The Penguin Book of Dragons

by The Penguin Book of Dragons (retail) (epub)

  REMEMBERING A PANNONIAN DRAGON1

  Around the year 1030, a monk of the Bavarian abbey of St. Emmeram in Regensburg named Arnold encountered a dragon while he was on a mission to Pannonia for his abbot. Years later, he recorded his memory of this encounter in a collection of miracles that he compiled to celebrate the virtues of Saint Emmeram. In emulation of Gregory the Great’s Dialogues (see pp. 47–49), Arnold presented this work in the form of a discussion, in which he played the role of the gatherer of information (Collectitius) in conversation with an interlocutor who urged him to stay on topic (Ammonicius). Arnold’s digression about his dragon encounter was among the most vivid reports of its kind from the premodern period with details unattested in other ancient and early medieval authorities. The Pannonian dragon was a giant aerial serpent, but unlike the depictions of dragons that Arnold knew from illuminated manuscripts at his abbey, this monster had no wings or legs. Strangely, it also emanated a supernatural chill that caused fevers and killed cattle. The monk recognized that this was not the dragon described in the Book of Revelation (see pp. 34–35), because the end times were not yet at hand. Rather, it had more in common with the description of dragons provided by Isidore of Seville in his Etymologies (see pp. 85–86), which Arnold quoted at length at the end of his report.

  Ammonicius: What are the powers of the air, and how can wicked spirits take a place in the heavens, when the heavens permit no evil to dwell there? Some ask this and thus it should be explained.

  Collectitius: This report concerning these things is not my own, but the words of the blessed Apostle Paul. Thus, those who do not know that the reaches of the air are called the heavens and do not know that the rebel angels dwell in them and moreover are accustomed to doubt the words of the apostles, I send them to the second letter of Peter, in which he teaches the faithful about the reaches of the air, which are called the heavens, lost in the first flood and soon to be lost again in the second, saying thus: “The scoffers deliberately forgot that the heavens came into being before all else and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters the world was flooded and destroyed at that time. By the same word, the heavens and the earth of today are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of impious men.”  2 And a little further on: “The burning heavens will dissipate and the elements will melt in the heat of the flame. We await new heavens and a new earth in which justice will dwell in accordance with the Lord’s promise.”3 Concerning the expelled angels, who wander in the heavens to be destroyed by fire, whom the apostle calls aerial powers and evil spirits, whose multitude is so great in the air, that is, in the lower heavens, that it was revealed to a certain holy man that if these angels had corporeal bodies like ours, they would block the light of the sun from mortals, the apostle Jude shared his opinion in this manner in a letter that is counted among the canonical books: “The Lord will reserve for judgment with eternal chains in darkness the angels who did not keep their own sovereignty but abandoned their habitation in the judgment of the great day.”  4 Therefore, concerning the question proposed and resolved in accordance with the testimony of the apostles, I do not know if anyone will have cause to doubt it. I certainly do not doubt it. But I learned and I know that the Devil and his damned followers exist both in Hell and in the air. Indeed, I am even more certain because when I was in Pannonia a few years ago, on a certain day from the third hour to the sixth hour I saw the Devil or a dragon suspended in the air. Its size was unbelievable with such a great length that it seemed to be one thousand feet long. Its head was plumed and lifted up like a mountain and its body was just like what the Lord said to blessed Job concerning Leviathan: enclosed with horrible scales and protected as though with small shields.5 A sooty blackness stained its sides and back. A pale hue of blue like that of a hellish ghost discolored the underside of its belly and also the part of its body on which it was accustomed to lie. Every aspect of the dragon—its twisting, drawn-out form with its huge coils and the undulation of its entire body, whether in part or as a whole—was harmful to mortals, inasmuch as God permitted, and even more so the closer one was to the creature. For, although it was summertime, namely on the sixth weekday of the second week after Pentecost, the air grew cold from the chill that is more natural to the dragon than to any other animals with the result that many people contracted fevers and the coldness killed no small part of the livestock.6 Finally, the dragon did not have nor seem to have wings and legs or feet, which painters are accustomed to render; rather, its scales and ribs sufficed for moving it around. The thickness of its chest was equal to the thickness of its head. After this, its body diminished gradually in size down to the end of its tail, the tip of which was equal in size to giant fir trees. Refusing to terrify the faithful any longer, the Lord caused this giant enemy, either the Devil or a friend of the Devil, to be blown away suddenly by the north wind and to be lost in the density of clouds with great speed. We watched it pass over us in the swiftest flight and not without fear we heard its hiss along with the harsh sound of its windpipes. Suddenly the clouds, which were resting as though immobile from the morning until that very hour, were agitated and set in violent motion, with the result that for that entire day and night the thunder and lightning did not cease; indeed, the storms lasted until the evening on the following day.

  Ammonicius: Is it possible that you recalled at that time something that the blessed John wrote about the dragon and beast in his Apocalypse?

  Collectitius: Indeed, these things came to mind, the recollection of this same scripture urged me especially, in which it is written, “Woe to you, because the dragon comes to you with great wrath, knowing that he may have but a little time.”  7 For although I knew that the Antichrist and the Devil are indicated by the beast and the dragon, and the day of universal judgment had hardly arrived at that time, nevertheless, disturbed by these unusual sights, I reflected on many things and, fearful, I sighed for my death and the death of the others, who were witnessing these terrible events with me. Then, having been restored in the hope of living through the respite of divine mercy, I first gave thanks to almighty God, who freed us from the power of the Devil. Then I began to turn over or consider in my mind whether I had ever found in reading or in scrutinizing the scriptures anything such as I had seen happen on that day. And among the things that had run through my mind, the words and writings of the blessed bishop Isidore returned to my memory, who in the book of Etymologies wrote concerning the nature of the dragon in this manner: “The dragon is larger than all other serpents or even all other animals on the earth. The Greeks call this creature draconta, from which we derive the Latin word draco. Drawn forth from its caves, the dragon often takes flight and disturbs the air. It is plumed with a small mouth and narrow windpipes through which it draws breath and sticks out its tongue. Its strength lies not in its teeth, but in its tail and it kills by lashing rather than by biting. Moreover, the dragon is unharmed by venom, but it is not necessary for it to use venom to cause death because whatever it wraps itself around soon perishes. The elephant is not safe from it, even though its body is huge. For, lying in wait on the paths along which elephants habitually walk, the dragon grabs hold of their legs with knotted coils and kills them by suffocation. Dragons are born in Ethiopia and India in the very blaze of continual heat.” 8

  Ammonicius: I believe that these things either seen by you or written by others concerning the nature of the dragon or concerning the beast, that friend of the ancient enemy, will suffice. Therefore, it is now necessary for you to return to the topic from which you have digressed.

  GOD’S FIERY VENGEANCE1

  When the cathedral of Laon burned down during a local insurrection in the year 1112, the canons who served there took their precious relics of Mary, the mother of God, on a series of tours around southern England and northern France to raise money to rebuild their church. Their efforts were successful. A few decades later, Abbot Herman of Tournai (1095–1
147) recorded the wonders that took place on these tours in a work called Concerning the Miracles of Blessed Mary of Laon. Among the supernatural events recorded by Herman was the appearance of a dragon. When the deacon of a church near Winchester did not receive the Virgin’s entourage with due respect and cast the canons and their relics out into the rain, the family of a tradesman in town for the local market offered to shelter them from the storm. Angered at the offense to his mother, God sent a fire-breathing dragon to lay waste to the deacon’s church and his belongings, while sparing the property of those who had helped the canons. This dragon was unusual in the Christian tradition not only because it had five heads but also because it was depicted as an instrument of divine vengeance meted out to a careless believer who failed to show proper respect to the relics of the Virgin.

  After a meal on the same day of the Lord, once we had received permission from the residents of that place and had given thanks to them for their kindness, we set forth from the town. But the just judge did not put off avenging the injury done to his mother. Indeed, we had hardly gone as far as the length of half of a stade when behold, couriers on horseback came after us with a shout and implored us to come to the aid of the burning town.2 Looking back, we saw that the entire town had been reduced to ashes. When we asked how this had happened, we heard from them that a dragon had emerged from the sea nearby. It had flown to the town just as we were departing and had burned down first the church and then several houses with flames that it sent forth from its nostrils. Hearing this and thirsting with a natural curiosity to see such a wonder, we left the litter well guarded and rushed back to the town quickly on horseback.3 There we saw a dragon of incredible size with five heads emitting sulfurous flames through its nostrils and flying from place to place, burning down houses one by one. Returning to the church, we found that it was now burned to ashes, and to an unbelievable degree, so that not only the wood, but also the very walls, even the largest stones and the very altars, had been utterly reduced to spark and cinder, with the result that a strange sense of amazement was felt by everyone who observed it.

  Indeed, when the deacon saw that his house and his church had been burned down, he gathered up his clothes and his belongings and loaded them on a boat, which had been moored on the shore of the nearby sea, and he set it adrift in the hope that his possessions might be saved from the flames. But immediately, as if he came for this reason alone, the dragon sought the vessel from on high and burned everything that was in it and finally—remarkable to say and incredible to hear!—he incinerated the boat as well. Coming to the house of our host and eager to know how he was faring, we found him rejoicing that his house and everything in it had been saved. He attributed the safekeeping of his good home to the queen of Heaven. Not only did his house, in which we received hospitality, remain unharmed, but so too did other buildings further away, in which he said that his livestock were kept, so that he lost absolutely nothing from all of his belongings. Divine grace comforted the tradesmen as well, who had shown great kindness to us, with the result that either nothing or only a small amount of their goods were lost. For, because it was a custom there for the market to last for only one day, once the meal had been finished, they had gathered all of their loads and had stored them safe and sound before the dragon came. But the sight of the dragon struck them with the utmost terror, so that we saw them fleeing with great speed hither and thither. Indeed, the very deacon who had cast out the litter of our Lady from the church was moved by a tardy penance. He followed after the litter in bare feet and prostrated in its presence. Once the deacon had testified to the just judgments of God brought on because he had behaved so poorly, he begged to be forgiven.

