser rings. The battle itself was told only in The Silmarillion (1977). Tolkien's own notes on Elvish word roots, published in The Lost Road (1987) as "The Etymologies," connect the name with words for "jaw" and "rushing," so it is usually translated "rushing jaws."

Legacy

Because Tolkien gives so few details, Ancalagon has become a canvas for fans and artists, who often argue about just how big he was. He is regularly listed as the largest dragon in fantasy literature, and his clash with Eärendil is a popular subject for illustrators. For more on Tolkien's other dragons, see Glaurung and Smaug.

Related

• Glaurung: Glaurung is the first of the fire-drakes in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, a wingless, fire-breathing dragon of Morgoth whose cruel spells and lies destroy the hero Túrin Turambar and his sister Nienor.
• Smaug: Smaug is the greedy, cunning fire-breathing dragon of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937), who seizes the dwarves' treasure under the Lonely Mountain and is killed by Bard the Bowman.
• Balerion the Black Dread: Balerion the Black Dread is the largest dragon in the history of George R.R. Martin's Westeros, the mount of Aegon the Conqueror, whose black fire helped the Targaryens win the Seven Kingdoms.
• Famous Dragons
• Dragon Books

Sources and Further Reading

• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (George Allen & Unwin, 1954), Book I, chapter 2
• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, ed. Christopher Tolkien (George Allen & Unwin, 1977), chapter 24
• Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (Ballantine, 1978)

Cite this entry: “Ancalagon the Black,” Draconika Encyclopedia of Dragons, https://www.draconika.com/dragons/ancalagon.