Short Tales
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These tales have not yet been identified with another region. If you know of any specifics, please let me know.
- Dragon and His Grandmother
- Dragon in the Bride's Chamber
- Faithless Wife
- Flower Queen's Daughter
- Four Accomplished Brothers
- Lodge Boy and Thrown Away
- Serpent Maiden
Short Short Tales:
A god's second death is his punishment for killing a dragon.
"The hero-gods of the displaced peoples tended to become cast in the role of dragon or brigand" (Source: Python pg 424)
18 people were killed in Kokkum (Holland) and a dragon's body found in Oldenoorde.
The Dane Saxo Grammaticus, in Historia Danica (c 1200) told of 2 heros that fought dragons for treasure.
Erlang, a river god, fought many river dragons.
Kings often enlisted the help of heros - especially after they themselves have failed.
The City of Lunivium was supposedly protected by an old dragon that required a maiden to bring his yearly meal.
Barbara Bowen, in "Rabelais's unreadable books" describes how "a dragon turns into a beautiful woman holding a book", although no more detail is given.
Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs, Vol 1 tells us that in Italy, "Ludovico Ariosto wrote his Italian epic poem Orlando furioso (1516) in which his hero, Rogero, defeats the sea dragon Orke in an episode hearkening back to Perseus' battle .... " (pg 405)
Links:
- Vampyra: How a king's daughter was captured by a sea dragon, but charmed it to sleep until rescue arrived.
Other Notes:
For additional random notes on dragons, please see General Notes.