The Christchurch Dragon is a
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
associated with the town of
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch () is a town and civil parish in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Pa ...
, on the south coast of England. The legend has its origin in a mid-12th century French manuscript written by
Hermann de Tournai, which tells how a party of
canons from the
cathedral of Notre-Dame in
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...
, France, witnessed a five-headed
dragon destroy the church and much of the town. Although well-documented, the legend is little-known in the town of its origin.
Legend synopsis
In Hermann de Tournai's account, a party of nine canons on a fund-raising tour from Laon Cathedral arrive at the town of Christchurch during a torrential rainstorm. They seek shelter at the local minster church but are rejected by the dean, who claims that the doors of the newly built church are not yet secure. In truth, the dean is concerned that their shrine and holy relics of the Virgin Mary would collect more offerings than his own altars.
Being the Saturday after
Pentecost, the canons have arrived on the eve of the town's annual fair, so all the inns and lodging houses are full with merchants. However, one group of merchants kindly vacate their rooms in a newly built lodging house. The merchants then attend mass held at the house by the canons and agree to shun the church.
That night the canons tend to a poor herdsman's daughter who had been born with a deformed foot. The girl spends the night in prayer before the canons’ portable altar and the following morning her foot is found to be miraculously healed.
Later that morning the merchants all go to the fair. The canons depart from the town, but before they have travelled very far they are overtaken by two horsemen who tell them that the town is being set ablaze by a terrible dragon that had flown in from the sea. Eager to see this incredible spectacle, the canons race back to Christchurch.
The dragon is seen to be incredibly long and have five heads from which it breathes sulphurous flames. It is setting houses alight one by one, but the canons are astonished to find that the lodging house and herdsman's shelter are both completely unscathed and their occupants are safe inside. The kindly merchants have also all escaped unharmed, having departed from the fair early, before the dragon had appeared. However, the church where the canons had been denied shelter has been entirely destroyed.
The uncharitable dean is seen trying to save all his most valuable possessions by loading them on board a boat on the nearby river, but the dragon then swoops down and reduces the boat and everything on board to ashes. The repentant dean subsequently prostrates himself before the canon's shrine and prays to be forgiven for all the wrong he had done.
History
The background story to the canons’ visit is described in Monodies (Book 3), a contemporary document written by
Guibert de Nogent
Guibert de Nogent (c. 1055 – 1124) was a Benedictine historian, theologian and author of autobiographical memoirs. Guibert was relatively unknown in his own time, going virtually unmentioned by his contemporaries. He has only recently caught the ...
. This mentions the fund-raising journeys undertaken by the canons of Laon after the cathedral of Notre-Dame was badly damaged by fire during a civil uprising at Easter in 1112. In Chapter XIII Guibert refers to the burning of an unnamed English town visited by the canons, but he ascribes this to lightning heaven-sent as a punishment for the ungodly behaviour of the inhabitants and makes no mention of a dragon.
In the mid-12th century, Herman de Laon, otherwise
Hermann de Tournai, a retired Flemish Abbot, elaborated on the canons’ English journey in
De Miraculis Sanctae Mariae Laudunensis
''De miraculis sanctae Mariae Laudunensis'', generally ascribed to Herman of Tournai, is a Latin work written in the 1140s which describes two fundraising tours of northern France and southern England made by the canons of Laon Cathedral in 1112 ...
(Of the Miracles of St Mary of Laon). Two short chapters describe the events that took place in "a town called Christikerca", though Hermann replaces Guibert de Nogent's lightning with a five-headed dragon. Hermann's account was reproduced in the
Patrologia Latina (Vol 156, Col 979-982) published by
Jacques-Paul Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...
in the 19th century.
In the early 13th century the story was retold in rhyming couplets by Prior
Gautier de Coincy, a French poet-composer. An illustrated manuscript of this work, Miracles de Notre-Dame et Autres Poésies de Gautier de Coinci, which features depictions of the dragon flying over the town and river (Folio 210v), is held in the
Bibliothèque nationale de France.
In the early 14th century the story appeared in the Nikolaus Saga written by
Bergr Sokkason, an Icelandic monk and scholar. He probably had access to earlier Latin and Icelandic versions of the story. It was subsequently reproduced in other Icelandic sagas.
Some key details of Hermann de Tournai's account are confirmed by the Christchurch Priory
cartulary
A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll (''rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...
, the bulk of which was compiled by 1372. It records that the Holy Trinity minster church was undergoing major reconstruction instigated in about 1094 by
Ranulf Flambard
Ranulf Flambard ( c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government minister of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flambard ...
. It also confirms that an annual fair was held a week after Pentecost on the feast day of the church, which only later became known as
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
. It indicates that the dean in 1113 was the self-serving Peter de Oglander, who "imbued with evil intent, took away for himself all things set aside by ancient custom for the work of the church". However, the cartulary makes no mention of the church being badly damaged during construction.
Modern era
In 1933
John Strong Perry Tatlock
John Strong Perry Tatlock (February 24, 1876 – June 24, 1948) – known as J. S. P. Tatlock – was an American literary scholar and medievalist.
Biography
Tatlock was born in Stamford, Connecticut, in February 1876, the son of Florence (Perry) ...
, a specialist on medieval literature at the University of California, examined Hermann de Tournai's text and asserted that he could find nothing that contradicted the presumed date of 1113 for the canons’ journey.
In 1985 much of Hermann de Tournai's account was translated by English folklorist Jeremy Harte. This is thought to be the earliest translation of Hermann de Tournai's text into English.
A more recent translation (in French) of Hermann de Tournai's account appears in Les Miracles de Sainte Marie de Laon by Alain Saint-Denis (2008).
Saint-Denis calculates the date of the dragon's appearance to be Sunday 1 June 1113.
In May 2013 the 900th anniversary of the dragon's appearance in Christchurch was commemorated by a locally organised Christchurch Dragon Festival with contributions by local schools, the Christchurch Chamber of Trade & Commerce, Christchurch Library, and the
Red House Museum
Red House Museum was a historic house museum, built in 1660 and renovated in the Georgian era. It closed to the public at the end of 2016 but remains as a Grade II* listed building in Gomersal, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England.
History
Red Hou ...
. On 1 June 2013, the five-headed dragon was mentioned in Search for Christchurch, a poem especially written by performance poet
Elvis McGonagall
Elvis McGonagall (born Richard Smith; December 22, 1960) is a Scottish poet and stand-up comedian who is especially notable for poetry slam performances.
Biography
McGonagall was born in Perth, Scotland, and now lives in Stroud in South West ...
and read by him at the official reopening of the newly refurbished Christchurch Library and Learning Centre.
Explanation
There is no accepted explanation for the Christchurch Dragon. However, the references to an abnormally violent rainstorm accompanied by lightning bears a resemblance to the
Great Thunderstorm on Dartmoor in 1638. This has led to the speculation, supported by Christopher Chatfield, Deputy Director of the Ball Lightning Research Division of
TORRO
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) was founded by Terence Meaden in 1974. Originally called the Tornado Research Organisation it was expanded in 1982 following the inclusion of the Thunderstorm Census Organisation (TCO) after the d ...
(Tornado & Storm Research Organisation), that the canons of Laon may have witnessed a rare example of prolonged
ball lightning
Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is reported to last ...
.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Autobiography (Monodies) Guibert de Nogent at
Fordham UniversityPatrologia Latina Jacques-Paul Migne at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Miracles de Notre-Dame et Autres Poésies de Gautier de Coinci Gautier de Coincy at
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica
Nine Norse Studies Gabriel Turville-Petre at
Viking Society Web Publications
The English Journey of the Laon Canons J. S. P. Tatlock, Speculum, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct., 1933), pp. 454–465 at
JSTOR
Legends
Dorset
English folklore
Hampshire folklore
New Forest folklore
European dragons