The age of chivalry is past. Bores have succeeded to dragons.
Charles thingyens

Dragons A to Z

Dragons A - Z Index
Dragons A - H
Dragons I - P
Dragons Q - Z

Dragons I - P
This is a continuation of the Dragons A - Z section

I

J

Jormungand
The Legend: Second of the three monstrous offspring of Loki and Angrboda the giantess, Jormungand was the greatest of serpents. Foreseeing the evil nature of Loki’s children the Gods agreed to kidnap them from Angrboda’s hall in Jotunheim. Odin threw Jormungand into the ocean around Midgard, the land of humans, who sank to the bottom and consumed and grew until he was so large he encircled the whole of Midgard. There he lay, some say in biting his tail in the manner of an Ouroboros, waiting for Ragnarok. When Jormungand raised his coils, making arches in the air, they were seen by men as rainbows.

A rivalry developed between Jormungand and Thor, which is expressed in a number of myths. When Thor, his newly acquired servants Thialfi and Roskva, and Loki go to Utgard, the ruler Utgard-Loki challenges them to prove their skills. Amongst these tasks the giant ruler challenges Thor to lift a cat from the ground, but as he lifts the cat just arches its back. Thor lifts it high over his head until it was shaped like a rainbow, but with all his strength he only manages to raise one of the cats paws from the ground. It is only as the company leaves that Utgard-Loki explains that he had tricked them with magic through all of the tasks. The cat was actually Jormungand, and Thor had raised him so high his back all but scraped the sky.

The rivals meet again when Thor goes fishing with Hymir, Tyr’s father. Thor had taken the head of one of Hymir’s oxen and urged Hymir to go far out to sea. After Hymir catches two whales, Thor casts his line baited with the ox head. As Jormungand takes the bait, Thor hauls him up and hits the serpent’s head with his hammer Mjollnir. Jormungand lashes about until he finally frees himself from the barb.

In the Ragnarok, Jormungand’s fury is unleashed and the seas batter the shore as he makes his way to Vigrid to join his brother, Fenrir, in battle. As Fenrir fights Odin, Jormungand attacks Thor, spitting venom which poisons the earth. Eventually Thor kills Jormungand only to die himself from the serpents venom after staggering nine steps backwards.

Symbolism: Jormungand’s symbolic significance is in some ways atypical of serpents in general. Often serpents represent feminine power and fertility, which is not really apparent in the case of Jormungand. However, Jormungand in his rivalry with Thor does have parallels with other mythologies and in this sense fits the archetype of the serpent in Indo-European mythology as described by David Leeming: “For the Indo-Europeans it is clearly a representation of the kind of blind, terrestrial, animal power that must be defeated by the enlightened sky god and/or his warrior-hero representative.”

Notes: Jormungand's other names are Jormunganr, Midgard Serpent and Midgardsormr.

K

The Knucker of Lymister
The Legend: There are several variations on the tale of Lyminsters dragon. Each is defined mainly by the hero is supposed to have slain the dragon referred to as the Knucker. In one tale it is said a nameless medieval knight killed the dragon, told by writers from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Other, more local, versions of the story credit a local lad by the name of Jim Pulk or Jim Puttock with the deed. One of these stories was told by a Lyminster gardener in the 1930s. He said that Jim Pulk was a farmers lad who, to kill the dragon, baked a huge pie and filled it with poison. He left the pie by the Knucker hole which was a huge, some say bottomless, pool where the dragon lived. The dragon ate the pie and died. To make sure the deed was done Jim cut off the Knuckers head with a scythe before going to the Six Bells Inn for a celebratory drink. It was here that Jim fell down dead as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand which must have had some poison still left on it.

Another version of the legend was published in the Sussex County Magazine in 1929, as told by the Lyminster Hedger. In this version the hero was a lad named Jim Puttock who undertook to kill the dragon, hoping to claim a reward offered by the mayor of Arundel. To complete his task Jim boiled a flour and water pudding in a large iron pot. He then loaded it onto a cart drawn by horses and set off to find the dragon. The pudding was so tempting to the dragon that it ate the pudding, cart and horses all in one go. The Knucker spared Jim his life on the promise that the young man bring more pudding soon. However, by midday the dragon was writhing in agony for it was too heavy for his stomach. So heavy in fact that the dragon could not stand. Jim told the dragon he had a pill that would cure the problem before he heaved a previously concealed axe and chopped off the Knuckers head.
I have picked out an extract from that tale detailing a conversation between Jim and the Knucker. 

