The dragon (Beowulf)The final act of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf includes Beowulf's fight with a dragon, the third monster he encounters in the epic. On his return from Heorot, where he killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules wisely for fifty years until a slave awakens and angers a dragon by stealing a jeweled cup from its lair.
FáfnirIn Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir was a dwarf who had shapeshifted into a Germanic dragon (a worm or serpent) to protect a treasure, eventually being slain by one of the Völsungs, usually said to be Sigurð. In Nordic mythology, Fáfnir is the son of Hreiðmarr and the brother of Regin and Ótr. He is attested throughout the Völsung Cycle, where he commits patricide out of greed, taking the ring and hoard of the dwarf Andvari and shapeshifting into a dragon.
DragonLegendary creatureDragonsTop left: The European dragon of the tale Saint George and the Dragon, by Jan BaegertTop right: The three-headed Slavic dragon Gorynich, which according to legend ate young girls and was a danger to humanityMiddle left: Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch from 1806Middle right: Qing-era carved imperial Chinese dragons at Nine-Dragon Wall, Beihai Park, BeijingBottom left: Uppland Runic Inscription 887 [sv] (11th c.), featuring both a runic dragon and winged dragon, SwedenBottom right: The Asian Azure Dragon (Qīnglóng) depicted in the Goguryeo tombs (37 BC–427 AD), South KoreaA dragon is a mythical creature found in the folklore of cultures throughout the world.
Old EnglishOld English (Englisc or Ænglisc, pronounced or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest attested form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literature dates from the mid-7th century.
Völsung CycleThe Völsung Cycle is a series of legends in Norse mythology first extensively recorded in medievalIceland, but which were also known in Sweden (as seen by carvings on numerous Sigurd stones), Norway, England and (perhaps) the Isle of Man. The original Icelandic tales were greatly expanded with native Scandinavian folklore, including that of Helgi Hundingsbane, which, in turn, originally appears to have been a separate tradition connected to the Ylfings.
NidhoggNidhogg (Old Norse: Níðhǫggr, [ˈniːðˌhɔɡːz̠]; older Icelandic: Níðhöggr, Modern Icelandic: Níðhöggur) is a Germanic dragon in Norse mythology who is said to gnaw at the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil, and is likewise associated with the dead in Hel and Niflheim.
European dragonThe European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem Culex lines 163–201, describing a shepherd battling a big constricting snake, calls it "" and also "", showing that in his time the two words probably could mean the same thing.
Germanic mythologyGermanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
SnakeLimbless, scaly, elongate reptileSnakes are limblessreptiles of the squamate suborder Serpentes.
Old NorseNorth Germanic languageOld Norse was a North Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia and in Norse settlements during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages (approximately the 8th–14th centuries).
Old High GermanOld High German (OHG; German: Althochdeutsch (Ahdt., Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous West Germanic dialects that had undergone the set of consonantal changes called the Second Sound Shift.Proto-Germanic folkloreProto-Germanic paganism was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Germanic and includes topics such as the Germanic mythology, legendry, and folk beliefs of early Germanic culture. By way of the comparative method, Germanic philologists, a variety of historical linguist, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Germanic folklore (reconstructions are indicated by the presence of an asterisk).
lohikäärmeRelated word or term.ormurRelated word or term.wyrmRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.