This dragon found a treasure-hoard hidden in an ancient barrow and moved in. The fire-drake is best known from literary sources, such as the Old English epic poem Beowulf, composed quite likely in the 8th century and written down in the early 11th century. The dragons that were seen flying over Northumbria in 793 (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) were most likely a comet of some kind, though they were interpreted at the time as presaging the ferocious attack of the Vikings on the monastery at Lindisfarne. The fiery, flying dragon has been connected with the appearance of comets. It loves gold and other kinds of treasure where it finds a hidden hoard it moves in and sleeps on top of it. The first is the northern, Germanic dragon that flies through the air on powerful wings and breathes fire when provoked. This archetype symbolises the eternal battle between good and evil, but more specifically such stories are often used to explain how different peoples were able to move into new areas by conquering difficult territory and finding clever ways to overcome natural perils to make homes for themselves.Įuropean dragons come in two kinds. Or it may lurk deep within some rocky chasm like the Python, slain by the god Apollo with his arrows. The monster is not always draconian in form, but it very often has serpent characteristics, perhaps dwelling in the sea, like the sea-monster that Perseus turns into stone with the aid of the Gorgon’s head when he rescued Andromeda. The hero frequently needs supernatural help – a flying horse like Pegasus, or a magic sword – or he possesses superhuman strength, like the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules in Roman myth) who battled against the multi-headed Hydra in the marshes of Lerna. This provokes economic, political and population crises. In these tales, a fearsome monster, very often in serpent form, threatens human livelihoods by devouring animals and people – often young, marriageable girls. Indo-European legends, shared across Europe, the Near East and India, have a recurring story-pattern: that of the monster and the hero. Their habit of shedding their skins can signify the new knowledge they have acquired in the mysterious depths underground. They can vanish into dark holes and reappear elsewhere, wriggling through the smallest chinks and crevices. In fact, serpents are universally seen in the world’s major mythological cycles as having particular wisdom about the secrets that lie hidden beneath the earth’s surface. Its capacity to find water is crucial to human survival in traditional societies, a function that connects it to the East Asian dragons. The Rainbow Serpent is indeed a creator-god in some Aboriginal Australian mythologies when a rainbow appears in the sky, it’s said that the Serpent is moving between water-holes. Recently it’s been suggested that the rainbow might have inspired tales of giant serpents. Various theories have been put forward to explain the popularity of the dragon legend. They take many different forms and have varying characteristics: they can be a mild nuisance or a deadly peril they may fly and breathe fire, or creep along spouting poison. Where did the dragon myth originate, and why are dragon stories so widespread across at least two continents? Carolyne Larrington, Professor of medieval European literature at the University of Oxford, investigates.ĭragons feature in legend and folklore all across Britain, as well as Europe and Asia.
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