The Life of Smaug & the Dragons of the North | Tolkien Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ม.ค. 2021
- Today we cover the life of Smaug - the greatest dragon of the Third Age. We also cover his ancestors - the dragons of the North - and their wars with the dwarves of the Grey Mountains - including the ancestors of Thorin Oakenshield. From Scatha and Cold Drakes to Smaug and the dragons that may have existed after him, we talk about them all!
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Conversation with Smaug - JRR Tolkien
Bilbo and Smaug - Diego Gisbert Llorens
Ancalagon the Black - Caglayan Kaya Goksoy
On the Doorstep - Chris Rahn
Erebor - Alan Lee
Fram Slays Scatha the Long Worm - Kip Rasmussen
Gandalf at Bag End - Myles Pinkney
Gandalf vs the Balrog - Daniel Govar
Red Dragon - Kenny Gonzalo
Old Friends - Momofukuu
The Teeth of Scatha - Matthew Stewart
The Slaying of Scatha - Lynton Levengood
Tom Bombadil - Borja Pindado
Smaug - Al Lukehart
The Cold Drake - Alvaro Calvo Escudero
Smaug - Anato Finnstark
Bard Faces Smaug - Kip Rasmussen
Bones of Smaug - Steamey
Dragon Bones - Stefan Koidl
A Conversation with Smaug - Ted Nasmith
Esgaroth is Burning - Moonxels
Smaug Destroys Laketown - Greg Hildebrandt
Dragons - Grzegorz Rutkowski
I Am Death - Tai91
Smaug Chasing Bilbo - Iken
Laketown - Toby Carr
Laketown - Nate Hallinan
Smaug - Nicolo Rigobello
The Hobbit - Bilbo & Smaug - Pablo Olivera
Black Arrow - Paolo Puggioni
Red Dragon - Mazanedo
Scatha - Lynton Levengood
Smaug and His Treasure - Shockbolt
Smaug - Ckgoksoy
Smaug - Mike Azevedo
Smaug - The Rising Soul
Smaug & Bilbo - The Rising Soul
Smaug Destroys Esgaroth - Gaius Duke
Smaug - David Demaret
Smaug's Arrival - Frerin Hagsolb
Smaug the Destroyer - Ted Nasmith
The Draconic War - Pietro Bouvier
Thief - Raoul Vitale
Scouring the Mountain - Ted Nasmith
Smaug Atop Erebor - Ted Nasmith
White Dragon - Vince L Falcone
Check out these resources for this and more info about Smaug, the Dragons of the North, and the War of Dwarves and Dragon:
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings Appendix A - Durin’s Folk
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Tolkien Gateway
Theonering.net “Today in Middle-earth History” Calendar
#smaug #thehobbit #tolkien - บันเทิง
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Happy New Year, my friends! What videos would you like to see in 2021? And do you think we will see any dragons in LOTR on Prime?
I think you should do one on Glorfindiel or Celeborn or any of the elves of lothlorien.
Also, happy new year to you too!
Thanks for such amazing content this year! Would love to see you break down the life of Morgoth: his character, relationships, travels and influence over the history of Arda
If by some small chance this comment will shape to be a video in the future, I would love to know the story of Hurin and the curse of his line.
Happy New Year, and good work on these videos! Subbed.
I always loved it when Bilbo riddles with the dragon. It's absolutely genuis writing
One of my favorite Tolkien chapters! So great!
"Genius" is a understatement.😀
Riddle with supernatural creatures is often written in myths. Tolkien certainly took clues from these myths and wrote it inside his creation.
I read the hobbit resintley and loved the riddles with gollm / smaog
@@pipsqueak4372 I loved the riddles and songs in the hobbit I can’t stand them in fellowship their just to often for my liking
We rule under the mountian, our only enemy are giant flying lizards 50 ft tall. Err lets be sure our front doors are at least 55 feet tall!
Yeah , seems rather ridiculous now doesnt it lol.
Common dwarf logic 😂 I mean at least they make up for it with their skill on the battlefield
Acceptable risk, the giant doors allow more buyers in......
@@giraffediety2477 But their height doesn't have to be dragon size, human size is perfectly fine
metríc damn
I love how Smaug is one of the smallest dragons. As if JRR was like “oh you think he’s bad!? See a dragon the size of a mountain!”
Now I want to see a size comparison video haha
And then after that he be like "Ok so you're shitting bricks? Now lemme show you an even bigger dragon that actually *crushed* some mountains!"
*Ancalagon laughing in the background*
Smaug is not one of the smallest dragons. He is the last great dragon, so clearly not small. Besides Ancalagon the black, there isnt a dragon clearly larger than him in the text. youre making stuff up. Smaug wasnt written to be among the weaker/smaller dragons.
@@fangiscool1 originally when he first sacked erebor and claimed the mountain, he was smaller than in the time of the Hobbit. He grew larger in the mountain and much stronger. So he was at one point the smallest dragon, but when Bilbo fights him, he’s nearing he’s full strength at his age.