         And he see thisyer tug a-coming, and he sings out, addable like, 'How do, Man?'
         'How do, Dragon?' Says Jim.
         'What you got there?' says Dragon, sniffing.
         'Pudden,' says Jim.
         'Pudden?' Says Dragon. 'What be that?'
         'Just you try,' says Jim.
         And he didn't want no more telling - pudden, horses, tug, they was gone in a blink.
         Jim 'ud 'a gone too, only he hung on to one o' they trees what blew down last year. 
         ''Tweren't bad,' says Knucker, licking his lips. 
         'Like another?' says Jim
         'Shouldnt mind,' says he. 
         'Right,' says Jim, 'bring 'ee one 'sartenoon. ' But he knew better'n that, surelye.

In regards to the Knuckers description there is little infomation. Typical of English folklore the description is very Hazy. One of the tales describes the following 

         There was ole Knucker lying just below Bill Dawes Place-least, his head was, 
         but his neck and body-parts lay all along up the hill, past the station, and he was
         a-tearing up the trees in Batsworth Park with his tail.

From this we can gather that the Knucker was at least half a mile long (though not as large as the Lambton Worm) and very strong.

As we have already discovered the Knucker lived in a deep pool named Knucker hole. It is this 30ft hole that we can understand the most about this tale. The pool is fed from below by a strong under ground source. This means it never freezes over, nor does the water level ever vary even in times of drought such as in 1976. The word Knucker is from the Anglo-Saxon word Nicor meaning water monster and occurs in the story of Beowulf. The word survived in various forms and was always used to indicate names of pools, ditches or deep places in a river bed. The fact that the word was applied to the Lymister pool means that the pool was probably believed to have had a monster within it centuries ago. Since the dragon of Lyminster is actually called Knucker it seems as if the word was remembered for generations. All this means that the comparitively recent tale of Knucker is most likely built on tales from thousands of years ago of a monster, possibly a watr snake, that dwelt in the pool.

Notes: For centuries a gravestone stood in Lymister churchyard which has no name but bears the cross over a ribbed pattern. This, all story tellers agree, is the tomb of the hero that killed the Knucker. The ribbing is supposed to represent the dragon bones, while those who say the hero was a knight say the cross represents the hero's sword. The gravestone has now been moved inside to protect it from weathering.

References: British Dragons - Jacqueline Simpson, Here be Dragons - Ralph Whitlock, The Lore of the Land - A Guide to Englands Legends - Westwood and Simpson

Komodo Dragon
The Legend: It’s not just a coincidence that these reptiles were given the name Komodo Dragon. They are mainly found in and around the Komodo islands and bear an uncanny resemblance to their mythological namesakes.
The Komodo dragon is said to be a distant relative of the Mosasaur, which prehistoric reptiles that inhabited the oceans. It is also thought that the Megalania was another ancient relative. The Megalania was a giant monitor lizard that lived on land some 25,000 years ago. In some myths its said that Dragons may have originated from sightings of Komodo Dragons and although this is one possibility its highly unlikely to be true in Indonesia and its almost certainly not the case in Europe where scientists discovered Komodo dragons in 1912 supposedly for the first time. There were, however, reports of sightings from Europeans in 1910 when a Dutch pilot supposedly crash landed on Komodo island during a storm and encountered fantastic beasts with enormous claws and fearsome teeth, heavily armoured bodies and fiery yellow tongues.
Scientists believe there are only 3,000 – 5,000 Komodo dragons left in the world and that they are in a very real danger of becoming extinct because they live in a very small area of the world and have to contend with humans and feral animals who are hunting both Komodo Dragons and their prey.

