J.R.R. Tolkien was the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, two of the most famous fantasy books ever written. Before he was a writer he was a professor who studied ancient languages and old stories. He spent years reading Norse legends, Old English poems, and German fairy tales, and he was especially fascinated by dragons.
When Tolkien created the dragon Smaug for The Hobbit, he borrowed bits from several old myths. Smaug guards a huge pile of treasure inside a mountain, just like Fafnir from Norse legend and the dragon from the Old English poem Beowulf. Smaug also has one small unprotected spot on his belly that a hero must aim for, exactly the same weakness as Fafnir.
Tolkien even invented his own dragon-friendly languages and a long list of dragon names. He wanted modern readers to feel the same chill people felt when they listened to old dragon legends a thousand years ago. His books went on to inspire countless other fantasy authors, movies, and video games.
