Carcharoth

In J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology of Middle-earth, Carcharoth (), Sindarin for "The Red Maw", was the greatest wolf that had ever lived. He was also called Anfauglir (Jaws of Thirst; IPA: ). He was bred with the specific goal of killing Huan, the hound of Valinor, a goal in which he succeeded (Morgoth, as well as his most powerful servant Sauron, was aware of the prophecies regarding Huan's death and set out to make the prophecy come true).
Inspiration
Tom Shippey says that the hunting of the great wolf recalls the chase of the boar Twrch Trwyth in the Welsh Mabinogion, while the motif of 'the hand in the wolf's mouth' is one of the most famous parts of the Prose Edda, told of Fenris Wolf and the god Týr; while Huan recalls several faithful hounds of legend, Garm, Gelert, Cafall. Jane Chance in addition to mentioning the parallels with the boar hunt in the Mabinogion, additionally compares the hunt for Carcharoth to the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, a tale from Greek mythology.
In Ancient Greek καρχαρος (karcharos) means "jagged" or "sharp".
History
Born of the foul breed of the Wolves of Angband in the First Age of the Sun, When Mablung cut open the belly of Carcharoth, he found there the Silmaril with Beren's hand still around it, but when he touched the flesh it was swept away by a wind. Beren then died of his wound, but returned later after Lúthien's pleas to Mandos.
 
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