The thing I always loved about Smaug, his conversation with Bilbo and his downfall: it all could have been easily prevented. Not for a single moment did Bilbo fool him. He knew exactly what was going on. But he gave in to his arrogance and humored Bilbo, which in turn led to his own demise.
Can ya blame him?
He was probably starved for conversation.
@@oimate6357 spending longer that most human lifetimes in a mountain would definitely do that to ya
Wyrms loved riddles just like they had an insatiable appetite for treasure, I don't know if Bilbo knew this at the time but it was most definitely a weakness.
Remember this was originally intended as a "fairy story for children" so it was bound to have the dragon slain no matter how dumb it was. If it had been more realistic, Smaug would have surely known he had an unprotected spot on his chest and would have covered it with dwarven armor before flying out into a storm of arrows.
@@scallie6462 iirc it says that he knew it from stories he had heard.
I always assumed dragon sickness was just a metaphor for greed.
this is greed, dragons are so vile and greedy their only presence corrupt the gold they lie upon, exalting greed in the hearts of those who take possession of this gold. They don't even have to use magic, dragons words alone are poison to the mind of anyone who listen. Turin can concurr.
Deep inside all of us is dragon sickness, you know it's true.
It basically still is.
Basically is just an analogy to greed, but more of a compelled greed. It is your precious.
Dragon sickness or dragon curse is an actual power of dragons since the first generation dragons have fragments of Morgoth's essence. Do you ever wonder why dragons can talk?
Cumberbatch truly and wholly nailed this role in the movie.
I never knew he voiced Smaug. Yeah he killed that shit. Definitely one of the few things that came out of those movies
he did not only voice him he even did motion capture for him
@@ishen3771 damn
I smoked a fat doubie
Charles Dance must have been busy. He did the voice for the Bandersnatch in Alice in Wonderland.
I can’t believe a dragon has better manners than most of today’s people
"...if I may ask?"
As if someone us going to say, "no scaleface, you may not ask!"
Probably because The Hobbit was written in a better, less intentionally corrupted age.
At least most of today's people don't try to burn or eat me
@@Jenacide 😂
@@nithshithhith4398 well someone isn't studying history. This is sadly not true.
I really like how tolkien presents the dragons in his stories as so egotistical that they almost cant be reasoned with. Like they were made by the dark lord to be the most powerful creatures on arda but they became so arrogant as a result that they dont really take orders or serve anyone except their own desires.
a blessing in disguise for the Free People. Just imagine if Sauron could recruit dragons to his cause
That's the catch with giving ANY being so much ability and agency. Know their motivations, because eventually you WON'T be able to control them.
@@johnnyedelhoff5866 I reckon Sauron could've done it, he was a master at manipulation, especially with The One Ring. But it wouldn't have been easy that's for sure. And if he were to win... well, I reckon all the wealth in the world wouldn't be enough for a victorious dragon.
Evil civil war would be cool.
Well of course they don't take orders from anybody. Why should they? They're frigging dragons!
He might have been able to if he had the dwarf rings but the dragons had at least 3 or 4 I think so he had nothing to bargain with and I think the whole reason of the Hobbit is to get rid of smaug just in case sauron ever comes back
Smaug had another illness. With all his power and wealth, evil as he was, he suffered from isolation. It seems he relished Bilbo's conversation, and was ambivalent about finishing him off. Likewise, it seems that Bilbo wondered if it would've been better if Smaug maintained possession of the cursed hoard when the battle of the five armies started.
With the exception of Smaug probably coming out and destroying the five armies during their battle had he been left alone... Lol
He would have been recruited by Sauron if he had been left alone. That was one of Gandalf's reasons for the mission. It tied many loose ends.
There wouldn't have been a battle of five armies if Smaug remained alive. The other races kept a distance because the dragon was there. The elves would stay in the tree house, Dain stays in the Iron hills, lake town isn't destroyed so no humans either. You get a handful of dwarves, a hobbit, vs. an orc/goblin army
"Even the bad things are made in Heaven..." If all dragons in Middle Earth are evil, as Tolkien believes, Smaug clearly is aware of goodness. If a dragon said "You have nice manners for a thief", or "You can stay here and watch them die", I wouldn't know what to think. Of course Smaug was evil, but I feel he was conflicted as well. Love is the most powerful source in all magic, good and bad alike. Too bad Smaug couldn't have settled for worship and adulation instead.
He didn't suffer from isolation, he chose it. And like most dragons preferred it, since before settling in he murdered all the dwarves who tried to stop him from raiding their home. The isolation was self induced and therefore well deserved if he ever spent a moment regretting his decisions, which I doubt.
He did worship, it was gold and himself. He cared for little else.
The "bad" things weren't made in the heavens. They simply were created. Like all creations there is potential for good or evil (which can be subjective depending on your point of view) if Smaug is considered evil it is because he chose to do evil acts. He had intelligence so he knew what he was doing and it wasn't out of ignorance.
Interesting how Toliken created a whole world with a detailed history.
And then wrote a couple of books within that world
Is it though considering it was his life’s work?!
@@bannedinchina what?haha he created a world that is still known and loved worldwide over 70 years later, whats your life work?
@@paulosullivan3205 what was the point in your comment? Have a day off from being so angry.
Perhaps learn to read and comprehend what’s being said rather than posting irrational poorly thought out responses.
@@bannedinchina the point is that you have never and will never do anything with your life anywhere near the mud on Tolkien’s boots
Smaug was actually a juvenile when he took Erebor so his scales were softer and more easily dislodged back then but still a force to be reckoned with.
So... he basically was a child soldier during the War of Wrath?(
@@andreykuzmin4355 that or he wasn't hatched yet. Who knows how old dragons get when they become great drakes.
@@andreykuzmin4355 it's a bit complicated to know what he means by "I laid low the warriors of old"
it's not very clear which warriors of old we're talking about but considering the context, it seems more likely to be a reference to the dwarves of erebor and the men of dale, However, he also says "and their like is not in the world today"
Which can't really be true if we're talking about men of dale and dwarves of erebor, 170 years after the fact, they were not particularly exceptional that no warrior by the time of the conversation would be at their level..
So I would say it's possible that he was already born and active in the war of wrath,
Another possibility was that he wasn't refering to the men of dale and the dwarves of erebor but to the dwarves of the grey mountain, since they were at war against dragonS like the plural form of the word, they must have been pretty freaking dangerous and their like might not be in the world as of Smaug's saying that..
Smaug is either 200+, somewhere between 300 and 600 or much much older than that but he's probably just 240 when he dies..
@@renarddubois940 or maybe he just boasted, because dragons are prideful and vain. I agree with you, it's more likely he talked about either sacking of Thror's kingdom and Dale, or about fighting dwarven dragon slayers in Grey Mountains. The wording about "warriors of old" bugs me, because even 170-200 years before "Hobbit" there is no significant kings or warriors of note. P.S. Kudos for reminding me about the war with drakes of Grey Mountains, this conflict comepletely flew out of my head
@@ImperialKnight770 as Renard pointed out correctly, he likely wasn't that old to be alive by that point.
So a Tolkien dragon goes from young to old after 171 years. Seems quite short but morgoth did hold the first dragon back for 200 years until it grew to full size. Maybe that's what old is meant to mean ... full sized. Makes more sense when you consider the lifespan of elves, dwarves and some long-lived humans
So do dragons die of old age?
@@jellev7904 no, I think old means they grow to adulthood.
Considering how old orcs and goblins can get (the white one was a dark elf so he doesn't count but we do have records of ones being older then the race of man) and those are cannon foder, I'd say dragons don't die of old age.
Your son has good taste for a favorite character.☺
Right? I can't blame him. Smaug is pretty awesome.
@@NerdoftheRings My mother always calls him Smaus. Since she said that, in my head i see Smaug with a mouse face ;)
@@leondriessen6762 😂😂
Agreed
"A THEIF!"
You truly have the most entertaining and comprehensive detailed explanations of Middle-earth and all of Tolkien's worlds.
Thanks for spending the time doing this.
Thanks so much for watching! I truly love doing these videos and diving into Middle-earth every week. Glad you are enjoying them as well!
Thank you
I like how smaug was so amused with bilbo and wanted to spite the dwarfs so much that he was willing to let bilbo go just to go insult the dwarves.
It was always my impression that Smaug was the last dragon, which adds a sort of sadness to his death. After all, Smaug was no more evil than many Men. So when you said that Gandalf implied there were more dragons, it stumped me. I always figured that what Gandalf meant was that there were no more dragons, and even if there were then their fire wouldn't be hot enough.
No, see the comment just above yours. Tolkien wrote another story (Farmer Giles of Hamm) with several dragons mentioned and takes place thousands of years later in Medieval England. He also said that Hobbits in LOTR lived in the vicinity of what is now Oxford!
That wouldn't have made sense though. Dragons would have had to have still been around for him to say that even employing a complacent dragon to destroy the ring wouldn't work because their fire wasn't hot enough to melt it. Tolkien's most famous dragon after Smaug, Chrysophylax the Rich, lived in England probably in the 15th Century, as knights still wore full harnesses of steel armor, and primitive black powder "hand guns" (called a blunderbuss in the story). As he never dies in the story, perhaps he is really the basis for all of the Nessie sightings in Loch Ness event today! And besides, who but dragons would be able to wipe out all traces of Tolkien's Middle Earth, and then play themselves off as Gods and be worshipped by humans for thousands of years! Even Smaug may have faked his death - conveniently tricking Bilbo he had a "weak spot", and then conveniently falling into the lake where he could creep of and hide while all the races killed each other during the War of the Ring and wipe out the weakened, winning side afterwards!