Komodo Dragons can grow to over 10ft long and can weigh as much as 250 pounds. Due to their large muscled structure they are extremely strong. That and the fact that they have claws that are 2 – 3 inches long helping them dig holes and grasp their prey make the reptile a feasome adversary. 
They hunt anything from rats to goats and can even eat water buffalos, which have been known to weigh over 1,000 pounds. 
The Komodo Dragon belongs to the reptile family and are therefore cold blooded animals. Their body temperature regularly changes depending on the temperature of their surroundings. Like most lizards Komodo dragons are active during the day and sleep at night. They sleep in burrows that they dig using their claws. They prefer to dig dens in open hillside or alongside streams.

Reptiles have scales rather than skin making it look as if the creature is covered in armour. In some ways thats not so far from the truth as the scales are very protective.
Komodo dragons are solitary animals and apart from their mothers,when young, they rarely spend time with others of its species. 
The Komodo is a smart and patient hunters, waiting for the right moment before using its powerful legs to pounce on its prey and bite it with its sharp teeth. 
If the animal survives this feriousous attack then the dragon will leave the animal while the wound fills up with deadly bacteria which the Dragonwould have had living in its mouth. The bacteria is deadly to almost all animals it has currently come into contact with.
The Dragon will then track the animal using it’s Jacobson organ. This works by the dragon flicking its forked tongue in and out of its mouth to gather scents from the air. The Komodo will then push its tongue against its Jacobsen organ, which is a sensitive patch on the roof of its mouth. (This organ has many similarities to the organ which might ignite fire in Peter Dickinsons theory on dragon flight). This then sends signals to the brain thus allowing the Dragon to taste the scent and track down its prey. 
The Komodo Dragon  will eat nearly all parts of its prey including the bones, and fur. After a big meal it does not need to eat or infact drink again for several days. A fascinating creature and to soe researchers, an important link in the evolution the dragon.
References: Endangered Komodo Dragons - Bobbie Kalman, Komodo, the Living Dragon - Dick Lutz & J.Marie Lutz

Komodo Dragon
The Komodo Dragons saliva is one of its deadlier weapons
(http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gervaisb/Biogeography/Student%20
Papers/2004/Robinson/KP/knomodo2.jpg)

L

Lambton Wyrm
The Legend: In English folk lore there have been many dragons through out history. Perhaps one of the most glorified of these legends is the tale of the Lambton Wyrm or Worm. The main part of the legend is based around the old house of the Lambton family, dismantled in 1785AD. Robert Surtees describes the tale better than i ever could in his writings from 1820

The heir of Lambton, fishing ...in the wear on a Sunday, hooked a small worm or eft, which he carelessly threw into a well, and thought no more of the adventure. The worm (at first neglected) grew till it was too large for its first habitation, and issuing forth from the worm well, betook itself to the wier, where it usually lay a part of the day coiled around a crag in the middle of the water; it also frequented a green mound near the well (the Worm Hill) where it lapped itself nine times around, leaving vermicular traces, of which, grave living witnesses depose that they have seen the vestiges. It now became the terror of the country, and amongst other enormities levied a daily contribution of nine cows' milk, which was always placed for it at green hill, and in default of which it devoured man and beast.

Young Lambton in the mean time had joined the crusades and was unaware of the goings on back home. When he returned he was devestated to see the results of his folly (fishing on the sabbath day) and took it apon himself to kill the beast. After fighting the creature he discovered that each time he cut a part off of the worm, it managed to knit it self back together. (With this miraculous ability to heal the Lambton Worm is very reminiscent of the greek hydra) He went to a witch to ask for aid, and on her advice armed himself in a coat of mail studded with razor blades. Now armed he waited on the crag of the river for his foe. The worm arrived at its usual time and apon seeing the knight charged at young Lambton. It coiled itself around him allowing the razor blades to do their work. The worm was cut by the blades and before it could knit itself back together the river washed away the severed parts.

Notes: The story goes on to end up with the Lamton family cursed by the witch for generations after young Lambton died.

