Dragon, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The dragon is the mightiest of all creatures on earth, surpassing even the largest serpents. When it comes out of its lair, it soars into the sky, causing the heavens to tremble. It boasts a distinctive crest, a small mouth and tight tubes through which it breathes and produces sounds. Rather than its teeth, the dragon’s true power lies in its tail, which it uses to whip and inflict harm more effectively than biting.

Remarkably, the dragon is immune to poisons but it can still be deadly if it strikes with its tail. Its tail is so formidable that even an elephant cannot escape its wrath. The dragon lurks along elephant trails, using its tail to bind their legs and suffocate them. This fearsome creature is believed to originate from the scorching lands of Ethiopia and India.

Allegorically, the dragon represents the devil—a fierce and deceptive entity. Just as the dragon is dragged out into the sky and causes it to shine, the devil, emerging from the depths, masquerades as an angel of light to deceive the unwary with false promises of glory and joy. The dragon’s crest symbolises its reign over pride and its power lies not in its teeth but in its tail, which ensnares and deceives those it lures. It hides near the paths to heaven, binding souls with the knots of sin and suffocating them. Those ensnared by such sins face certain damnation.

Draco maior est. cunctorum serpentium sive
omnium animantium super terram. Qui sepe
a speluncis extractus; fertur in aerem. Concitatur
que propter eum aer. Est autem cristatus. ore parvo.
et artis fistulis. per quas trahit spiritum. et linquam;
exerit. Vim autem non in dentibus. sed in caudam;
habet. et verbere potius quam ictu nocet. Innoxius

The dragon is the largest of all snakes or of all creatures on earth. When it is often dragged out of caves, it flies into the sky, which is shaken because of it. It has a crest, a small mouth and tight tubes wherethrough it draws breath and utters a sound. Its power is not in its teeth but in its tail: it inflicts harm more by whipping with its tail than by biting with its teeth.

tamen est a venenis; Sed cauda ligaverit; occi-
dit. A quo nec elephans tutus est. sui corporis magnitu-
dine. Nam circa semitas delitescens per quas elephan-
tes soliti gradiuntur; crura eorum nodis illigat(changed from alligat). ac
suffocatos perimit. Gignitur autem in ethiopia et in india
ubi ipso incendio iugis est estus. Huic draconi dia-
bolus assimilatur. qui est inmanissimus serpens. Se-
pe in aerem concitatur. et lucet propter eum aer; quia
diabolus ab imis se erigens; transfigurat se in ange-
lum lucis. et decipit stultos sepe false glorie leticieque
humane. Cristatus dicitur; quia ipse est. rex superbie.
Vim non in dentibus sed in cauda habet; quia suis vi-
ribus perditis; mendatio decipit quos ad se trahit. Circa
semitas per quas elephantes gradiuntur delitescit; quia
iter eorum ad celum nodis peccatorum illigat; ac suf-
focatos interimit. Quia si quis criminum vinculo
irretitus moritur; sine dubio in inferno dampnatur;

However, the dragon is immune to poisons but it can kill you if it attacks you with its tail. Owing to the size of the tail, even an elephant cannot defend itself therefrom. Hiding near the paths elephants usually walk along, the dragon binds their legs with knots and suffocates them. This creature is born in Ethiopia and India, where there is heat from the burning mountains. The dragon symbolises the devil, who is an extremely fierce serpent. It is often dragged out into the sky and the sky shines because of it, for the devil, rising from the depths, turns himself into an angel of light and deceives the foolish with false glory and human joy. It is crested, cristātus, for it is the king of pride. It has power not in its teeth but in its tail, for when it loses its strength, it deceives those whom it attracts with falsehood. It hides near the paths where elephants walk, for it binds their way to heaven with the knots of sins and suffocates them. If anyone bound by the chains of crimes dies, they are undoubtedly condemned to hell.

Further Reading

David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Dragon, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast262.htm

Josh Goldenberg (BA 2012) and Matt Shanahan (BA 2014, Logeion, November 2022, https://logeion.uchicago.edu/

Castiglioni, L. and Mariotti, S. (1996). Vocabolario della Lingua Latina: Latino-Italiano Italiano-Latino. Terza Edizione. Loescher Torino

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Wikipedia: The Elephant, 28 November 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

Matthews, J. and Matthews C., (2010), The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, HarperCollins UK, London

Curley, M. J., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago edition 2009)

Rackham, H., M.A., Pliny Natural History Volume III, Libri VIII-XI (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949)

Collins, A. H., M.A., Symbolism of Animals and Birds (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913)

Henderson, C., The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (London: University of Chicago Press, 2013)

White, T. H., The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1960)

Barney, S. A., Lewis, W. J., Beach A., Berghof O., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Endnotes

[1] The reference to the dragon having a small mouth might not be literal but rather an indication of its less significant role in inflicting harm through biting. Instead, the dragon's primary means of attack is its tail, which is described as the source of its dangerous power. The small mouth could symbolise that the dragon’s true threat comes not from its bite but from other features, such as its tail or the symbolic elements associated with it.