@@danpeterson114 So i'm all for theories about characters not being truly dead when there's no definitive proof, Like the beast monarch in solo leveling.. No body, conveniently "killed" offscreen right after the interface that would confirm kills and experience gains is removed from the story, and he begged the MC and who accepted a deal to spare him after 5 hits, the proof of death we are given are claws ripped from his paws..
Everything about that death screams "not actually dead but we'll keep the plot twist for later" but they never did..
But for Smaug, I just don't see him abandonning his treasure like that and how would he make ppl see his bones, did he just snuck off and took the bones of a dragons of similar size and put them in his place without being noticed?
@@renarddubois940 Very simply, Smaug was prepared for this exact circumstance. He did not expect a Hobbit to be his dupe, but when someone came for the treasure (and it probably happened many times before), he would let "the dupe" escape with the knowledge of his faked "weak spot" to make faking his own death that much more believeable. He could very easily have pre-collected some large dragon bones, or for that matter any large bones that might be taken for dragon bones in the deep murky water, wrapped up in a big sail cloth or tapestry, and held tightly to his chest and invisible in the night sky. After he dropped into the lake and fled under the cover of the burning Lake Town, the waters would be so churned up, and the town probably destroyed, that it would be hard to find where Smaug fell exactly, and since this is before the advent of deep sea diving, the bones may not even be necessary. Most of the gold would likely remain where it was with the Dwarves reoccupying Erebor. The point is, the plan would well worth losing some of the gold, as he would eventually have it back and all the rest when he conquered Middle Earth after all of the factions were considerably reduced and Sauron destroyed. And we could consider him being succesful given all traces of Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Orks and Goblins vanished from the earth, and many cultures of the only sapient survivors (besides dragons), were ancient man, who we find quite coincidentally often worshipped dragons as their gods!
@@danpeterson114 there's a fanfiction that reminds me of what you're saying here..
Something about the valar being the slaves of the dragons and there being a huge dragon conspiracy and Smaug being alive..
that was pretty fun
In a letter from 1954 Tolkien says about Dragons after Smaug - “They had not stopped; since they were active in far later times, close to our own.” As Middle-earth is Earth set in the far past then ‘real life’ mythological Dragons such as Fafnir and the Beowulf Dragon could be viewed as ‘Middle-Earth’ dragons from far later ages which is what I think Tolkien is referring to here.
I believe Tolkien later didn't like the idea that middle earth was part of the real world and said that he no longer felt that way. But you are probably right about what he ment at the time.
Certainly. Tolkien even wrote a story about a dragon that lived in England in the late Middle Ages, as the main character had a black powder hand gun. As the dragon doesn't die in the story, perhaps he is the source of the Nessie sightings in Loch Ness even today! Chrsyophylax the Rich, the dragon of the story, also hides in a river to help Farmer Giles defeat the wicked King! As Tolkien would know though, Fafnir wasn't a real dragon, but merely Siegfried's uncle, who could assume the shape of a dragon, (and apparently still a lot easier to kill than a real dragon, by a mere man).
It's weird how much Tolkien liked to pretend that his universe was Earth in the far past. Of course, he turned around and said that he created Middle Earth both to give context to his Elvish languages and create an English mythology to replace the one that was erased by Christianization.
"my wings are a hurricaneeee" Ancalagon: ooooeeeewwwwww sooo cute
Smaug: big talk for the least achieving dragon in the entire legendarium
Man, Benedict Cumberbatch killed it with this role. His voice was just perfect to carry out the lines in Smaug & Bilbo's conversation. He sounded menacing and enticing in the best way possible.
Richard Boone in Rankin-Bass animated The Hobbit film did much better, and actually stayed true to the book... unlike Peter Jackson's Cumberbatch.
Nah fam, f your opinion and nobody asked for it @skysapphirestrormmage!
Not a huge fan of Jackson’s take on The Hobbit but Cumberbatch really did slay as Smaug. 🙂
@@grahamstrouse1165 Yes, it's really a shame that Jackson didn't show more of Smaug in the film, (thing like his orgins, how he conquered Erebor, devoured the maidens of Dale until he grew fat on them, and other interesting things about him actually stated in book, instead of inventing so much nonsense like adding Legolas, a dwarf-elf love story, and so much other BS just to make more money with a trilogy like LOTR. If they had done so, this could have been as good as LOTR.
15:58 That means Sauron could have enlisted those remaining Dragons after Smaug's demise. Unless those Dragons told Sauron to bugger off.
They probably did exactly that
I like to believe first that since morgoth not sauron bred them, they would have no loyalty to him.Second due to the fact the iron hills are a stronghold for dwarves getting to there his messengers like orcs would be killed before that, also since he doesn’t have the one ring or his former full strength he wouldn’t be able to control them with his will.And also he was more focused on finding the ring, and on taking the main threats out of Gondor, rohan, and the other main powers, so he likely did not consider them.
