Welcome!
Statue in Slovenia
It’s Dragon time!
Really, I had no choice. Doing a blog on castles it just naturally leads in to a blog on dragons, don’t you think?
Bere Island, County Cork, Ireland
What is a dragon after all?
Are they real?
Were they real?
Do they still exist?
Pinterest
I’d like to mention a little pet peeve of mine here. Pinterest changed awhile back the way people post and give credit to photos. Once you post a photo, and someone looks at it, the original accompanying info is then lost. At least, I can’t find it. No credit, no background, nothing. Verrryy frustrating for someone like me who likes to give credit where it is due. If I post something without due credit, and you know who it ‘belongs’ to, please let me know so I can be more accurate and give credit where it is due. I’d really appreciate it.
Rant over.
Back to dragons!
“a mythical monster resembling a giant reptile, sometimes shown as having wings. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil.”
- Oxford Language
“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling
if there aren’t any dragons.”
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Artistry Apex
Wikipedia says ‘a magical, legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably throughout regions. Dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages often are winged, horned and fire-breathing.
Eastern cultures are usually wingless, four-legged serpentine shaped, with above average intelligence.’
A Chinese dragon, possibly embroidered. Pinterest.
‘Dragon’ in English comes from early 13th century, derived from Old French ‘dragon’, which comes from Latin ‘Draco’, meaning ‘huge serpent’ or ‘dragon’, most likely from Ancient Greek.
Follow all that? Let’s just say there’s been some form of the word for a very long time, across cultures.
Earliest writings say these creatures resemble giant snakes. They have appeared in Near East and Ancient Mesopotamia art and literature. We find dragon-like creatures around the globe and across most cultures such as Egyptian, the Hebrew Bible, Norse mythology, Aztec, Greek, Albanian, Persian and Lakota Native American.
A Celtic stylized dragon
“When you banish the dragons
you banish the heroes.”
- Andrew Solomon
There are many different theories about dragons, some of which remind me of the reality of mermaids. Were live mermaids seen by exhausted, homesick sailors? Or were the mermaids really manatees frolicking among the waves of a weary man’s dreams?
Were dragons seen as size humongous by malaria-fevered explorers from snakes, birds of prey and large cats? Dragons were said to live in dark caves, deep pools and haunted forests, and at the bottom of the wild sea - all very scary places to a simple hunter looking for dinner on the way home. Nothing to bring home? Why it was because of an encounter with a dragon!
Pinterest
Dragons could be the explaination when large dinosaur bones were found and dug up in China and the Mediterranean regions.
But then there’s Scandinavia.
Paper artist Jeff Nishinaka
Scandinavia is not known for large dinosaur fossils found there. Perhaps these dragon bones are exaggerated Komodo dragons, Gila monsters and iguanas?
Thorny Dragon; Australia
But then, Scandinavia is not really known to have those either!
ALLPE Medio Ambent
In Eastern cultures dragons can have a more positive influence, such as rain for the Chinese, creation & life for the Vietnamese and wisdom & power for the Koreans.
Today dragons are generally shown as living underground, in caves or a river. They are greedy with endless appetites. They are often identified with Satan due to references from the Book of Revelation, the Bible, written by the Apostle John. Revelations is about the end times and Satan.
From the 11th - 15th century there were many popular stories that included dragons - a time when everyone was ruled by the Catholic Church. Frequently the dragons were defeated by the sign of the cross.
By the 18th century dragons had entered the world of Fantasy in literature. An example is Lewis Carrol’s classic Through the Looking Glass from 1871. In it there is a dragon like creature full of magic, yet benign and harmless - a source of comedy in a waistcoat. Rather than frightening, dragons were harmless and inferior to humans.
By the 1960’s dragons had faded from their height of popularity, as children’s stories became more serious and factual.
Barbara a Smoki, Pinterest
“Happiness is like those palaces in fairytales
whose gates are guarded by dragons:
We must fight in order to conquer it.”
- Alexandre Dumas
Fortunately writers like Dr. Seuss and songs like ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ made a comeback and brought fun back to children’s lives.
(And yes, I believe Peter, Paul and Mary that the song “Puff” really is what it says it is, a charming story about a boy and his dragon.)
Beware the darkness of dragons,
Beware the stalker of dreams,
Beware the talons of power and fire,
Beware one who is not what she seems.
Something is coming to shake the earth,
Something is coming to scorch the ground.
Jade mountain will fall beneath thunder and ice
Unless the lost city of night can be found.
- Tui T. Sutherland
In today’s world we can find dragons, real or imagined, anywhere from our fantasy literature to our office attire to our home decor to sand sculptures on the beach. Just as unicorns have captured popular sentiment, we have incorporated dragons in to all walks of our lives. While there are some who choose to see evil and deeper purpose, I choose to see humor, historical and cultural beauty and a large dose of whimsy.
‘Til next time,
inkspired
good reads.com
Pinterest
Brainyquote.com
AZQuotes.com
Wikipedia.org
Oxford language dictionary
Oxford language dictionary
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