Who was waiting for Bilbo Baggins in Lonely Mountain? Meeting with the terrible Smaug

Thanks to the English writer John Ronald Ruel Tolkien in the middle of the twentieth century arose a great interest in the genre of high fantasy. But 20 years before the publication of the famous book The Lord of the Rings, in 1937, Tolkien publishes a novel written for his children, about the adventures of Hobitt Bilbo Baggins. The writer himself did not yet suspect that in the end it would turn out from this children's fairy tale.

The beginning of the famous epic about Middle-earth

The story "The Hobbit" was created together with the children of Tolkien. He came up with a story, and his sons helped to draw a map of Middle-earth - a fantastic country where side by side hobbits, gnomes, elves, people and many other mysterious and magical creatures.

In this fairy tale, which described the amazing adventures of Bilbo Baggins, for the first time many key figures of the next, serious and even tragic narration about Middle-earth - "The Lord of the Rings" appear. "Hobbit" is the happy past of a magical country, its last carefree days before the coming threat.

The main intrigue of the book was the question of who was waiting for Bilbo Baggins in Lonely Mountain. Long ago, the gnomes fled from there because of the deadly danger - they were attacked by the last dragon of Middle-earth, Smaug. But these tragic events occurred centuries ago (gnomes, as you know, live for a very long time), so everyone was sure that the terrible monster that destroyed the great dwarven kingdom had long since disappeared. If Bilbo Baggins knew about this sad history ... Who was waiting for him in the caves under the mountain, he did not even imagine, therefore he agreed to a mad adventure - to go on a long trip to the company of gnomes.

Hobbits, gnomes, elves and other amazing creatures

Telling about who was waiting for Bilbo Baggins in the Lonely Mountain, you need to stop and on his companions. Tolkien took his heroes (except hobbits) from the Scandinavian, Old English and Finnish epics. Elves, gnomes, orcs, goblins, dragons were their main characters. The magician of Gandalf, who alone for his guessed reason chooses Bilbo as a companion to the moons, Tolkien made him look like the Scandinavian supreme god Odin. To this thought he was pushed by an old postcard on which was depicted a tall old man in a long cloak, pointed hat and with a staff in his hands. This is how we see now the great sorcerer of Middle-earth.

The Journey of Bilbo Baggins: a hike to Lonely Mountain

The plot of the story about the adventures of a hobbit adventurer is simple: he is hired by gnomes to march to his kingdom left under the mountain many years ago. Gandalf represents him as a great burglar, capable of penetrating anywhere. In fact, Bilbo is a completely ordinary hobbit, leading a quiet and measured life. The only thing that distinguishes him from the rest of his fellows is the desire for travel. It was she who forced him to embark on an adventure. If at first the gnomes treated their little satellite with distrust and a certain amount of contempt, then the opinion of him gradually changed. The Hobbit saved them from the clutches of the terrible creatures of the Dark Forest, helped escape the elven prison and unraveled the mystery of the secret door that led into the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf did not choose Bilbo for nothing. For a long time watching a small people, he realized that hobbits possess resourcefulness and courage.

Awful mystery

So, who was waiting for Bilbo Baggins in Lonely Mountain? When thanks to the ingenuity of the hobbit, the dwarves managed to open a secret passage to their abandoned kingdom, they sent Bilbo to reconnoitre. By arrangement, it was he who was to help get their main treasure - a relic of gnomes - the stone Arkenston.

In the treasury - a huge hall full of gold and precious objects, the hobbit saw with horror the sleeping dragon. It was the great Smaug, who took possession of the kingdom of the dwarves under the mountain. Bilbo did not know anything about the dragons, because they had long been considered extinct, and he did not know that they were the most cunning creatures in the world, possessing the gift of hypnosis. Outwit Smauga could, using his two weaknesses: love of riddles and vanity. It was on this and played Bilbo, who eventually managed to slip out of the lair of the dragon.

The screen version of Tolkien's works. Who played Smaug?

According to the books of the "father of fantasy", attempts were repeatedly made to create a film, but their adaptation was eventually found to be almost impossible. That's the way it was before Peter Jackson took over. He made the trilogy "The Lord of the Rings," which gained worldwide fame and revived interest in Tolkien's work. In 2012, Jackson presented his new work - the first part of the trilogy about the adventures of Bilbo, the film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". Thanks to his work, viewers now know who waited for Bilbo Baggins in Lonely Mountain, and how terrible this character was.

Smaug in the film was created with the help of special technology of motion capture. He was played and voiced by actor Benedict Cumberbatch. The dragon in his execution turned out not only horrendously formidable and deadly, but also not devoid of a peculiar grace and charm.