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 in relation 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.