Lambton Wyrm
The title page of a popular Victorian account of the worm of Lambton Castle

References: Dragons and Dragon Lore - Ernest Ingersoll, Here be dragons - Ralph Whitlock, The Lore of the Land-A Guide to Englands Legends - Westwood and Simpson

Lludd & Llufelys
The Legend: The Celtic legends are rich with dragons and mighty heroes and this tale is no different. The tale tells of Lludd, who   being the eldest son of the great king Beli, inherited the kingdom of Britain after the death of his father. Lludd was a generous and mighty warrior, and of his brothers, loved Llefelys the most as he was a very wise man. Soon after Llefelys left to marry the daughter of the deceased king of france and to rule there, three plagues came to britain for which Lludd knew no solution. The second of these plagues was a terrifying shriek, heard every may eve over every hearth in Britain. The shriek caused men to lose their strength, women to miscarry, the youths and maidens to lose their senses and the land and to be lifeless and barren. Not knowing the cause, Lludd went to France to seek Llefelys' advice. Llefelys already knew of his troubles, and explained that the shriek was made by a native dragon trying to overcome an invading dragon. He told Lludd to have the length and breadth of the island measured, to dig a pit at its exact centre and to place a vessel of the finest mead, covered with a sheet of satin, in the pit. He then told Lludd that he himself must watch it, where he would see the dragons fighting as monsterous creatures. They would then appear as dragons and fly into the sky, and as they became exausted they would fall into the vessel as pigs, bringing the satin down into the mead, which they would drink and fall asleep. Then the satin should be tied around them, and the bundle buried in stone in the securest place in Britain. After recieving cures for the other two plagues Lludd thanked his brother and returned to Britain to act on the advice. The centre of Britain was found to be at Oxford, and after the vessel was ready with mead and covered with satin, he saw the dragons fight and fall inside. After they were overcome by the mead he had them buried at the fortress of Dinas Ffaron, which after that became known as Dinas Emrys, near snowdon, and their shrieks were heard no more.

The story of Lludd & Llefelys comes from the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh tales written in the medieval period but which is obviously copied from earlier texts. Lludd was also mentioned as "Lud" in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Britainniae. In this he was succeeded by his brother Cassibellawn (Casivelaunus) who fought against Julius Caesar in 55 - 54 BC, which would date Lludd's reighn to the 1st or 2nd century BC.

Notes: This tale bears more than a passing   resemblence to the legend of the dragon, Y Ddraig Goch. I personally believe the Ddraig Goch myth was directy inherited from the tale of Lludd & Llefelys.

References: Myth and Mankind, Heroes of the Celtic Dawn: Celtic Myth - Duncan Baird Publishers, Mythology of the celtic people - Charles Squire

M

Muirdris (Sinach)
The Legend: Muirdris was a fearsome sea monster who lived in Lough Rudraige (now usually known as Dundrum Bay), in County Down in Ireland.

One day, Fergus mac Léti, king of early Ulster, is sleeping in his chariot on the beach, when some water sprites lift him and start to carry him off across the water. He wakes up, and although the sprites have separated him from his sword, he manages to grab three of them by the neck. Fearing for their lives, the water sprites offer to bargain for their safe release. Fergus demands that they share their swimming skills, in and under water, in seas, pools and lakes, and the sprites agree, subject only to the condition that his new powers will not work in Lough Rudraige. The deal is struck, and Fergus lets the sprites go.

Of course, the exception to his powers tantalises him, and eventually, he cannot resist going swimming in Lough Rudraige. Here, with only ordinary mortal swimming skills, he encounters the mighty Muirdris, who is enraged at having his space invaded. Although Fergus manages to escape to dry land, the sea serpent is so terrible that the sight of it distorts Fergus’ face, so that it is permanently disfigured.

When he returns home, this presents a dilemma to his wise men and advisors. His charioteer has forewarned them that Fergus now has a deformity, although the king himself is unaware of it. All the wise men know him for a just and brave ruler, but, by law, a man with such a severe blemish is considered unfit to be king.

They resolve this problem by banishing all mirrors from the palace, and keeping all but the most loyal of men away. This ploy works for seven years, until Dorn, an enslaved noblewoman, mocks Fergus for his deformity in retaliation when he punishes her one day.

Now that Fergus mac Léti is aware of the damage that has been done to his face, he returns to Lough Rudraige to revenge himself upon the dragon. For two days and two nights, man and serpent battle it out, until the waters of the Lough run red with blood. Eventually, Fergus kills the monster, and emerges onto dry land carrying its head, but then falls down dead from exhaustion.

