Smaug: Wyvern or Dragon?

[Cordwainer Fish]

Not true. A one-legged dragon is a yoga pose.

I thought it was something in the Kama Sutra.

 

[Rabulias]

A dragon is a dragon no matter how many damn legs it has.

Not true. A one-legged dragon is a yoga pose.

And a dragon with no legs is a naga.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

And a dragon with no legs is a naga.

Are naga actually dragons? They have no wings.

 

[SJB]

Are naga actually dragons? They have no wings.

Tolkien wrote extensively about dragons and dragon-kind in his scholarly work. He argued that there were only three “true” dragons in European literature: the dragon that slew Beowulf; the world serpent of Norse myth; and Fafnir of the Siegfried cycle. Number of legs was an irrelevance.

Tolkien hoped that Smaug might become the Fourth Dragon.

 

[SJB]

Sorry @Homicidal_Squirrel that was meant as a general response.

 

[MarkB]

I was watching Fellowship of the Ring this weekend, and the Smaug drawn on the map of the Lonely Mountain has four legs plus wings.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Tolkien wrote extensively about dragons and dragon-kind in his scholarly work. He argued that there were only three “true” dragons in European literature: the dragon that slew Beowulf; the world serpent of Norse myth; and Fafnir of the Siegfried cycle. Number of legs was an irrelevance.

Tolkien hoped that Smaug might become the Fourth Dragon.

That's pretty interesting. How many legs did each of those dragons have?

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Sorry @Homicidal_Squirrel that was meant as a general response.

General Squirrel is not pleased.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's pretty interesting. How many legs did each of those dragons have?

The world serpent is usually depicted as having none. The others, the source material does not say. I don't think any of them fly.

 

[Dioltach]

Yes, the World Serpent usually doesn't have any (and swims, if I'm not mistaken). I know that Fafnir crawls, because that's how Sigfrid manages to kill him (like Turin, he stabs the dragon's belly). I have a vague recollection of the Beowulf dragon flying, but that might just be from adaptations. I could dig out my Klaeber, I suppose, but it's been a while since I read any Old English.