Summary
Sauron, the powerful Dark Lord in J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Rings, is one terrifying villain. His acts of violence against his enemies aren’t just physical, but also psychological. Especially when armed with the One Ring and his Maiar powers, he is nigh invincible. But once upon a time, he was defeated in a fight with a dog. And it was humiliating enough for him to flee the battle.
Sauron has often been described as a shapeshifter. In the Second Age, he takes the fair form of Lord Annatar to deceive the elves. And once he has the One Ring duringThe Lord of the Rings, he prefers to use deceit and his will to dominate to get what he wants. However, back in the First Age, when Sauron was the most terrifying servant of the First Dark Lord, Morgoth, Sauron could shapeshift into a vampire and a werewolf, too. It is in this werewolf form that Sauron faces a legendary dog and spectacularly loses.
Who Was Huan, the Hound of Valinor?
Huan was a hound of Valinor, a gift from the Vala Oromë (a great hunter) to Celegorm, one of the sons of Fëanor (maker of the Silmarils), back when the Noldor elves were still in Valinor. AfterMorgoth stole the Silmarils from Fëanor, the latter led an exodus of Noldor elves to Middle-earth in vengeance. Celegorm also left under oath, and so did Huan, who was loyal to his master. So the Ban of the Valar, which prevented the exiled elves from returning to Valinor, was also on Huan.
Being from Valinor, Huan wasn’t an ordinary dog. He was of great size and extremely powerful, able to defeat the strongest of werewolves. He wouldn’t tire or need rest, never fell ill, and was immortal. He was wise, too, and could understand all human speech, though he could only speak words thrice in his life, thanks to a gift from the Valar.
This gift of speech was part of a prophecy that was made about Huan, which proclaimed that Huan would not die until he encountered the mightiest werewolf to ever walk on earth. It is this prophecy that links his story to that of Lúthien and Beren, and to Sauron.
Huan and Lúthien
Of the many stories of the First Age,the tale of Lúthien and Berenis a memorable one, and Huan the Hound is a major part of it. Lúthien was the daughter of the elven King Thingol and Melian the Maia. Beren came from one of the noble houses of Men who fought with the elves in the wars against Morgoth. When Beren fell in love with Lúthien and asked her father for hand in marriage, Thingol set him an impossible challenge: to steal a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth himself. Beren was joined in this quest byFinrod Felagund (brother of Galadriel)and ten other elves loyal to Finrod. However, they were captured by Sauron and imprisoned in Tol-in-Gaurhoth or the Isle of Werewolves.
When Lúthien found out about Beren’s plight, she escaped from her father’s guard (Rapunzel-style) to go save him. However, she was intercepted by Celegorm and his brother Curufin. Initially, they offered to help her, but then they, too, imprisoned her in the city of Nargothrond. They usurped this city after its king, Finrod, left with Beren. This is where Huan the Hound of Valinor shifted loyalties, defied his master Celegorm, and helped Luthien escape. He accompanied her to Tol-in Gaurhoth, where Sauron was torturing Beren.
Huan the Hound vs Wolf-Sauron
Sauron had killed all of Beren’s companions, including Finrod. Beren was near death when Lúthien’s song from beyond the gates of Sauron’s tower gave him hope. Sauron sent many werewolves to attack Lúthien, but Huan killed all of them. When the mightiest of the wolves died at Sauron’s feet, it told him,“Huan is here.”It was then that Sauron remembered the prophecy about Huan, and he decided to fulfill it himself. Heshapeshifted into the greatest werewolfthat ever walked the earth, and made a terrifying entrance that scared Huan. Huan and Wolf-Sauron then engaged in a bloody battle, and despite Sauron’s savage attacks, it ended with Huan overpowering Sauron.
Pinned to the ground by Huan, Wolf-Sauron shapeshifted into a serpent, but even then, Huan’s grip on him was strong. When he was about to ditch his body entirely, Lúthien gave Sauron a choice to yield the tower to her and be set free. Sauron yielded and shape-shifted into a vampire, and Huan let him fly away.
There’s more to Huan’s story after this battle with Sauron, where he helps Lúthien and Beren steal the Silmaril from Morgoth and escape. Before his death, Huan even fights Carcharoth, the great wolf of Angband bred by Morgoth himself. He slays him despite being mortally wounded, fulfilling the prophecy about how he wouldn’t die until he had met the greatest wolf the world had ever seen. Huan the Hound remains one of the few beings to ever defeat Sauron in battle, and one of the noblest non-human characters inThe Lord of the Ringsand Tolkien’s legendarium. A good boy through and through.