@@hubertdenise3100 Excellent points.
That’s essentially what happened, the dragons just told Sauron "You’re not our real dad"
@@cantthinkofanoriginalname6368 🤣🤣🤣 Not our real dad. Damn! The disrespect 👍
When I was in 3rd grade, (about 40 years ago) I used to tie a towel around my neck and stomp around jumping off furniture pretending to be Smaug. I was obsessed with Smaug for years. Still am a bit. I read, The Hobbit in 3rd grade and fell in love with it, then Lord of the Rings. I have been a fan of that genre ever since. Excellent Smaug summary!
Dragon sickness, to me, sounds remarkably like Morgoth's ring: how the first dark lord, in his obsession with ruling Arda, permanently disseminated his essence into it, such that any creature who lived upon Arda would be affected by his evil. In much the same way, his mighty creations, the dragons, can put a curse of madness upon the treasure they so jealously horde such that anyone who claims it after the dragon has their plunder spoiled in a rather unfortunate way.
Glad I found this channel, can't get enough of Tolkien's world.
"The next day, Bilbo returns to Smaug's lair, where they have their famous conversation..."
*Random ad begins*
Funniest ad timing I have ever seen.
BRUH SAME
TH-cam red is worth it
Mine said "I'm Loki of Asgard"
That threw me off for a few seconds 😂
I got a ad about people talking, and after that an ad for cooking.
Now is the best time ever to invest in gold.
Benedict Cumberbatch voicing Smaug was just, *chefs kiss* brilliant 👏
You mean Benefactor Cumbermusk?
people say this so often and I agree it was a good job but let's be honest, his voice was so heavily filtered/distorted - it could have been done by anyone lol
@@gondwanandreams7635 I would counter by saying that Benedict has such a unique inflection and structure of his word delivery that is recognizable and amazing even with the distortion.
I disagree. Richard Boone did a much better job in the 1977 Rankin-Bass animated movie The Hobbit. AND he actually said the dialogue from the book, UNLIKE Peter Jackson's Cumberbatch.
@@skysapphirestormrage3792 that's the voice I think of myself being more familiar with the 1977 film rather than the newer ones. So much so that my grandfather was watching a show that Richard Boone was on (Have Gun-Will Travel) and I instantly recognized his voice having never seen or heard of the show and ONLY knowing Richard Boone from The Hobbit. That version of Gollum is also the first I think of, even though Andy Serkis did a phenomenal job I thought..
"The trick wi' any beast is tae know how tae calm it."
Just imagine what Hagrid would do to Smaug. "Oh, bless him, he knows his mummy!"
Smaug: I don't even know who you are.
Smaug would have ate hagrid and burned Hogwarts to the ground without breaking so much as a toenail.
Smaug: *Burning all of Hogwarts to the ground*
Hagrid: Hes jus' high strung up is all.
😂🤣
Smaug would also be a major problem for the HTTYD gang…😉
What I like about Smaug is how with basically 0 information he extrapolates who is coming to steal from him, why, and exactly what they were using Bilbo for
But he did have information, he tasted dwarf on the ponies he ate. He was not able to recognize the taste of hobbit
Smaug has terrifying senses...having learned what town Bilbo visited from the smell of lake moisture from his body
Lake Town is the only inhabited town between Erebor and Mirkwood
I don't think "Dragon Sickness" is actually a thing, I think Dwarves just made it up to justify their murder of a man and any man that gets in the way of "their" gold.
lol. This is a fun conspiracy theory!
Well it is their gold so ...
I dont think so because the master of Lake town got the "Dragon sicknes" and he got te gold
from the dwarfs as a gift
It has been theorized that dragon sickness could actually be caused by the Seven Rings of Power of the dwarves as it increased their greed and grew their riches to the point of attracting the dragons and it could've infected their treasures too. However, greed is a reccurrent theme in Tolkien that preceed the forging of the Seven, so placing the fault upon them might undermine the malice of dragons. I truly think there is dragon sickness and its not another name for dwarven greed.
Much info about Dragon sickness is just made up by Peter Jackson on the fly.
Glad that other dragons could be alive after Smaug
I’m sure the dwarves would disagree 😂
Yeah I almost thought that smaug was last Dragon
@@TF2Scout.. Smaug was the last great dragon, though some lesser drake's lived on
Yep, that's why ancient human cultures all over the world worshipped 'dragon gods'. The dragons eliminated all of the elves, dwarves, hobbits and orcs, and just left the humans which they knew would worship them. Even Yahweh of the Bible seems suspiciously like Smaug, with the verses describing him with huge wings, fire spewing from his mouth, and smoke from his nostrils, taking all of the Egyptian and Cannanite gold captured by the Israelites for himself, and demanding offerings of cattle and sheep every day, and there's even a passage about giving him a bunch of Midiannite virgins one time!
