Ancalagon

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	By Ardamir. (Help; more articles)

Ancalagon the Black by Daniel Govar

Ancalagon ("Rushing Jaws") the Black was the greatest Dragon of Middle-earth

The Dark Lord Morgoth bred Ancalagon during the First Age to be the mightiest of all the winged Dragons. During the War of Wrath that pitted Morgoth's armies against the host of the Valar, Morgoth sent Ancalagon forth from the fortress of Angband to destroy the Dark Lord's enemies. So powerful was the dragon that even the Valar host was driven back.

But Eärendil, a Half-elven descendent of the princes of the Eldar and Edain, descended from the sky on his ship Vingilot and duelled with Ancalagon. They fought for an entire day until Eärendil slew the dragon, whose ruined corpse crashed down upon the triple-peaked towers of Thangorodrim, destroying them. With his mightiest defender slain, Morgoth was utterly defeated soon afterward.

Ancalagon was said to have been so large that he blotted out the Sun, even from afar, and was heavy enough to crush the three mountains of Thangodrim (the tallest peak being about 6,000 feet higher than the peak of Mt. Everest!) under him when he was killed. Gandalf later said that Ancalagon's fire-breath was hotter than that of any other dragon in history, and he speculated that it was hot enough to destroy even Rings of Power, although not the One Ring itself. It is not stated as to what methods or weapons Eärendil used to battle, and eventually kill, so vast and mighty a creature, though the Simiril of Vingilot's prow more than likely played a part.

It is possible that Ancalagon's titanic size might have turned into a disadvantage when fighting a foe so comparativly small as Vingilot in the air, if one were to compare such an action to a large adult human attempting to swat a fly buzzing around him. Eärendil more than likely had aid from the Eagles, which might be likened to trying to find and swat a gnat while at the same time fending off a swarm of angry bees. Eärendil may have focused on shredding the great dragon's wings, a difficult attempt at best, as to eventually deprive Ancalagon of the ability to fly, thus letting the great reptile simply fall to his grusome and doubtlessly painful death on the jagged tops of Thangorodrim.

Whatever method he might have used, Eärendil's slaying of Ancalagon would have been one of the greatest and most spectacular battles in all the recorded history of Arda before or since, even eclipsing Gandalf's battle against the Balrog of Moria ages later.