dragon

dragon [OFr. dragon, from L, Gk. roots]. The fabulous, winged, fire-breathing reptile plays an important role in the Welsh imagination but less so in Irish and other Celtic literatures; the presence of snakes in Wales and their absence in Ireland may account for this. The national symbol of Wales is Y Ddraig Goch [the red dragon], to be distinguished from gwiber [viper], the word for dragon in other contexts. As in other European traditions, the dragon usually represents elemental power, often that of the earth. Celtic dragons often live at the bottom of deep lakes or guard trees. With the introduction of Christianity, the dragon comes to represent paganism, as in the story of St George. The agnomen of the Welsh-based Arthurian figure Uthr Bendragon/Uther Pendragon [W, dragon's head (?), foremost leader (?)] signals the beast's admirable qualities. Linguistic evidence implies that many dragons in Celtic tradition are borrowed from non-Celtic sources, e.g. Ir. dragún; Manx dragane; Corn. dragon; Bret. dragon. ScG employs both dràgon and beithir, which may derive from the Norse for bear.

Two dragons harass Britain every Calan Mai [May Eve] midnight in Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys [The Meeting of Lludd and Llefelys]. Lludd entombs two dragons at Dinas Emrys. The Irish hero Fráech kills a dragon at the beginning of the action of Táin Bó Fraích [The Cattle Raid of Fráech]. A dragon swallows Dáire (3), the son of Fionn, but he escapes. A creature, perhaps a dragon, named oilliphéist [Ir., great beast/worm], fled from St Patrick, thus cutting the Shannon valley on his way. The Breton St Pol of Léon is sometimes pictured with a dragon. The dragon may be known as a ‘firedrake’ in some translations of Celtic stories.

Bibliography

See J. J. Campbell , The Celtic Dragon Myth (Edinburgh, 1911; repr. New York, 1973)

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