Smaug: Wyvern or Dragon?

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

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.

So basically, all these dragons myths were probably a bunch of drunks roaming the countryside and running up on a somewhat large snake. The ancient equivalent of:

 

[Maxperson]

Or maybe he only has a single leg, which happens to be a foreleg.

That's no leg.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

So what I'm learning is: Four Legs Good; Two Legs Bad.

 

[Dausuul]

I could have sworn I'd read somewhere that the original dragons created by Morgoth had no wings.

You are correct. Per the Silmarillion, dragons appeared during the First Age and played a significant part in the war of the Elves and Morgoth (Glaurung in particular caused a lot of tragedy); but winged dragons were not seen until the very end of War of Wrath, when Morgoth unleashed them in the final defense of Thangorodrim.

I was always sad that Ancalagon (the leader of the winged dragons) got so little play. Glaurung was a splendid villain with a catalogue of dastardly deeds, but Ancalagon barely got a mention before Earendil and a bunch of eagles dogpiled him.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So basically, all these dragons myths were probably a bunch of drunks roaming the countryside and running up on a somewhat large snake. The ancient equivalent of:

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Wyrm (wurm), from the Old Saxon, can also refer to a snake.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Wyrm (wurm), from the Old Saxon, can also refer to a snake.

How big of a snake?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How big of a snake?

I don't think they had a word for "small snake". Remember, snakes are not all that common in northern Europe.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I don't think they had a word for "small snake". Remember, snakes are not all that common in northern Europe.

So Fafnir?

 

[SJB]

The Beowulf poet is oddly silent on the leg issue. The dragon is specified as having wings. Which rather brings us back to Tolkien’s point; if one of the greatest poets in world history failed to mention something, it was probably because they regarded it as insignificant not because they lacked the necessary language or imagination.

We’re interested in D&D, but most of the world doesn’t know who Gary Gygax was, much less care what he thought about anything.

So a dragon can have as many legs as one desires.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Couple of thoughts on Fafnir -

• potentially, it's the same dragon as in beowulf, the myths may have a common origin;
• The name translates from Old Norse as "the embracer" - this suggests something like a constrictor snake;
• Fafnir was transformed into a dragon as the result of a curse. This suggests crawling on all fours like a lizard, when you consider oral storytelling techniques.