ANCALAGON

'Ancalagon the Black' was a dragon in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Dark Lord Morgoth bred Ancalagon during the First Age to be the greatest and mightiest of all dragons, and the first of the winged 'fire-drakes'. Near the end of the long War of Wrath^[1] that pitted Morgoth's hosts against the Host of the Valar, Morgoth sent Ancalagon, leading a fleet of winged dragons, from the fortress of Angband to destroy the Dark Lord's enemies. So powerful was the assault of the dragon fleet that the host of the Valar was driven back from the gates of Angband onto the ashy plain of Anfauglith.
But Eärendil 'The Blessed' in his powerfully hallowed elven airborne ship Vingilot duelled with Ancalagon for an entire day, until Eärendil at length prevailed, pitching Ancalagon onto the triple-peaked towers of Thangorodrim, destroying both him and them. With his last and mightiest defender slain, Melkor was soon utterly defeated and made captive. ^[2]
Ancalagon was said to have been so large that he blotted the Sun out, even from afar. He was the largest of any dragon to appear in Middle Earth, even larger than Smaug. His length was unknown, though longer than Glaurung or any other ground dwelling dragons. Ancalagon's fire-breath was hot enough to consume the Rings of Power, though not the One Ring.^[3]
Ancalagon was possibly long-lived like other dragons Melkor bred. So large a dragon would have taken centuries to grow to his full size. The method of how exactly Eärendil managed to battle and slay so titanic a creature is not explained.

Contents

Etymology

References

Trivia

Etymology

★ 'Ancalagon': Noldorin: ''anc'' (jaw) + ''alag'' (rushing, impetuous) + ''-gon'' (bold)^[4]

References

1. The War of Wrath lasted over forty years.
2. A prophecy given in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth in ''Morgoth's Ring'' gives the slaying of Ancalagon to Túrin instead.
3. J.R.R. Tolkien, ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', (2nd edition, 1966), p.70
4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien editor, ''History of Middle-earth'', Vol. V, (1987), pp.348, 362.

Trivia

A fossil priapulid worm discovered in the Burgess Shale was named ''Ancalagon'' after the dragon.
A Estonian LARP group is called Ancalagon