Draugluin by Narya

Draugluin

Despite being "lord and sire of the werewolves of Angband",¹ Draugluin appears only briefly in the published Silmarillion. His role in the story, however, is pivotal; he unwittingly provides the means for Beren and Lúthien to enter Angband, and from there to steal a Silmaril from Melkor's Iron Crown.

Draugluin's Role in the Narrative

When Lúthien and Huan arrive at Tol-in-Gaurhoth (the Isle of Werewolves) where Beren is lying prisoner, she sings a song of challenge on the bridge, and the wolves howl in response. Sauron, intending to take her captive too, sends a wolf to the bridge to subdue her. Huan, however, slays the wolf—and each of its brethren that follows. Sauron finally sends Draugluin, the first of the werewolves; a "long and fierce" battle ensues, and eventually a dying Draugluin flees back to his master, living long enough only to tell Sauron, "'Huan is here!'"²

But despite his death, Draugluin's part in the tale is not done. Beren later takes the old wolf's skin to disguise himself so that he and Lúthien may approach Angband without suspicion. The skin serves as more than a mere garment; aided by "the arts of Lúthien", it effects a very real physical transformation on Beren, who "became in all things like a werewolf to look upon, save that in his eyes there shone a spirit grim indeed but clean".³

In this section, too, we are introduced to Draugluin's descendant Carcharoth, the Red Maw—the wolf chosen, hand-fed, and empowered (literally) by Melkor himself, for the purpose of slaying Huan.⁴ Draugluin's skin gets Beren into Angband (though Carcharoth has misgivings, having heard about Draugluin's demise, before he is ultimately subdued by Lúthien's magic). Beren then hides in wolf form beneath Melkor's throne. Lúthien weaves her enchantments; Melkor and his court are cast into sleep; Beren is woken by Lúthien's touch, casts aside Draugluin's pelt, cuts a Silmaril from the Iron Crown, and so sets into motion the events of the late First Age.⁵

The Nature of Draugluin and his Descendants

We know almost nothing of Draugluin's history before his battle with Huan, and very little of his nature. We are told that he is the progenitor of all werewolves, and he is described as "a dread beast, old in evil".⁶ It should be noted that Tolkien's werewolves are not lycanthropic, nor does the moon appear to affect their behaviour. Instead they are "fell beasts inhabited by dreadful spirits that [Sauron] had imprisoned in their bodies",⁷ which seems in keeping with Sauron's necromantic proclivities. While we have no year for Draugluin's birth, given the nature of Tolkien's werewolves it is a fair assumption that "old" here implies a longer lifespan than the twenty years of a long-lived grey wolf.

His skin, too, may hint at an uncommon level of power—when Beren puts it on, he appears to truly transform into a wolf. This is the closest thing to a lycanthropic transformation that we get in the text, barring Sauron himself taking the form of a great wolf.⁸ As noted above, Lúthien's power clearly plays a role in the efficacy of the disguise. However, Tolkien here was perhaps also thinking of Sigmund and Sinfjötli of the Völsung Saga, who donned wolf skins and became as wolves themselves—or perhaps the popular depiction of Norse berserkr warriors wearing bear and wolf skins to access powers of enhanced strength and speed.⁹

Both Draugluin and Carcharoth can speak, and apparently use reason (see above regarding the doubts Carcharoth has about letting Beren-as-Draugluin into Angband). This ability has caused at least one fan site to speculate that Draugluin may be a fallen Maia.¹⁰ However, there is nothing in the text to suggest that this was Tolkien's intention.

We can also conclude that werewolves are not the same as Wargs. It is true that the Wargs in The Hobbit can speak,¹¹ just like werewolves, and that Tolkien described Wargs as "demon wolves".¹² However, Gandalf lists the two creatures separately when he is discussing Sauron's servants with Frodo after the flight to the ford.¹³

In studying and researching Tolkien's characters, one can often look to the etymology of their name to discern further insights. Draugluin can be glossed simply as "blue (were)wolf" (draug "wolf" or "werewolf" + luin "blue").¹⁴ It was, however, translated as "werewolf pale" in The Lays of Beleriand, where he is also referred to as "fearphantom"¹⁵. This echoes the nature of werewolves as entrapped spirits in Tolkien's work (cf. Old Norse draugr, undead beings often connected to burial mounds).

Textual History

In the earliest versions of the legendarium, Draugluin's role is taken by Oikeroi—a cat, thane of Tevildo.¹⁶ Like Draugluin, he is slain by Huan, and Beren takes his skin as a disguise. It is not a new observation that Tolkien's earliest drafts share some tonal commonality with, for example, Lang's fairy books, or the Victorian fantasy novels of George MacDonald. Indeed, The Tale of Tinúviel makes explicit reference to fairy magic, and Tinúviel herself is at one point called a sprite.¹⁷ It is therefore perhaps both fitting and ironic that Oikeroi the cat evolves into a wolf—a common fairy-tale villain, but one with deep roots in myth, legend, and the primal fears of humanity itself. The battle with Huan, though, and the use of the dead beast's skin, are remarkably consistent throughout versions—as is Beren emerging from the pelt, like Red Riding Hood or Peter bursting from the bellies of the ravening wolves in their tales, restored anew to life. 

One notable deviation from Draugluin's usual history can be found in The Later Annals of Beleriand. In this version, it is Draugluin, rather than an unnamed werewolf, who slays Finrod; Christopher Tolkien calls this a "strange" decision and it does not appear elsewhere.¹⁸

Conclusion

Unlike Peter and Red, Beren and Lúthien's tale goes on past the death of their wolf. Later, they must face a greater, more terrible wolf in Carcharoth, before dying and being reborn. Without Draugluin's skin, however, they could not have entered Angband and stolen a Silmaril.

The same Silmaril shines down from the night sky throughout much of Middle-earth's history. It gives hope to the Elves at the end of the First Age,¹⁹ and its light helps Sam defeat Shelob in her lair.²⁰ This restoration of hope and light from despair and darkness is a recurrent theme throughout the legendarium, one which is underscored by the consistent use and casting off of Draugluin's pelt throughout Tolkien's drafts. A creature corrupted by the servants of darkness ultimately ensures the triumph of the light—"a part of the whole and tributary to its glory."²¹

Works Cited

1. The Silmarillion, "Of Beren and Lúthien."
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Erni Suparti, "Scandinavian Myths and Grimm's Tales in Clemence Housman's The Were-Wolf," Cove Collective, 2018, accessed June 15, 2023.
10. "Draugluin," Tolkien Gateway, January 27, 2023, accessed June 2, 2023.
11. The Hobbit, "Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire."
12. "Letter to Gene Wolfe," Tolkien Gateway, June 17, 2014, accessed June 24, 2023
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings."
14. "Draugluin," Eldamo, accessed June 2, 2023.
15. The History of Middle-earth, Volume III: The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, Canto V, 1489.
16. The History of Middle-earth, Volume II: The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, The Tale of Tinúviel, "Commentary on The Tale of Tinúviel, §I. The primary narrative."
17. The History of Middle-earth, Volume II: The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, The Tale of Tinúviel.
18. The History of Middle-earth, Volume V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, The Later Annals of Beleriand, "Annal 264" and "Commentary on The Later Annals of Beleriand, Annal 264."
19. The Silmarillion, "The Voyage of Eärendil."
20. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol."
21. The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë.