The first dragons
Morgoth’s creatures of domination enter the wars of the First Age.
Four-part seriesSmaug and the End
Smaug and the End
of the Dragons
From the first great dragons of Morgoth to the last famous fire-drake beneath the Lonely Mountain: a journey into terror, intelligence, greed and the long fading of dragon-kind.
Watch in order
Follow the fire
The complete playlist traces Tolkien’s dragons across the ages and towards the lonely end of Smaug.
Open on YouTube ↗Across the series
Dragon-fire and desire
Four movements explore what Tolkien’s dragons are, what they awaken in others and why their age passes.
The dragon and the hoard
Treasure becomes more than wealth: it becomes possession, identity and corruption.
The voice of Smaug
Words wound before fire does, probing fear and turning companions against one another.
The end of the great dragons
Smaug’s fall marks the fading of one of Middle-earth’s oldest terrors.
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