The first appearance of dragons in Western mythology was the


Norse “worm,” a large scaled creature that was able to breathe


fire and regenerate itself if vivisected. It didn’t have the


arms, legs, or wings of later dragon stories, but was often


pictured as an enormous snake. Because these multihued dragons


were often seen streaking across the sky, many of these worm


dragons sightings have been attributed to the natural ball


lightening phenomena that occurs during some thunderstorms.








 In the Bible, the serpent is the creature most often


used to symbolize evil, so it makes sense that these early


serpent-like dragons were incorporated into the legends of early


Christianity. Dragon lore became parables of the triumph of


Christianity over Paganism in early church lore. 





 One of the most famous stories of St. Peter (although the story


originates in the 12th century, long after his death) was that


of him slaying a dragon. Legend has it, that during Peter’s


travels in Libya, a terrible dragon was terrorizing a small


village, which had offered up a princess to appease the beast.


St. Peter fought the dragon and saved the princess from her


fate. During the battle, Peter was able to take respite under an


enchanted orange tree that the dragon’s poison could not touch.


The orange tree in the story is also very symbolically similar


to Tree Of Life lore from the pagan tradition and Garden of Eden


lore from the early bible. 





 Many other legends of saints include the slaying of dragons. 



St. Sampson (the Archbishop Of Dol) is told to have led a dragon 



out of his cave and over a cliff to his death. St. Philip is 



credited with the slaying of a dragon in Hierapolis in Phygia. 



St. Martha fell a dragon known as Tarasque at Aix, while St. Romain 



performed the same feat with the dragon known as La Gargouille. 





St. Florent, St. Cado, St. Paul, St. Keyne, St. Michael, St. George, 



St. Clement, St. Margaret, Pope Sylvester, and St. Serf have all


been documented as having slain dragons. Two gentler legends


find saints Petroc and Carantoc leading dragons off to


unpopulated areas, assuring the safety of the villages these


dragons had originally overtook. 





Dragons are replete in other early Western literature. Spencer’s 



epic poem, The Faerie Queen, features a dragon slain by the Redcrosse 



knight. Scholars believe that the dragon in this story has a two-fold 



symbolism. Besides representing Satan himself (in the form of the


dragon-like beast from Revelations), as well as the corruption


of the Catholic church as seen from the point of view of a 16th


century Protestant. 





The dragon also plays a vital role in Arthurian legend. While actual 



Arthurian dragon slaying tales are minimal, dragons are invoked for 



symbolic reasons inrelation to key Arthurian figures. Arthur himself,



along with his father Uther, was often referred to as the “head dragon”


(using the more archaic term Pendragon). In this instance, dragons 



represent conflict, discord, and dissention. King Vortigen’s prophecy 



from Merlin uses the symbology of dragons to announce his imminent fall 



from power. Merlin tells Vortigen that his tower rests on two warring 



dragons, creating an unstable foundation for his future leadership. 





For Tristan and Lancelot, the most famous dragon-slaying medieval Knights 



of the Round Table, dragons represent an all-consuming passion that 



lead to their downfall. Tristan is thought to have slain a dragon 



shortly before meeting Isuelt, who heals him from the wounds he obtained 



during battle. The love potion they drank together was listed as dragon 



blood in many accounts of the famous story. Lancelot’s dragon slaying is


done in order to save Elaine, whom Lancelot has a torrid affair with, 



thinking she is Guinevere. Again, many of the accounts of this tale 



attribute Lancelot’s affair to the mind-altering affects of a dragon-blood 



potion. 





While dragons are often used to symbolize evil itself (or


the embodiment of evil in the form of the Devil), dragons also


represented many of the byproducts of evil, including rage,


power, passion, and strife. Ironically, these powerful images


are in direct contrast to the role of the dragon in Eastern


mythology, where the dragon invokes an almost Christ-like form


as a benevolent creature that represents the son of heaven.





About the author:


Faith Harpera is a contributing writer for sites such as: