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Dragons


KaysonMire

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Dragons aren't well known creatures to me, and yet here I am, writing about them.

I don't know a lot about their legends, where they come up in mythology.

I'm not looking into Chinese dragons, but it's European dragons I'm looking into.

also, what do you guys think about dragons, and what would they look like exactly?

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They look like whatever the artist says.

I like dragons so in my mind their species are as varied as birds and insects. Meaning their bodies can have such a myriad of shapes and colors.

And yes, I know they are not real.

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The European dragons classically have wings and four legs. Some heraldric dragons do have 2 wings and 2 legs, but those are more correctly called wyverns, which are a small type of dragon. The classic version would have been too big to fly. I think the legend started with crocodiles and pythons and evolved over the centuries from there.

The Norse dragons don't have wings, and many don't even have legs. Most live in the water and probably are legends derived from whales.

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Yeah... Until you get hit by a piece of Thread!

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There used to be a member here, I thought his name was Draconic Chronicler.... he argued that dragons were real and was peddling an upcoming book. I can't find this member now :/

Edit to add: yep, his name was 'draconic chronicler'. He's banned now, so you aren't able to check his content.... just have to put his name in the search bar and sift through the results.

Edited by green_dude777
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There used to be a member here, I thought his name was Draconic Chronicler.... he argued that dragons were real and was peddling an upcoming book. I can't find this member now :/

LOL, when I saw the thread title I immediately thought of that guy. :tu:

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Dragons of European folklore and mythology were usually serpentine with two pairs of legs and a pair of wings, often portrayed as evil, and hoarding gold and treasure in some cavern or underground cave. Often the blood of a dragon was said to have magical properties.

A few other dragon-like creatures were the wyvern, which only had a single pair of legs and a pair of wings, could breath fire or deliver venom with its bite. There were also the lindworms (or linnorms, lindorms) which I believe were from Scandinavian folklore and were usually interchangeable with dragons. They differed in that they had no wings and only a single pair of legs. Like the wyvern, they sometimes could deliver venom with their bite.

Some dragons and dragon-like creatures from European folklore are;

  • Nidhogg from Norse mythology, who gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil, the World tree.
  • Jormungand, also known as the Midgard Serpent, also from Norse mythology.
  • The dragon that Beowulf fights, from the Anglo-Saxon poem.
  • The dragon from Saint George and the Dragon.

I might be able to find some titles of mythology and folklore research later.

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And, of course, Smaug in the Hobbit, who is based very closely on dragons of lore because Tolkien was a history buff.

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And, of course, Smaug in the Hobbit, who is based very closely on dragons of lore because Tolkien was a history buff.

the hobbit is based on a true story.
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There used to be a member here, I thought his name was Draconic Chronicler.... he argued that dragons were real and was peddling an upcoming book. I can't find this member now :/

Edit to add: yep, his name was 'draconic chronicler'. He's banned now, so you aren't able to check his content.... just have to put his name in the search bar and sift through the results.

He was Krazed. He was convinced that God and His angels were all Dragons. That the seraphim and cherubim are fire breathing dragons. That was like 4 or 5 years ago I think. I wonder if that book ever came out?

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Chinese and Vietnamese dragons are noisy creatures but quite useful to have around if you are bothered by ghosts. Until recently I'd never seen them breath fire but now that has caught on, no doubt from Western movies.

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Can anyone tell us why the Welsh Flag has a red Dragon on it.

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Can anyone tell us why the Welsh Flag has a red Dragon on it.

It is an old story. My dad is Welsh, so I grew up hearing about Welsh stuff.

Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch ("the red dragon") pronounced [ə ˈðraiɡ ˈɡoːχ], which sounds to me like "draig-gaah".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Dragon

Supposedly King Arthur used the Red Dragon banner. And it was the Red Dragon that Merlin called upon to give him the power to allow Arthur's dad Uthor to appear as his enemy Gorlois, so he could get his wife pregnant with Arthur. The origin of the Red Dragon may be Roman in origin.

I think that the Red Dragon is seen as representing the Welsh, and the English are represented by a White Dragon. And in the ancient tales the Red Dragon always battles, begins to loose, recovers and defeats the White.

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@ spud because a pink one would just be silly

Cwmru am beth
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Cwmru am beth

And also spelt... Cymru am byth

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It is an old story. My dad is Welsh, so I grew up hearing about Welsh stuff.

Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch ("the red dragon") pronounced [ə ˈðraiɡ ˈɡoːχ], which sounds to me like "draig-gaah".

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Welsh_Dragon

Supposedly King Arthur used the Red Dragon banner. And it was the Red Dragon that Merlin called upon to give him the power to allow Arthur's dad Uthor to appear as his enemy Gorlois, so he could get his wife pregnant with Arthur. The origin of the Red Dragon may be Roman in origin.

I think that the Red Dragon is seen as representing the Welsh, and the English are represented by a White Dragon. And in the ancient tales the Red Dragon always battles, begins to loose, recovers and defeats the White.

There is a tale concerning this involving Merlin as well. A red and white dragon were trapped beneath a site known as Dinas Emrys, until King Vortigern attempted to build a castle at the site. Each night, the construction for the day is destroyed by forces unknown, and King Vortigern consults with his advisors, whom tell him to find a boy who has no father. That boy is to be sacrificed to please the supernatural forces that destroy the castle each night. Vortigern's men find such a boy, who in later tellings is said to be Merlin About to be sacrificed, the boy dismissed the advice, and tells Vortigern that two dragons, a red and white, are trapped beneath the castle. Vortigern digs out the hills and frees the dragon, who continue to fight, whereas the red eventually defeats the white dragon. The boy also says that the White Dragon is the Saxons, while the Red Dragon are Vortigern's people. Vortigern's people may have been the Brits whom the Saxons failed to subdue, and then became the Welsh.

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I'm intrigued by Marco Polo's tale of the Chinese emperor whose carriage was pulled by two dragons. Does anyone know more about that?

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I always thought it would be cool if a larger version of the Draco Lizard existed.

7201103160_d303a41ea0_b.img_assist_custom-600x398.jpg

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Personally, I start with Megalania, and work backward. ;)

Very large monitors like this may have been known to inhabitants of SE Asia in prehistoric times.

China would have continued this legend, particularly by digging up dinosaur bones and doing some "proto-palaeontology".

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Dragons may have been the last surviving Dinosaurs but no one has ever come across a fossilised one...yet.

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If I recall, there is a story about the two dragons in China. One north and one south. They lay down and become the Yellow and Yangtze River.

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I checked a view websites. There are a few references to the Chinese Emperor appointing a "Feeder of Dragons", and a description of the dragons Marco Polo claims to have seen:

"Marco Polo wrote of his travels to the province of Karajan and reported on huge serpents, which at the fore part have two short legs, each with three claws. “The jaws are wide enough to swallow a man, the teeth are large and sharp, and their whole appearance is so formidable that neither man, nor any kind of animal can approach them without terror. (Polo, Marco, The Travels of Marco Polo, 1961, pp. 158-159.)

Edited by simplybill
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