Tolkien's writing is the best. The way he was putting the words together always gives me the chills.
Smaug is often used as an example of how to write a great dragon in fantasy. Whether for a book, a story or a tabletop rpg. Many of the videos I've watched on writing a good dragon have sited Smaug and the many reasons he's a prime example of when it's done right.
Beautiful video, my father used to tell me and my brothers the story of Bilbo before bedtime, a couple years later I read the books myself and watched the movies as they were realeased. Your video got recomendet to me out of nowhere and I'm very happy it was! Will read the books again for sure after this, thank you!
I'm in the process of sharing Tolkien with my sons now. It's a lot of fun. So glad you found the channel! Plenty more videos on the way!
that dragon voice was perfect for Smaug well done I love your videos
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
They should have used this dialogue in the movie scripts.
@@tanimquazi true
was not a fan of the film depiction. it was very corny.
@@TeslaKuhn8 that was ur opinion leave this channel if you don't like it
Imagine if the Dwarves had made small entrances to their mountain abodes?
I feel like this would be how tolkein told these stories to his children at bedtime. Thank you very much for the content
In slavic languages , dragon is smok , very similar to smaug as Tolkien was a linguist so ... and other thing dragons was good and evil in old slavic... as something extra to
yeah but Tolkien is a christian and for christians, all dragons are evil and demonic.
Know that mate i just add something as a trivia
@@efaristi9737 no, he was a roman catholic
@@firmware1000 what's the big difference? all catholics are christians. It's just that they see the pape as their spiritual leader.
So many cultures have dragons in their mythology. Cultures that have never interacted even. Makes u think that there must have been some big flying lizards back then.
Fire breathing might be a stretch tho😂
Another fantastic video! I've liked Boromir since the original fellowship film in 2001. He's always been my favorite character because he's a tragic hero. I would absolutely love a Boromir history video at some time. I mean, just the fact that Sauron was concerned when Boromir was seen leaving Minas Tirith says something about his reputation. I feel like Boromir never got enough credit.l
Brilliant idea! 👍🏻
If you love the movie Boromir, then don't go to the books. He is a tragic hero but the tragedy is that his arrogance brought about his downfall. He's really not very appealing in the books most every time he speaks.
Bilbo the Catalyst of a Towns Demise.
Never really realized how much destruction he caused trying to power struggle with a Dragon.
Oooh, could I ever do with a video on Ancalagon the Black. Dragon so big he smote mountains when he fell, having been struck down by the orbital class spaceship of that greatest elven mariner, that went on to chase harry Morgoth in orbit around Arda, a freaking silmaril at its prow. Elwing found herself a real keeper, with that one.
Your reffering to Elledil? erendil jeez these names do a number on me after a drink, he had it on his brow in vingalot???
@@markbritton6798 Yes indeed! Also, I see the word "and" went missing there, 'should say "chase and harry". I also left out the contributions of Throndor and Friends in that fight.
Or Glaurung?
Ah now i see the full transcript now daniel, do you think earendil was greater than cerdan ? Dam i cant believe im asking questions about fictional characters, Dam JRR T could spin a yarn or two
@@markbritton6798 Heck yeah he was. Cirdan's the greatest shipwright, for sure, but Eärendil's the greater mariner, having sailed to Valinor after his wife turned into a bird, secured the aid of Valar in the War o' Wrath, and flown the now divinely-blessed ship into battle before taking to the stars to keep the sun and moon safe from Morgoth. Sure, Cirdan played probably the greater part in Vingilóte's construction, but it was a sailing vessel then. The Valar up and turned it into a fighting airship, and then a starship, each form of which Eärendil clearly operated with aplomb. TL;DR - Cirdan's a lot older, but Elrond's dad who lives in space is a lot cooler.
One of the *BEST DRAGONS EVER MADE.* 🐉
Just before you spoke of your son I thought, man, he's going to make an excellent dad with his bedtime stories, those kids won't *ever* want to go to sleep! 😁Awesome job, as always.
The dwarves went to war with dragons and even held their own for 19 years, 1 dragon turns up and takes an entire kingdom...
Ye bcs it is like 10 times bigger than the regular ones bro..
They are non fire dragons and wingless. Smaugh can Breathe fire and fly
He's cooler than the GOT dragons. They don't even talk lol
baleron the black death got the same size than smaug of the movie ,according to the skull on kingslanding
Erm, Game of thrones dragons are realistic snd look so much better so hush, lord of the rings sucks too
got was a cheap imitation of everything. that it did not come from disney was a huge surprise to me. saying computer depictions for one over another make the content better is not doing either story a good. got was just bad.
@@FULANODETAL Yeah, and that was after so long and only Vhagar got close to that size.
@@TeslaKuhn8 Lmao what? No it wasn’t.🤦♂️🤡
Dragons have always been my favorite creature and I only hope to see more of them done justice as we continue.