Symbolism: This tale is a saga of adventure, and Muirdris itself has no particular symbolic meaning, other than as a terrifying monster that only a brave and tenacious hero could defeat. The symbolism in the tale is rather about retribution, and exacting fair punishment: Dorn has been enslaved to pay back Fergus for her kinsman’s assassination of one of Fergus’s men; Fergus barters the water sprites’ release for their swimming skills; the wise men must get around the law concerning who may be king; Fergus punishes Dorn, who in revenge brings him face to face with his deformity; and Muirdris must die to avenge the damage he does to the king. Fergus’ death may also be symbolic, in that the law was flouted to keep him king, and once he knows of his deformity, he would not be fit for high office if he connived at cheating the law, as well as by reason of his disfigurement.

Background: Fergus mac Léti is a mythical king, in that we have no historical record of his existence or his reign, although some scholars believe that he is the same person as Fergus mac Róich, one of the heroes of the Ulster Cycle, which would set the story in approximately the first century BC. Others experts disagree, citing a tale in which Fergus mac Róich and Fergus mac Léti both appear, but as enemies.

The tale’s preoccupation with moral issues of punishment and retribution lead experts to believe that it has an ancient basis in oral tradition, exploring contentious legal issues as a kind of historical precedent for later decisions.

Two written versions of Echtra Fergusa maic Léite (The Adventure of Fergus mac Léti) survive: one from around 700 AD, which, as the earlier, is the basis for the above account, and one from the 13th century. The latter differs in style, and in several important details - it is Fergus’ wife who reveals his deformity to him, the sea-serpent is called Sinach, and Fergus kills the monster, but it simultaneously tears out his heart – but the fact that the saga name, the king’s name, and the basic outline of the story are identical makes it clear that they are recounting the same tale. The issues discussed above make it probable that the tale dates from well before 700 AD, as an orally transmitted legend.

Another interesting aspect of this story is the water sprites. In the earlier version of the tale, they play quite a minor role, as outlined above, but the later version gives them names and explores their family and social system; Fergus mac Léti even seduces the king sprite’s wife, and then taunts her husband with his prowess as a lover! These sprites, in the original Gaelic, are called lúchorpáin: possibly they are the earliest written reference we have to leprechauns, and in a very different guise to our modern popular conception of them!

References:
Curran, B. The Creatures of Celtic Myth, Cassell and Co
Green, M. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, Thames and Hudson
MacKillop, J. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, OUP
Maier, B. Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture, Boydell
Rose, C. Giants, Monsters and Dragons, W.W. Norton

N

Naga
The legend: The Naga plays a role in both the Bhuddist and Indian mythology. At a very early period, northern India aquired a mixed population of conquerers and peaceful immigrants from the west and north. All of which became amalgamated with whatever remained of the previous inhabitants/ An antique form of sanscript spoken by the invaders became the most common language. Their religion was expressed in a mythology of nature-gods related to the sun and sky with which was mixed a very ancient and fetishistic serpent worship. Their particular object of serpent veneration was the deadly cobra or Naga. These reptiles were thought to be the living incarnation of a great and fearful group of mythological Nagas. These Nagas were Demi Gods in various serpentine forms. They were often thought of as tempermental and their kings were thought to live in magnificent palaces deep underwater. They were also said to inhabit an underworld (Patala Land). They were believed to control the clouds, produce thunderstorms and guard treasures among other things. Many of the tales tell of Nagas taking on human form and some of these tales are said to be written by the "Naga people". It is thought by some that it was some of the Maritime tribes, with their advanced sea faring abilities, who introduced their beliefs to China. Around the 7th centuryBC the more spiritual and gentle worship of Bhudda swept through northern India. Its most difficult obstacle was the over coming of the volatile cobra worship. When this prooved impossible the Bhuddists decided to placate the Naga. The Nagas ability to raise clouds and thunder when enraged was cleverly changed  into the beneficient power of giving rain to a thirsty earth and when the Bhudda achieves enlightenment he is said to have been protected by the cobra hood of the Nagaraja Mucilinda symbolising the fact that the Nagas were placing their natural powers in the service of the Bhudda. And so these dreadful beings became, by Bhudda's Law, blessers of men. It was this image of serpent divinity that was carried by wandering missionaries and traders during the late Han period into China. In later Indian art the Nagas appeared as dragons but with a humans upper body. They were also often depicted as humans with snakes coming out of their heads. According to Dr. Visser there were four classes into which the Indian manhayanist devided their Nagas. These were:

