tales of great DRAGONS
I spotted a wonderful book (for $3!) at a yard sale last weekend-tales of great DRAGONS. It wanted to come home with me and I immediately said, “Yes!” I love dragons.
The book includes some wonderful old illustrations and reproductions, as well as some great stories about dragons, fair ladies, heroes and saints. The saints mentioned included Saint George, Saint Michael, Saint Columba, and Saint Margaret. The book included a story about a dragon-slayer, Sir Dieudonne of the Knights of Saint John. What was interesting about that one is that it is set in the 1300s–not some dim, misty past.
A dragon in medieval Christian art represents sin and the sinful nature, and is also a common way of depicting the devil, especially in the context of a devourer.
Pope Benedict recently lashed out against the “dragon” of materialism in the world, but said God was more powerful than the seemingly “invincible” trend.
While celebrating the Feast of the Assumption the pope invoked the “red dragon” of evil which figures in the New Testament. The pontiff said the red dragon had been embodied in “the great dictatorships of the past century: Nazism and Stalinism.”
“Today, the dragon exists in various forms – in the materialistic ideologies which tell people that it is absurd to think about God, to observe the Commandments which are described as outdated, and that they should grab what they can.”
“It seems impossible to oppose this dominant mentality with all the media backing it has and the dragon once again appears to be invincible,” he said.
“But God is stronger than the dragon and it is love which triumphs, not selfishness.”
Whew.
Saint Margaret seems to have provided the divine inspiration for the scene in the movie “Alien”, where the beast blows open the stomach of the astronaut. She did the same thing to Satan/The Dragon when it made the big mistake of eating her. She made the sign of the cross and that was that.
The legend of St. Margaret probably has some basis in reality. It combines elements of pagan magic and symbols, an inspirational martyrdom and one small historical point: rock pythons were used in Roman circuses and could swallow a small person.
I love dragons and mermaids and all kinds of supernatural creatures, especially if they are from the sea. The exhibition at the Museum of Natural History must have been tailor made for me: “Mythic Creatures…Track the origins of legendary creatures including dragons, unicorns, mermaids and sea serpents.” It also includes a depiction of a kraken, the terrible monster responsible for sending so many ships and their crews to the bottom of the sea. Well, that’s the legend; but it was probably a rogue wave?
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythiccreatures
