About Dragons
A fabulous animal, represented as a huge
winged
serpent with a crested head and large claws.
Winged dragons made their first Western
appearances
in the works of ancient Greece and in the
Bible, but
it was medieval Europe whose imagination
was most
captured by the stubby-legged, fire-breathing
monsters.
As legend had it, any of those terrifying
creatures,
often having formidable horns, horrible
fangs, and
pestilential breath, might hold a town
hostage and
devour young virgins until it was killed
— most
likely being beheaded or impaled — by a
virtuous
knight, usually armed with a magical sword.
The most
famous hero to rescue a town and maiden
was Saint
George, whose victory was seen as an allegory
for
Christianity's triumph over the powers
of darkness.
Dragons also loomed large in Chinese folklore,
where they were relatively benign. But
in the
West they were evil; the real-life model
for
the fictional vampire Dracula, the prince
Vlad
Tepes, was nicknamed Dracula after the
Romanian
word for dragon and devil. Even in death,
a
dragon reportedly had extraordinary powers.
A
drop of its blood could kill instantly,
and its
teeth, planted in the earth, sprang up
overnight
as armed men.
In the 19th century, fossil evidence of
the
existence of the pterodactyl, an extinct
winged
reptile, led to speculation that dragons,
far
from being purely mythical, may at one
time
have been real monsters that had survived
from
the age of the dinosaurs. In Mythical Monsters
(1886) New Zealand geologist Charles Gould
declared: "We may infer that it (the dragon)
was a long terrestrial lizard, hibernating
and carnivorous... possibly furnished with
wing-like expansions...."
A discovery that took place in 1912 gave
some
support to Gould's theory. A Dutch pilot
who
crash-landed on the island of Komodo in
Indonesia reported seeing huge, grotesque-looking,
carnivorous creatures resembling dragons.
Investigations confirmed the airman's story.
The animal he had seen was a giant monitor
lizard, now known as the Komodo dragon.
The
creature grows to 10 feet in length, has
a
long powerful tail, feeds on carrion, and
sometimes attacks and kills people. From
New
Guinea, too, have come unconfirmed reports
of
lizards that are even larger than the Komodo
dragon. It is, however, difficult to understand
how these particular giant lizards, isolated
in
a part of the world remote from Europe,
could
have played any part in the development
of the
Western legend of the dragon. Could it
be that
the Western dragon developed from a memory
in
the collective unconscious of modern man,
a
memory of other, widespread, fierce and
fearsome
animals, survivors from the age of dinosaurs
—
a memory passed down from our primitive
ancestors, who lived in terror of such
creatures?
People in Durham (England) still sing of
the
"worm" — Old English for "dragon" — which
terrorized the county in the Middle Ages.
It
all began when the young heir to Lambton
Castle went fishing on a Sunday. He caught
an eel-like creature, which he threw down
a
well. In the well the worm grew to an enormous
size, and when the young knight went off
on a
crusade, it broke out and devoured men
and
beasts. Every night it would sleep while
wound
three times around Lambton Hill, now called
Worm Hill. Young Lambton managed to slay
the
dragon on his return from the crusade,
but
only by promising a witch he would kill
the
first creature he met after his victory.
Unfortunately, it was his father who was
first on the scene. Young Lambton refused
to kill him, and, because of this, the
Lambton
family was put under the witch's curse
— a
curse said to be effective still.
Further info:
Dragon Lore.
Historical Dragon Page.
http://bestiarium.net/index-e.html
http://www.occultopedia.com/
Message: 21
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 23:19:28
-0000
From: "Lady Mayre"
Subject: Dragons
More About Dragons!
A fabulous animal, represented as a huge winged serpent with a crested head and large claws. Winged dragons made their first Western appearances in the works of ancient Greece and in the Bible, but it was medieval Europe whose imagination was most captured by the stubby-legged, fire-breathing monsters. As legend had it, any of those terrifying creatures, often having formidable horns, horrible fangs, and pestilential breath, might hold a town hostage and devour young virgins until it was killed - most likely being beheaded or impaled - by a virtuous knight, usually armed with a magical sword. The most famous hero to rescue a town and maiden was Saint George, whose victory was seen as an allegory for Christianity's triumph over the powers of darkness. Dragons also loomed large in Chinese folklore, where they were relatively benign. But in the West they were evil; the real-life model for the fictional vampire Dracula, the prince Vlad Tepes, was nicknamed Dracula after the Romanian word for dragon and devil. Even in death, a dragon reportedly had extraordinary powers. A drop of its blood could kill instantly, and its teeth, planted in the earth, sprang up overnight as armed men. In the 19th century, fossil evidence of the existence of the pterodactyl, an extinct winged reptile, led to speculation that dragons, far from being purely mythical, may at one time have been real monsters that had survived from the age of the dinosaurs. In Mythical Monsters (1886) New Zealand geologist Charles Gould declared: "We may infer that it (the dragon) was a long terrestrial lizard, hibernating and carnivorous... possibly furnished with wing- like expansions...." A discovery that took place in 1912 gave some support to Gould's theory. A Dutch pilot who crash-landed on the island of Komodo in Indonesia reported seeing huge, grotesque-looking, carnivorous creatures resembling dragons. Investigations confirmed the airman's story. The animal he had seen was a giant monitor lizard, now known as the Komodo dragon. The creature grows to 10 feet in length, has a long powerful tail, feeds on carrion, and sometimes attacks and kills people. From New Guinea, too, have come unconfirmed reports of lizards that are even larger than the Komodo dragon. It is, however, difficult to understand how these particular giant lizards, isolated in a part of the world remote from Europe, could have played any part in the development of the Western legend of the dragon. Could it be that the Western dragon developed from a memory in the collective unconscious of modern man, a memory of other, widespread, fierce and fearsome animals, survivors from the age of dinosaurs - a memory passed down from our primitive ancestors, who lived in terror of such creatures? People in Durham (England) still sing of the "worm" - Old English for "dragon" - which terrorized the county in the Middle Ages. It all began when the young heir to Lambton Castle went fishing on a Sunday. He caught an eel-like creature, which he threw down a well. In the well the worm grew to an enormous size, and when the young knight went off on a crusade, it broke out and devoured men and beasts. Every night it would sleep while wound three times around Lambton Hill, now called Worm Hill. Young Lambton managed to slay the dragon on his return from the crusade, but only by promising a witch he would kill the first creature he met after his victory. Unfortunately, it was his father who was first on the scene. Young Lambton refused to kill him, and, because of this, the Lambton family was put under the witch's curse - a curse said to be effective still.
Related videos: Dragons. Dragons - Myths
& Legends. Related books: Behold...the Dragons! Dancing With Dragons:
Invoke Their Ageless Wisdom & Power. Dragon Tarotdeck. Dragons: A Natural
History. Dragons and Unicorns: A Natural History. Dragons, Unicorns and
Sea Serpents: A Classic Study of the Evidence for Their Existence. Fabulous
Monsters. Mythical Monsters. The Bestiary (Dramatic Supplement). The Book
of Dragons. The Discovery of Dragons. The Dragon Tarot.