Speaking to Dragons: Chrysophylax the Rich

Speaking to Dragons. Dragons who talk. In myth and literature, dragons do often speak. In the next few Days of the Dragon, I’ll be exploring some of these dragons with voices. Come along! You might just learn a thing or two about HOW to talk to dragons!

Chrysophylax. Ever heard of this dragon? If you haven’t, not to worry, he’s not the most famous of named dragons. However, he is described as being, “Of ancient and imperial lineage, Chrysophylax was rich, cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armoured, but not overly bold,” (The Tolkien Gateway). This dragon is from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fable, Farmer Giles of Ham, (written 1937 and published 1949). Let’s give this dragon a visit!

Chrysophylax, like most of Tolkien’s dragons, has a voice. He can speak, and in fact, he can speak most eloquently and persuasively. Most dragon enthusiasts (and certainly Tolkien fans) are familiar with Smaug, another of the professor’s speaking dragons. Chrysophylax is not quite the destructive dragon like Smaug; but, he does enjoy his meals, (human, sheep, etc.), and he prefers a rather large tract of land to call his home. Oh, he also likes treasure and has quite a lot of it.

Chrysophylax runs into trouble, though, when he meets his match in the unassuming Farmer Giles of Ham. Actually, his name is Farmer AEgidius of Ham; “Giles” for short. Having had some success with running giants out of Ham, Giles is certain that he can persuade Chrysophylax to leave. If he cannot, he will slay the beast.

Giles and Chrysophylax have a very entertaining discourse, not unlike Bilbo’s conversation with Smaug, but Chrysophylax is much more wary of Giles than Smaug was of Bilbo. In fact, when Chrysophylax realizes that Giles is armed with a sword named Tailbiter, given to the farmer by the king himself, the dragon takes a few steps back.

“My mistake!” said the dragon. “I beg your pardon.” He lay and grovelled and Farmer Giles began to feel more comfortable.

A dragon grovelling? A dragon afraid of…well…anything? Chrysophylax goes on to try and strike a bargain with Giles:

“I have been sadly misled. And now what on earth does one do with a bold farmer and a sword so bright and aggressive?” He could recall no precedent for such a situation. “Chrysophylax is my name,” said he, “Chrysophylax the Rich. What can I do for your honour?”

Well, I won’t spoil the story for you, but suffice it to say that Chrysophylax lives, as does Giles, and they are able to both live comfortably and happily ever after, (after quite a few events).

What I learned from Giles’ conversation with a dragon is that when one does encounter a speaking dragon, one must be completely prepared. Like Giles, one must not show fear and maybe bring along a sharp, pointy sword from the king, if one is available from your local armoury, (not recommended.)

DO use eloquent language, (big words are fine), and do not back down even if the dragon gets a little too close. If you are able to impress the dragon with discourse, you might just find yourself, like Giles, with a new ally and longtime friend.

I’ll explore other literary and mythological speaking dragons in future Days of the Dragon…until then, remember the advice of Gandalf the Grey, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” (From The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien).