The Penguin Book of Dragons
Page 13
Upon Mount Tigris in a natural cave2
Dwelt a beast who was very cruel.
Thirty feet it had in length. It was great and strong,
With a hide so hard that no sword swung
Nor weapon so great or sharp could wound it in any way.
It was of such color that no man could say for certain:
It was indigo and violet and blue and green as well,
Black, scarlet, even yellow, with reddened skin.
Its head was quite large with hideous ears.
The ears were larger than an ornate shield,
With which the beast covers itself when pained.
The tail was large and long (don’t think it absurd!),
It well had a measure of nine feet.
Anyone it struck could not survive.
[The dragon] had a devil inside, which made it cruel.
When angered it howled and cried so fiercely
That from two leagues out one heard it clearly.3
On its brow was a stone that glowed and shone,
By which one saw better at night than with a bright lantern.
A good two and a half leagues around the mountain
No man or woman could come there and not be doomed.
* * *
—
Lords, now listen to this glorious song;
Never has any Christian man heard such.
There has not been one sung like this since the time of Solomon.
It is very good to hear (indeed it is more worthwhile than a sermon)
How Jesus of glory, by His salvation,
Saved the hero Baldwin on that day
When he did battle with the felonious Sathanas.4
By the virtue of God he took vengeance in such a manner5
As you will hear in the verses of this song.
But before he paid [Sathanas] back, I will not lie to you,
His renowned blood ran down to his spurs,
Bleeding all over his body and around it.
He searched the mountain along the cliff,
Climbed up onto a stone which was curved on top,
[And] cried out with a loud voice and rightly said:
“God, where is this dragon since I am unable to find it?
True God, pray show him to me through your most blessed name!”
The serpent was sleeping near a stone platform.
Just as God aided him through his blessing,
Envision Saint Michael, the angel, in the guise of dove!6
On behalf of the Holy Spirit he said to [Baldwin] in a vision:
“Friend, do not be dismayed, you will not have it so bad.
He will come to aid you who forgave Longinus7
And [who] raised Lazarus from the dead to life.8
When you have faith in Him, you have a very good companion.
Before you have gone to the Temple of Solomon,9
Seven thousand Franks who are in pagan hands and in harsh captivity
Will be led from prison by you.
They were brought there from the army of master Peter.10
They have called upon God in good spirit so often
That now God wishes to reward them through you.”
When Baldwin heard this, he raised his head
On account of the joy he had and sat down on the stone landing.
Baldwin was seated and the angel [Michael] came to him.
He had great joy in his heart, I will not mislead you about this now,
On account of the holy words that Jesus conveyed to him.
At that moment he well knew that God would certainly aid him.
He stood up [and] signed himself four times.
Having commended his body to the great name of Jesus,
He came thither quickly whereupon he found the beast.
When the dragon sensed him, it roused itself immediately.
Swiftly and speedily it rose up on its feet.
When it then saw Baldwin it showed him utter contempt.
It advanced on him in a rage (such a face it showed him!);
Its hairs, long and sharp, all bristled.
It had a frightful appearance, so fiercely it stared at [Baldwin].
It concealed itself with its ears and scratched its talons
Upon the dark rock such that sparks flew out.
This was the grand marvel that God displayed there:
It had wolfed down so much of Ernoul that it very nearly burst;
It had devoured his body but did not eat the head.
It laid the head down on the stone and strangled [Ernoul’s] donkey.
When Baldwin saw this, his heart sank.
Willingly he picked [the head] up. The serpent rushed him,
Coming toward him with its monstrous maw agape.
Now, God, who formed the world, protect him!
If the Lord who made and created all does not think of him,
[Baldwin] cannot survive. But God will aid him!
Now you will be able to hear how [Baldwin] fought.
Baldwin was a very worthy and gallant knight.
He saw the serpent who was huge and strong approaching.
It attacked Baldwin with its large gaping mouth,
[But] the baron saw it coming. It did not frighten him at all.
He raised his hand [and] made a cross in the middle of his chest.
He grasped his arrow [and] began to shout.
He professed in a loud voice: “God the Father, Jesus Christ;
I summon you, beast, in the name of noble Saint Denis11
And through the Lord who was killed for us
On the Holy Cross when Longinus struck him.
Thus I conjure you in the name of all the blessed confessors:
Saint George of Ramleh, the lordly Saint Maurice,
Saint Peter the Apostle who safeguards Paradise,
The noble Saint Laurence who was roasted for God,
And Saint Leonard who frees the imprisoned,
And Saint Nicolas who is quite cherished by God,
And the noble Saint James who is venerated in Galicia,
And the valiant Saint Gilles whom I have visited in Provence,
And all the apostles by whom Jesus is served,
And the Holy Cross whereupon his body was left,
And the exalted Sepulcher where he lay both dead and living,
[And] Heaven and the Earth as was established,
That you shall not have power,
And you shall neither devour my body nor damage it severely.” 12
When Baldwin had summoned the serpent
In the name of Jesus in glory, the king of majesty,
He moved from it a little, hardly delaying at all,
As he shot his well-fletched arrow at it.
Listen to this great spectacle, noble and powerful Christians!
So hard were the skin and hide of this demon
That he unfortunately could no more do with his sharp missile
Than if he had struck it upon a stone.
It hit [the beast] so harshly that, know this in truth,
The iron tip and the wooden shaft broke and shattered into pieces.
It had a devil in its body which had protected it so well.
It gave to [the beast] power and severe cruelty,
But God cast it out in His great mercy.
When Sathanas realized that He had thus banished the devil,
Angrily it then produced such a cry
[That] the mountain resounded with it on all sides.
/> * * *
—
The serpent attacked [Baldwin] both rapidly and repeatedly.
If the Lord who is king of the East, He who was born
Of the blessed Virgin in Bethlehem, does not aid him,
He will surely have neither safety nor protection from death!
Sathanas stared at him full of rage.
It was a great marvel how he defended himself so well.
It never before found a man [who could] endure so long
Or who could escape from it.
Then, Baldwin rushed upon the [dragon] in his great fury.
It swiped its claws at him (they were exceptionally sharp!)
From the left such that they split his shield.
His hauberk was worth nothing to him in this case!
Whatever of the chainmail it hit, [the claws] rent and tore.
It swiftly slashed the flesh beneath his ribs,
Leaving none behind all the way down to his hips,
Such that the bone became visible, if history does not lie.
It is not at all surprising, by God the all-powerful,
That the knight faltered, and that fear seized him.
He loudly shouted out the great name of Jesus,
And took up one of his swords which was marked by a silver cross;
He well intended to smite [the dragon]. Sathanas took [the sword]
Horizontally in its mouth then swiftly snapped it.
Then, it thought to swallow it without any delay.
God, to whom the world belongs, made a great miracle there:
Baldwin’s sword extended itself in [the beast’s] throat
Such that its flank nearly split open.
Now be quiet and listen to the miracles
That Lord God did there, He and Saint Nicolas
And Saint Michael the angel and the noble Saint Gervais.
[Baldwin] thrust his sword point into the roof of [the dragon’s] mouth
[And] blood flowed out abundantly from its maw.
Thus Baldwin of Beauvais could now defend himself
From the claws so sharp, since he is now untroubled by the teeth.
Now may the Lord who made both the clergy and laity aid him!
Baldwin stared down [the dragon]. He had never had such joy before,
He would not be so happy even for the honor of Rohais.13
The dragon rushed him and opened its mouth wide,
And Baldwin suddenly cried out the names of God.
As Baldwin recalled the names
And invoked the saints who have great power,
Jesus the king made there a great miracle for him:
The devil exited through [the dragon’s] mouth,
[As] it had neither permission nor the power to stay any longer;
It was seen in the guise of a raven by the knight [Baldwin].14
Sathanas stumbled to the point that it nearly fell over
Because the devil had gone out from it.
The land had been ravaged and devastated by it,
Saracens both young and old had died.15
The enraged serpent came at Baldwin,
It sought to break him upon the sharp stones.
It slashed [Baldwin’s] helm from above with its talons,
Knocking it from his head [and] breaking the lacing.
It gave him four wounds [such that] blood streamed out;
But the knight comported himself well, as Jesus availed him.
To my knowledge he would soon have been dead and beaten,
But God, who did not forget him, saved the day,
As well as Saint Michael and his virtue.
Baldwin held his sword which had been forged thrice
And [was] very refined, tempered, and sharp.
He fiercely attacked [the dragon], rushing upon it.
He gave it a mighty blow above the ears
With his forged blade, but the hide did not split
Because [the beast] had [skin] harder than forged steel.
The steel blade bent such that it nearly broke.
Baldwin stood fast, then drew himself back.
“Alas, God,” said Baldwin, “how hard this devil is!
There has not been one made so since God was born.”
* * *
—
Baldwin struck it often, front and back and on the side,
But the hide was so tough that he could not pierce it so much
That he could damage it a bezant’s worth.16
The dragon bristled, with the sharp sword
Crosswise in its mouth by the order of Jesus,
Such that it could not defend itself at all with its teeth.
The dragon had a tail that was large and long and weighty,
And he struck [it] upon Baldwin’s shield of resplendent gold.
Thrice it made Baldwin to spin around so that he nearly fell over.
Now it made the shield fly off from around his neck.
* * *
—
But the power of the redeeming Father of Heaven
And the Holy Spirit will not forget him,
And the angel came to him from Heaven, comforting.
Baldwin took up his shield from the hard stone,
Grasped his sword in his right hand and came running at the dragon.
So great was the battle before the setting of the sun
That no cleric could tell you and no jongleur [could] sing of it.17
Baldwin of Beauvais was a bold knight,
Since God, with whom he was friends, supported him.
Swiftly and with haste he took his shield up again;
The dragon had greatly weakened and damaged it.
He held his sword, whose edge was keen, in his right hand.
The angel comforted him [and] he was greatly emboldened for it.
With great anger he assailed the dragon.
Sathanas was very slow to move,
Having lost so much blood that it was quite enfeebled
And because the Devil had leapt from his body.
[The dragon] surged at Baldwin enraged and anguished,
Striking him upon his vaulted shield with its talons
Which pierced it ten times, sending it flying from his neck
[Because] it broke the strap, which was of fine gray cloth.
The claws followed up on [Baldwin’s] white interlinked hauberk;
Whatever it caught with its claws was broken and undone.
Lord God made sure that it did not reach his flesh.
At this point the dragon had put him between its two feet.
He could no longer endure without being killed
If God and the Holy Spirit did not preserve him,
Along with the most blessed angel, who placed itself before [Baldwin].
The battle was great and fierce and long,
Do not doubt it at all, the truth was proven!
Never before was such a Christian seen.
Now listen to the power of God, which He demonstrated there:
Baldwin was fully upright, his sword grasped in his hand.
He ran upon the beast and it did not turn away from him.
Sathanas kept its great maw wide open
Since the sword, which was stuck in its neck, was making it do so,
Having penetrated both above and below [the beast’s] palate.
Indeed, the dragon was distressed since it was so wounded
That it could not fully catch its breath,
And Baldwin rushed it because he feared
it a great deal.
As such, Jesus and His renowned power aided him:
The beast fell unconscious from the blood it lost.
When Baldwin saw this, he raised his head.
Were someone to give him a valley’s worth of gold,
He would not be so joyous as he was about how things turned out.
He then went forth; nothing there would make him stop.
He struck [the dragon’s] throat with the blade of his sword.
He courageously smote it and thrust [his blade] in
Such that it went right through the middle of [the beast’s] entrails and beyond.
The sword tip stopped at its heart which was very hard.
Before it could enter into [the heart], it passed into another part,
Cutting into [the beast’s] liver alongside the spine.
The dragon fell prostrate and died on the spot
[And] commended its soul to the devils of Hell.
[Baldwin] removed his blood-covered sword from the beast,
Then withdrew back into a hollow in the rocks.
His vision clouded [and] he lowered his head,
His color faded on account of the blood that he had lost,
Then he collapsed unconscious on a wide stone.
He arose to his feet when he came to.
He took time to look around and all over
And saw the head of his brother lying on a mound
Upon a wide stone which was mossy on top.
[Baldwin] well recognized him by his face with its features,
With a beard that was long and a well-defined chin.
Then he lowered himself down and made a great lamentation:
“Alas, brother,” he said, “how unfortunate that
Your son and wife await you in our homeland.
You will never see them, noble son of a baron.”
FOUR SAINTLY DRAGON-SLAYERS
The Golden Legend (Legenda aurea) was an encyclopedic thirteenth-century compendium of stories about the life of Christ and the saints. Its popularity was unrivaled among lay and religious readers alike. Composed by the Dominican Jacobus de Voragine (ca. 1228–98), the Golden Legend became the most widely read text of the later Middle Ages and second only to the Bible in terms of the sheer number of surviving manuscripts (over one thousand copies), vernacular translations, and early printed editions. Jacobus organized his work according to the liturgical calendar, beginning with Advent (which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day) to emphasize the centrality of Christ’s incarnation in salvation history. Several of the saints featured in the Golden Legend confronted dragons of one kind or another as a measure of their sanctity. The symbolism of these monsters would have been clear to medieval readers. In the story of Saint George, set in the third century, the dragon represented the paganism of the people of Libya and its defeat marked their conversion to Christianity. Likewise, Saint Sylvester liberated the people of Rome from the worship of false idols when he tamed a dragon lurking beneath the city. For Saint Margaret, the dragon was the Devil in disguise, who attempted to frighten her so that she would forsake her virginity and her faith. Her defeat of the monster by bursting forth from its stomach was clearly distasteful to Jacobus, who dismissed the anecdote as apocryphal, but the popularity of this tale played no small part in the designation of Margaret as the patron saint of women in labor. For Saint Martha, as for Saint George, the taming of the tarasque stood for the arrival of Christianity and the extirpation of pagan belief from the valley of the Rhône.