  BONE FIRES AND DRAGON SPERM1

  The vigil of Saint John the Baptist (June 24) was a solemn feast day in the medieval church, on which Christians marked the birthday of the forerunner of Christ with a special solemnity. One of the customs associated with this feast day was the lighting of fires. In the twelfth century, the French theologian John Beleth (fl. 1135–82) revealed the ancient origins of this custom in a treatise on liturgical practices called the Summa on Ecclesiastical Offices (composed ca. 1162). According to Beleth, the custom arose from the need to ward off dragons with the smoke of fires made of animal bones. Our modern term “bonfire” finds its origin in this medieval practice. Despite the dubious intent of their original purpose, these “bonfires” were a fitting way to celebrate the feast day of the Baptist because he was the “burning light” who foretold the coming of Christ.

  At this time [on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist], they were in the habit of burning the bones of dead animals according to an ancient custom. The origin of this custom is as follows. There are animals, which we call dragons, as we know from the psalm: “Praise the Lord, you dragons of the earth!” 2 . . . These animals, I say, fly in the air, swim in the waters, and walk on the land. But when they are aroused with lust in the air (which usually happens), they often squirt their sperm either in wells or in river waters, as a result of which a lethal year follows. Therefore, to ward them off, a remedy of this kind was contrived, namely, that a pyre was constructed from bones, and in this way the smoke chased away these animals. And because this happened chiefly at that time of year, everyone observed it in this fashion. There is also another reason why the bones of animals were burned, namely, because the bones of Saint John were burned by the pagans in the city of Sebasta.3 Likewise, it is customary on this vigil to carry small burning torches because John was the burning light, and he prepared the way of the Lord.

  THE PROPHECIES OF MERLIN1

  Dragons also featured prominently in prophecies attributed to the wizard Merlin in story cycles related to the legends of King Arthur. The British historian Geoffrey of Monmouth (ca. 1095–ca. 1155) incorporated many of these tales in his chronicle, The History of the Kings of Britain (Historia regum Britanniae). Written in 1136, Geoffrey’s work provided a mythical history of Britain from the founding of the kingdom by Brutus, the great-grandson of the Trojan refugee Aeneas, who established the city of Rome, to the death of King Arthur around the seventh century. In one of his many prophecies, Merlin revealed to King Vortigern that the cause of a collapsing tower was two dragons—one red and one white—sleeping in a subterranean pool of water beneath the structure. When the pool had been drained, the dragons woke up and fought one another until the white dragon emerged victorious. When asked to elucidate the meaning of this dragon battle, Merlin explained to his king that it portended the end of his kingdom, for the red dragon represented the people of Britian, who would soon be overrun by Saxon invaders.

  In the end Vortigern summoned his magicians, asked them for their opinion, and ordered them to tell him what to do. They all gave him the same advice: that he should build for himself an immensely strong tower, into which he could retreat in safety if he should lose all his other fortresses. He surveyed a great number of places in an attempt to find a site suitable for this, and in the end he came to Mount Erith. There he assembled stonemasons from different parts of the country and ordered them to build a tower for him. The masons gathered and began to lay the foundations of their tower. However much they built one day the earth swallowed up the next, in such a way that they had no idea where their work had vanished to.

  When this was announced to Vortigern, he consulted his magicians a second time, to give them a chance of explaining the reason for it. They told him that he should look for a lad without a father, and that, when he had found one, he should kill him, so that the mortar and the stones could be sprinkled with the lad’s blood. According to them, the result of this would be that the foundations would hold firm.

  Messengers were immediately sent out through the different parts of the country to find such a person if they could. They came to a town which was afterwards called Kaermerdin and there they saw some lads playing by the town gate. They went to look at the game. Tired by their journey, they sat down in a circle, still hopin
g to find what they were seeking. At last, when much of the day had passed, a sudden quarrel broke out between two of the lads, whose names were Merlin and Dinabutius. As they argued, Dinabutius said to Merlin: “Why do you try to compete with me, fathead? How can we two be equal in skill? I myself am of royal blood on both sides of my family. As for you, nobody knows who you are, for you never had a father!” At this word the messengers looked up. They examined Merlin closely and asked the standers-by who he was. They were told that no one knew who his father had been, but that his mother was daughter of a king of Demetia and that she lived in the same town, in St. Peter’s Church, along with some nuns.