  • Heavenly Nagas - who uphold and guard the heavenly palace
  • Divine Nagas - who cause clouds to rise and rain to fall.
  • Earthly Nagas - who clear out and drain off rivers, opening outlets.
  • Hidden Nagas - guardians of treasuress.

Notes: The female Naga was known as the Naginis

Naga
The Buddha protected by Naga Heads

References: Dragons and Dragon Lore - Ernest Ingersoll, The Oxford companion to world mythology

Nidhogg
The Legend: In Norse mythology Nidhogg is the dragon that lives in Nastrond, eating corpses and gnawing at the root of Yggdrasill, the world tree. The dragons name has been translated various different things including; Dread Biter, Corpse Tearer or Malice Striker.   Nidhogg communicates envious insults and receives news of the worlds above from the eagle that resides in the crown of Yggdrasill via Ratatosk, the squirrel.

Norse myth gives no description of Nidhogg, other than some sources naming him a dragon, others a serpent.  He does not fit with the modern archetypal image of a medieval dragon – dwelling in the underworlds conflicts with the general concept of dragons being creatures of the air, which is commonly what differentiates them from the terrestrial serpent. Nidhogg also has no noted connection with fire, conversely he dwells by the seething waters of the spring Hvergelmir, and he shows no interest in gold. However, some sources also relate that there were countless other serpents inhabiting Nastrond, yet none are named, supporting the idea that Nidhogg at least had some characteristic that identified him as being unique. Contempary bestialities describing dragons often portrayed a more serpentine form than the modern image, and therefore it is likely that Nidhogg was perceived similarly.

In ‘The Medieval Dragon’ Joyce Tally Lionarons observes that the majority of medieval dragons do not have a specific significance in that they do not often interact with the main characters or have a great effect upon the outcome of a myth. Nidhogg is one of these, as his role is restricted to a single motivation and does not play a part in the lives of gods and men. He has no part even in the Ragnarok, in which some speculate he was consumed by Surt’s fire, while others tell that he remains beneath Yggdrasill consuming the bodies of the dead.
Drawing from this, perhaps Nidhogg’s role is more a representation of the destructive forces that reside in all realms. While the Norns nourish the World Tree, Nidhogg correspondingly damages it, and therefore the whole of the universe it supports.

Nidhogg
An image depicting Nidhogg gnawing at Yggdrasils roots from a
17th century Icelandic manuscript.
(Wikipedia)  

Notes: Nighogg has been recorded with many names over the course time. A few more of these are Nidhoggr, Nithog, Nydhogg and Nidhug.

References: Myths of the Norsemen - Roger Lancelyn Green, Norse Myths:Gods of the Vikings - Penguin Books - Kevin Crossley Holland, The Medieval Dragon: The Nature of the Beast in Germanic Literature - Joyce Tally Lionarons

O

Oilliphéist (Oillephéist)
The Legend: The Oilliphéist is a lake-dwelling, flying, dragon-like monster which features in the legends of Ireland. Its name comes from two Irish Gaelic words: oll, meaning great, and péist, fabulous beast or reptile. The oilliphéist’s association with St. Patrick dates it to the fifth century
AD, although, being a part of the Irish oral tradition, the earliest written references to it occur much later, and there may have been earlier tales involving Oilliphéist, without St. Patrick.

 One of the most famous, although historically unattested, legends concerning St. Patrick is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland, and commanded them never to return. According to Irish folk history, St. Patrick then turned his attention to larger reptiles, intending either to banish or exorcise all the ungodly beasts in the land.

