Which Tolkien story features the dragon Chrysophylax Dives?

The story behind the answer

Chrysophylax Dives appears in J.R.R. Tolkien’s story Farmer Giles of Ham.

The comic tale follows Farmer Giles, an unlikely local hero who confronts a dragon threatening the land. The dragon’s Latin-styled name, Chrysophylax Dives, suggests wealth and treasure, fitting the creature’s proud and greedy character.

Farmer Giles of Ham was published in 1949 by George Allen & Unwin. Unlike The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it is a humorous fairy-story set in a mock-medieval England rather than a central narrative of Middle-earth.

Tolkien’s other shorter works have similarly distinctive titles and creatures. Leaf by Niggle concerns an artist and a tree, Smith of Wootton Major follows a village smith, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a poetry collection. None of those works features Chrysophylax Dives.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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