The Encyclopedia of Arda - Were-worms (original) (raw)
Mysterious denizens of the Last Desert
"Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert."
Words of Bilbo Baggins
The Hobbit 1
An Unexpected Party
Creatures of an unknown kind, possibly mythical and presumably related to Dragons, that were said to dwell in the Last Desert.
Tolkien only ever mentions Were-worms once, in the quote given above, so we know almost nothing about them. We cannot even be certain that they actually existed - the Hobbits had a rich folklore peopled with fantastic beings, and Were-worms quite possibly fall into that category.
If they did exist, the name 'Were-worm' suggests a shapeshifting creature like a werewolf - a being that could take the form of either a Man or of a Dragon. Any discussion of the form or habits of the Were-worms, though, must remain in the realms of speculation.
The image conjured by the phrase 'wild Were-worms in the Last Desert' is remarkably resonant of the giant sandworms of Arrakis in the Dune novels. It's appealing to think that this may have had a small part in inspiring Frank Herbert's writing, though of course there is no way we can know whether this is the case.
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 5 August 1998
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.