Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - Is Smaug a reptile?


Basically, as the title asks. Dragons are often referred to as reptilian in various stories, but I don't think I remember Tolkien ever specifying this about Smaug. I looked a bit, and couldn't find any info, other than this spiny southern African lizard named after Tolkien's Smaug.


Anyway - any authoritative word/hint on Smaug's class?



Answer



Although Tolkien never makes any outright claims to Smaug being reptilian he does make a few statements about Smaug being a Lizard or lizard-like




“Oh yes, very much so. Except no, Fafnir was a human or humanoid being who took this form, whereas Smaug is just pure intelligent lizard.”
The History of the Hobbit - Endnotes, Note 10



Tolkien clearly thought of Smaug as some form of lizard, less like Fafnir, who was humanoid but took the shape of a dragon, but more like a real dragon, similar to a dinosaur (but not a dinosaur). Tolkien mentions of the relation between snakes and lizards and his dragons, although again makes the clear distinction between dinosaurs



“He describes dragons as ‘legendary creatures founded on serpent and lizard’, unlike the dinosaurs ”
The History of the Hobbit - Endnotes, Note 5



In the published book however, the only mention to lizard is claiming that either Men are evil or Smaug is not a dragon but a lowly-lizard (as pointed out by @Nacht in the comments below).




Lake-men, some nasty scheme of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men, or I’m a lizard.
The Hobbit - Chapter 12, Inside Information



Although Smaug enjoys talking in riddles it seems abundantly clear here, he does not consider himself a lizard, but a dragon of great majesty.


In conclusion, Smaug is decidedly reptilian and has been described as a lizard by Tolkien, although Smaug (and Tolkien) make it clear he is something different to a lizard.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more