Q: Are the Dragons Immortal Creatures?
ANSWER: Although dragons are long-lived creatures (both Glaurung and Smaug appear in stories that are about two centuries apart within their respective lifetimes) there is no indication in any of J.R.R. Tolkien’s published texts that he meant for the dragons to be “immortal” in the same way that Elves were immortal.
According to The Silmarillion Melkor (Morgoth), the first Dark Lord, bred the dragons for his wars with the Elves of Beleriand after he returned to Middle-earth from his long captivity in Valinor. Although Tolkien does not say from what stock the dragons were bred at least one text suggests that Melkor imbued the dragons with evil spirits (however, the narrative could be speaking in a figurative sense).
Although we cannot say for certain that a typical dragon might live, say, a thousand years we know that one could live for at least 200 years. If I were sorely pressed to define a limit I would be unable to justify it with any of Tolkien’s thoughts, but I would guess the dragons probably did not live more then 300 to 500 years (assuming they could die of old age).
In the past I have written some rather extensive (and speculative) essays about Tolkien’s dragons. You may find it helpful to read them. In Where Have All The Dragons Gone? I postulated that there might be a connection between dragons and gold. People almost immediately demanded to know how I came up with that, so I wrote Magic by Melkor, No Returns Accepted to explain my reasoning.
See also:
- Where Have All The Dragons Gone?
- Magic By Melkor, No Returns Accepted
- Make Room for Dragons
- Was Smaug the Last Dragon in Middle-earth?
- What Is the Correct Pronunciation for Smaug’s Name?
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
Interesting article. Personally I’d estimate the lower limit of a dragon’s natural lifespan as higher than 300 years – if it were (possibly) that low, would the participants of the quest for Erebor not simply have waited for Smaug to perish of his own accord?
That would allow them to defend the bloodline of Thorin and enable his heir to reclaim the kingdom without having to slay a dragon, and given that they’d already waited some 170 years and Smaug was seemingly in full maturity when he sacked Erebor, waiting the same time again weighed up against the implausibility of the quest’s success, I’d be surprised.
Of course the natural rebuttal of that is that Thorin would not wish to meekly die old and homeless having attempted no vengeance on Smaug – but perhaps he would not have been so able to persuade his companions to join him if they could simply “wait Smaug out”, potentially within the lifespan of some of the younger members of the party. Also the fact this possibility is never discussed renders that kind of lifespan unlikely, in my eyes at least.
As such I’d probably place the “minimum” natural lifespan as considerably higher than that of dwarves themselves, which if I’m not mistaken is in the region of 250-300 years?
Yes, Dwarves typically lived about 250 years; occasionally one would make it to around 300.
As to the immortality question, didn’t Tolkien answer the question himself, when he had Thorin Oakinshield state at Bilbo’s party in the Hobbit:
Dragons steal gold and jewels, you know, from men and elves and dwarves, wherever they can find them; and they guard their plunder as long as they live (which is practically for ever, unless they are killed), and never enjoy a brass ring of it.
Thorin’s statement is not as authoritative as a narrative statement. Characters may say things that are not “true” within the world of the story (a point that Tolkien himself made in one of his letters). In Thorin’s point of view, dragons may have lived “practically for ever” but his point of view was rather limited in various ways (including the relatively short lifespan of a Dwarf, which as indicated above lasted from 250-300 years).
What does “practically for ever” mean, anyway? How much of “for ever” had elapsed by the time Thorin made his statement?
I think his remark was intended (by Tolkien) to be figurative, not literally truthful.