When Oilliphéist heard of the saint’s intentions, he became enraged, and rose from his watery
home. In his anger, he swallowed whole a drunken piper called Ó Ruairc (O’Rourke), who, oblivious to his fate, continued playing his pipes inside the monster. The noise irritated Oilliphéist still further, and he coughed up the drunkard and spat him out. Ó Ruairc, entirely unaware of his brush with death, continued on his way, still piping.

Even more angry now, Oilliphéist fled this land of miraculous saints and noisy drunkards. As he
took off and flew away, his mighty tail gouged out a deep valley which became the course of the River Shannon.

Symbolism: At face value, this legend is about the triumph of Christianity over earlier belief systems. St. Patrick is not only powerful enough to drive all the snakes out of Ireland, he also has a strong enough belief in the authority of his God to challenge far more terrifying creatures. Note also that he doesn’t actually have to best the Oilliphéist: the dragon recognises his power, and flees in a rage of his own accord. This perhaps is intended to indicate that adherents of earlier, pagan, belief systems acknowledged the supremacy of Christianity.

However, it is possible to read this differently. Oilliphéist is enraged when he hears that St. Patrick intends to drive him away, rather than frightened. The drunken piper further annoys him. Perhaps Oilliphéist chooses to leave Ireland, rather than stay in an environment that is irritating to him. In this case, we can read the legend as implying that humankind has made the country uncongenial to dragons, and that they choose to abandon their erstwhile home rather than attempt to live alongside us.

Given the earliest written sources of the snake legend (see below), the former interpretation is
almost certainly the one that was intended.

Background: As the story of St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland first appears in writing in pious biographies of the saint in the 12th and 13th centuries, and is not mentioned in earlier accounts of the saint and his works, it is likely that it was written down to attest to St. Patrick’s ability to command other living creatures in the name of the Lord, and/or to his power to work miracles. In fact, the Roman geographer Solinus had noted, over two hundred years before St. Patrick’s time, that there were no snakes in Ireland, so this legend was a later addition without any basis in fact. The story of St. Patrick and Oilliphéist was first written down even later.

Nevertheless, there is strong archaeological evidence for serpents, both ordinary and fabulous, having an important place within Irish Celtic culture, including carvings in stone at Glenshesk and other places, decorative snakes and ram-headed snakes on metal items, and intertwined serpents and other creatures in Celtic art. There is also a long bardic lineage for the Irish legends, which were only written down after many centuries of oral transmission. There are many tales which feature a phéist, or péiste, meaning a fabulous beast or reptile. The Shannon river valley was traditionally said to have been carved out by the greatest of the phéists, in other words by Oilliphéist. 

References: Celtic Mythology - Hermes House - A. Cotterell, Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend- M. Green, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology - J. Mackillop, Giants, Monsters and Dragons - Carol Rose, The Creatures of Celtic myth - B. Curran, The Life and legend of St. Patrick - Dublin University Press - L. Bieler

Ouroboros
The Legend: A widely known symbol of a dragon or serpent eating its own tail and forming a circle with its body, Carl Jung described the Ouroboros as an archetype – an innate universal concept pre-conscious in the psyche. This may be why it is found amongst such a wide variety of cultures. It is thought to represent the cyclical nature of the universe, destruction simultaneous with creation, and renewal (as associated with the phoenix). It is sometimes depicted as being half light and half dark, symbolising the counterbalance of opposites like yin and yang or androgyne, the united male and female principles. The Ouroboros is also a symbol associated with Gnosticism and Hermeticism. Plato’s “Timaeus” described the universe as a revolving circular being, self-eating with no need for limbs, sensory or internal organs. This being was the first living thing created and perfection in its self-sufficiency and immortality.
The Ouroboros is thought to have originated in Egypt the first example is depicted on the papyrus of Dama Heroub, written around 1600 BCE, and is found in many later alchemical texts such as the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra in the 2nd century CE. From Egypt it spread via the Phoenicians to the Greeks, who gave it the name we use today. However, it is also possible that the pig dragon or ‘Zhulong’ found in tombs of the Hongshan culture (Neolithic China 4700-2920 BCE), is the earliest known Ouroboros.  The Zhulong is very similar to the earliest known Chinese character for dragon, in its coiled form with head meeting tail. However, it is not explicit that the head is eating the tail, and so whether this is a true Ouroboros is debatable.
The Ouroboros appears in Norse mythology when Jormangund the serpent ate so much that he encompassed the world and had to eat his own tail for food.  Another Norse myth tells of how Sigurd Snake-In-The-Eye was born with the image of an Ouroboros encircling the pupil of his left eye.  The Ouroboros is also found in Japan , North America, on Aztec and Toltec murals of the God Quetzalcoatl, in Hindu mythology as the snake that encircles the tortoise which in turn supports the four elephants that carry the world, amongst the Ashanti in Ghana as the deity Aidophedo and in Haiti as Aida Wedo.