I’ve always loved dragons, and the whole part of Smaug was my favorite part of The Hobbit. I’ve nearly forgotten about Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth. I’m going to have to rewatch all of these movies this winter.
"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today!" - Like the phrase
I can never get enough of dragons! My favorite fantasy creature. I do hope we get some in the upcoming show. Great job on the Smaug/Bilbo reading by the way!
Thanks my friend!
Call me stupid but i believe dragons existed, they are in nearly every cultures history, if did exist we would not be able to find they're remains just like its so hard to find bird remains because if someone that big could fly its bones would be so dence an light they would not fossilise because the pressure from the dirt pressing down on them would just crush them to nothing, an we humans made them go extinct because they were such a big threat
Dragons represent envy, and the dwarves represent greed, mainly. Interesting how those two are antagonists.
Makes sense
LOVE IT! Your four year old is awesome! I am a mom of five kids all under 8 years. All massive Tolkien fans! Doing a great job man! He is adorable too!
There are theories that the Arkenstone was one of the Simarils.
This would only exacerbate the dragon sickness phenomenon, naturally.
What happened to the Silmarils?
@@srenjensen2625 they were all stolen by Melkor/Morgoth along with Ungoliant from Feanor's father Finwe.
@@srenjensen2625 one was stolen by luthien and her husband and the other two I think are banished w Morgoth to "dark space" idk
@@Charmedsas1 One ended up in the sea, and another in a fiery chasm. Tolkien stated that they would never be recovered until the end of the world.
@@audreydimmel6674 yeah thank you. I was not sure what happened after beren and luthien took the one.
One of feanor's son jumped in the fire u said cuz his hands so so filled with kinslaying.
The other is in the sky with earendil(elrond's dad)
Another is in the sea
They probably didn't live too long, I'm sure Gandalf has killed hundreds of dragons in his time!
Go on give us a number!
Why would Gandalf do that? He never even suggested he ever did such thing.
@@markuse3472 I know, I was just referring to The Hobbit movies!
@@markuse3472 He could do that, he just never had the opportunity. A perilous drake like Scatha as slain by a chieftain of middlemen, so i don't think Gandalf would not be a match against a dragon, Smaug was just too big and strong for Gandalf to take him alone.
@@viniciusvyller9458 I mean, Smaug was killed by one punny little arrow. A monstrously huge creature killed by one small arrow. Apparently Dragons were quite easy to kill in reality. You just had to get close enough. They had all the constitution of your average deer. lol.
I love how Smaug and other dragons like love riddles
@@elgodofcanaaniamwhoiam7649 wop wop, lol
Good one
I absolutely love the voices you're doing during the readings. This maked it so entertaining! Plus the very complete explanations and the nice artworks and maps, this are the ingredient for a perfect video!
The Dwarf's greatest folly is to keep making entrances to their impenetrable fortresses large enough for a dragon to fit through.
Probably needed it for ventilation
@@matthiuskoenig3378 Precisely that. The sheer scope of those tunneled cities would require a LOT of ventilation in a LOT of places and it would be easier to have one big input-output gate somewhere on the windward side of the mountain.
Gosh that Smaug voice over was top notch
Good on your son for requesting this! And yes....Smaug's one of my favorite characters as well and I understand his request completely! Well done and keep them coming!
I always loved the visceral detail of gems and gold forming armor. That is one of the most imaginative mental images.
It is never stated as such anywhere that I know of, but I have this Head Canon that Smaug had tried to use the Arkenstone as a center-piece for his coat of gems. The Arkenstone said, "Nope!" and fell out at some point when Smaug rolled over in his sleep.
This story should be a whole miniseries!
Just found your channel and your videos are so well made! You make complex "history" so easy to follow with the map. Love the pictures, the voice acting...everything is so good!
Smaug: "Do you think BATTERIES will keep you alive?
Bilbo: * Ring runs out of battery *
I am loving these individual journeys and back stories. Awesome job, thank you!
Your reading of one of the best conversations in all of the LOTR oeuvre was exquisitely performed. Nice job!
I would love the story of Dain Ironfoot or the dwarves of the ironhills in general🤗
A speaking dragon has always been one of the most eerie things to me.
As goofy as the animated Smaug from '77 looks, Richard Boone *really* sold his attitude as I imagined from the book
Yessir!
Me and my family just finished doing a Movie-Marathon in Middle Earth, and I just LOVE these tidbits, as I cannot afford to buy any of Tolkien’s books as of the moment.
Library’s. Bound to have Tolkien books. Free to you.
I love Smaug . In the movie Hobbit, Smaug was my favourite part of it. But I have always wondered Where did he come from ? Is he the last one? Where are his kind? How did he knew about the treasure ? . 😁😁Thanku so much for this information 💖Nerd of the rings.💖
Yeah truly.
That Smaug voice was amazing!
