Bard is a character from
J.R.R. Tolkien's childrens' novel,
The Hobbit. He is an inhabitant of the Mannish
settlement of
Dale, an area inhabited by
hardy yet unsuccessful Men who dare to live virtually at the
threshold of
the fearsome dragon Smaug. Bard is in reality descended from
Girion, former
Lord of Dale, but is only a
warrior, not the leader of Dale. He is, as the
node-title suggests, the slayer of
Smaug, an
evil dragon who lives in
the Lonely Mountain.
In Chapter 14 of the Hobbit, Bard is informed by a
thrush that Smaug's
jewelled coating has a gap -- a place where a well placed arrow can kill him. And as luck would have it,Smaug, in a fit of rage at having a peice of his
treasure stolen by one
hobbit,
Bilbo Baggins, files over Dale and falls victim to Bard's arrow, though not before a large portion of Dale is burnt.
Later, Bard is a key figure in getting
Thorin Oakenshield, lately heir to his ancestral fortunes which had been in Smaug's hands all this time, to relinquish the part of the treasure that rightfully belongs to men. After a battle or two and some double-dealling by
Baggins, Thorin gives Bard his share of the treasure from his (Thorin's) deathbed. Bard goes home to be the new leader of Dale and to live
happily ever after.