Ancalagon

2008-03-15T17:51:58Z

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[[Image:Daniel Govar - Ancalagon the Black.jpg|thumb|250px|''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 the Mariner|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.

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Ancalagon