Notes: Ouroboros was also knows as Ourorboros, Oroborus, Uroboros, Uroborus

References: http://www.crystalinks.com/ouroboros.html, http://english.nmgnews.com.cn/, http://www.gotheborg.com, Http://www.nga.gov, http://en.wikipedia.org

P

Paiste (Lig na Baste)
 Paiste was a huge, ram-horned, scaled serpent, left over from the foundation of the world, who lived in a narrow, dark valley near Lough Foyle.

The Legend: Around 500 AD, the area along the shores of Lough Foyle was prey to a fearsome beast, that ate sheep and cattle, and destroyed crops and houses with its fiery breath.

Eventually, the local people appealed to St Murrough O’Heaney, a holy hermit living nearby, and he agreed to rid the area of this menace. After fasting and praying for several days, he cut three thin reed rods from the banks of the river, and walked to the glen where the creature lived. Paiste reared up to its full height, and asked if the man had come as a sacrificial offering, to be eaten.

St Murrough replied that he needed a favour from the beast, for he had an ancient task to perform as part of his Christian beliefs. When he explained that he wanted to lay three reeds across Paiste’s back, the monster decided to humour him before eating him, and laid down.

When St Murrough had carefully placed the reed rods, Paiste made to rise, and commanded the saint to prepare to be devoured. The holy man held up a restraining hand, and begged for a further minute, so that he might say a prayer over the reeds. The serpent settled back down, willing to allow one more piece of nonsense before its dinner.

St Murrough prayed with all his might, and suddenly, the reeds lengthened, thickened, and twisted themselves around the body of the serpent. They now had supernatural strength, so that, when Paiste realised it had been tricked and struggled against these bonds, it was unable to break them. In fact, its efforts seemed to cause the bands to tighten, until they threatened to crush the life from its body.

The saint ordered Paiste to torment God’s children no more, but even when the monster gave its word and tried to bargain for its freedom, St Murrough refused to trust it, and commanded it to sink into the waters of Lough Foyle, until the time was right for its release, on the Day of Judgement. Each time that the monster tried to resist the saint, the bonds squeezed tighter, until it had no choice but to obey.

It has never surfaced since, but the unpredictable tides along that part of the coast of Ireland are ascribed to the thrashings of Paiste’s huge body, as it vainly attempts to free itself from Murrough’s bonds.

Symbolism: Like many of the early Christian Irish legends, this tale vaunts the power of God over all creatures, no matter how fearsome. In particular, a holy man is able to subdue a fire-breathing serpent, one of the most revered creatures of Celtic mythology, which may have been used to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over earlier deities.

The fact that Paiste is claimed to be as old as creation, and to be bound until the Day of Judgement, makes Paiste an example of an Apocalyptic Beast.

Background: The word Paiste derives from Péist, meaning fabulous beast or reptile, much the equivalent of the Saxon word wyrm, and there are many péists in Irish mythology, although Paiste is generally used for the specific beast subdued by St Murrough. Its alternative name, Lig na Baste, means literally hollow of the péist, or pool of the péist, and in Irish Gaelic refers to the glen where the monster lived, although we have taken it to mean the beast itself.

References:

  • Curran, B. The Creatures of Celtic Myth, Cassell and Co
  • DeKirk, A. Dragonlore, New Page Books
  • Rose, C. Giants, Monsters and Dragons, W.W. Norton

Dragons A - Z Index
Dragons A - H
Dragons I - P
Dragons Q - Z

Dragon Timeline Dragon Types Dragons A - Z Evolution Theory
The DT Team Guestbook Links
Forum User Entries