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The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem Culex lines 163–201, [1] describing a shepherd battling a big constricting snake, calls it "serpens" and also "draco", showing that in his time the two words probably could mean the same thing.
Dragons were personified as a caring mother with her children or a pair of dragons. Much like the Chinese Dragon, The Vietnamese Dragon is a water deity responsible for bringing rain during times of drought. Images of the Dragon King have 5 claws, while images of lesser dragons have only 4 claws. Con rit is a water dragon from Vietnamese mythology.
An early appearance of the Old English word dracan (oblique singular of draca) in Beowulf [1]. The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which, in turn, comes from Latin draco (genitive draconis), meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from Ancient Greek δράκων, drákōn (genitive δράκοντος, drákontos) "serpent".
The name reputedly derives from a type of firearm, called a dragon, which was a handgun version of a blunderbuss, carried by dragoons of the French Army. [2] [3] The title has been retained in modern times by a number of armoured or ceremonial mounted regiments.
The medieval dragon is depicted as an evil, hideous monster always associated with evil. In Latin, draco means both dragon and serpent; the dragon is linked to the serpent and in particular to the tempter of Genesis, who drove Adam and Eve to taste the forbidden fruit. [5] Medieval encyclopedias therefore classify it as a serpent. [6]
The dragon with his hoard is a common motif in early Germanic literature with the story existing to varying extents in the Norse sagas, but it is most notable in the Völsunga saga and in Beowulf. [6] Beowulf preserves existing medieval dragon-lore, most notably in the extended digression recounting the Sigurd/Fafnir tale. [2]
In early depictions, as with dragons in other cultures, the distinction between Germanic dragons and regular snakes is blurred, with both being referred to as: "worm" (Old English: wyrm, Old Norse: ormʀ, ormr, Old High German: wurm), "snake" (Old English: snaca, Old Norse: snókr, snákr, Old High German: *snako), "adder" (Old English: nǣdre, Old Norse: naðr, Old High German: nātara), and ...
When the dragon sees that the cup has been stolen, it leaves its cave in a rage, burning everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but Beowulf tells his men that he will fight the dragon alone and that they should wait on the barrow. Beowulf descends to do battle with the dragon, but finds himself outmatched.