Love these kinds of lore videos, your narration adds immersion to it!
In my perceptive, Smaug was the medium of the Fire-Drakes of the Grey Mountains, but he was obviously the most famous if you ask me. Benedict Cumberbatch is freaking outstanding portraying this magnificent character who is literary a talking animal from the well-known novel.
Weird how the dwarves fled, but only got closer to danger. Didn’t they know about the dragon lands just behind Erebor?!
Subscribed ! Awesome content ! The conversation sections between Bilbo and Smaug were awesome !
I love how the origional smaug seemed to kinda feel bad for bilbo, in reality he was kinda used by the dwarves to get into the mountain.
His eye reminds us of Sauron’s not because they are related. The reason is that the eye was originally from Morgoth since Sauron was his apprentice later successor and created the Fire-Drakes and Cold-Drakes. Smaug is totally a badass reptilian creature with much character for such an mythical animal. This dude also my personal favorite in the entire saga.
Your narration is incredible. Loved the way you used the music throughout
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!!
The encounter between Bilbo and Smaug in the cartoon version really did it best..Richard Boone as Smaug
Excellent video. Very well put together!
I’m new to LotR lore. I’ve been binge watching LotR videos all over TH-cam. This video was awesome!
Question though, and I haven’t seen a video about this. What is more dangerous? A Dragon or a Balrog? If Balrog are Maiar, it theoretically should be them right? I haven’t seen really anything regarding this yet
Glad you found the channel! Someone else actually brought this up in the comments as well. My initial thought is that the balrog, being a maiar is more dangerous going head-to-head. The greatest weapon a dragon could have would be their fire-breathing ability, which I doubt would have much effect against a demon of fire. So, for now anyway, I'm saying "advantage: balrog". :)
@@NerdoftheRings Depends on the Wyrm... Balrogs and Wyrms were both slain by elves, dwarves, and humans. I would think Ancalogon the Black or Glaurung could take a Balrog but a lesser Wyrm might not be able to. Not all Balrogs and Wyrms are equal. Gothmog was slain by an elf. Glorfindel (an Elf) killed another Balrog. I think that in an arena between two similarly sized creatures, the Balrog would win. But the whole match would depend on which Wyrm and Balrog fought, where the battle happened, and if either side had help.
Dragons are stronger, Morgoth had a guard of balrogs, but they were evenly matched in battle by the Noldor, e.g. Glorfindel kills a balrog during the fall of Gondolin. So Morgoth specially bred the Great Worms, e.g. Glaurung, to be more effective in battle. No one could withstand Glaurung during the fall of Nargothrond.
@@NerdoftheRings Which suggests that Gandalf (being a Maiar) would also be stronger than a dragon? Especially since he has that fire ring....no?
Ivy - Hi Ivy. Great question, and very important in this day and age. I've given it about five seconds of thought and the most important part of this puzzle that most people forget is that dragons and balrogs .... don't actually exist. A dragon and/or a balrog is only a six letter word written on a piece of paper. So, I guess the only real danger would be receiving a paper cut from said piece of paper. Most likely to occur while reading about dragons and or balrogs. I would recommend wearing gloves while reading or have someone read to you. You could always listen to an audiobook on TH-cam as well (that's what I do). Good luck !
very nice man, a few new lore I see, wish we had more info on the war with the Dragons...
keep it up, happy 2021! ;)
6:39 is one of the coolest depictions of smaug I've ever seen.
Excellent video, loved that you did the voices and looking forward to more, you earned my sub for sure
Legendary effort mate, well done!
I would listen to an audio book version of the hobbit if you narrated
Same
I know this is only a reenactment of the books but the part of smart talking about there so called revenge have me goosebumps
the dialog was such a treat, thanks so much
I can only repeat myself: Great video and awesome content in general!!
One additional aspect of Tolkiens world I'd love to learn more about are Orcs, specifically about Uruk-Hais.
This story (LOTR) is so magnificent that I'm lost in fantasy. I'm so mesmerized and imagined that it was real in real world.
we must never forget the great art and its artists in this video! amazing!
This was an amazing video man 👍🏽 well done
I would gladly sit and listen to you reading all the books out loud. Great videos, thanks!
Your son was right in asking for a vid about the dragons. Been waiting for this!
Great video! Loved it! Your voiceovers were fun and I'm sure this took an age itself to produce.
you do amazing impressions and your explaining skills are very entertaining, you've earned a like and a sub XD
I have to say this is the best channel about middle earth in my opinion, i mostly watch videos in Spanish, but this is far better than any other Channel I’ve watched
Thank you so much! That is high praise indeed!
@@NerdoftheRings so far it is my favorite as well!
I'm a LOTR casual, but I fell in love with the movies and I really enjoy your videos.
I have discovered this channel so so late …. But I am so glad that I finally did… thank you so much for this video .
Thanks for this videos. So much fun. Now I have to see them all.