Dragonslayers : From Beowulf To St. George

Description

With its fiery breath, scaly armour, and baleful, malevolent stare, the dragon became the ultimate symbol of evil and corruption in European folklore and mythology. Often serving as a stand-in for Satan, or the power of evil gods, dragons spread death and hopelessness throughout the land. Only heroes of uncommon valour, courageousness, and purity could hope to battle these monsters and emerge victorious. Those that did became legends. They became dragonslayers. The list of dragonslayers is small, but it is filled with great and legendary names. Hercules, Beowulf, Sigurd, and Saint George all battled to the death with dragons. Other heroes such as Cadmus, founder of the city of Thebes, Dieudonne de Gozon, the Knight of Rhodes, and the Russian warrior Dobrynya Nikitich might be less well known to western readers, but also fought and defeated dragons. This book retells the greatest legends of this select group of warriors, while examining the myth of the dragonslayer in historical, mythological, and even theological contexts.

Author description

Joseph A McCullough is the author of several non-fiction books including A Pocket History of Ireland and Osprey's Zombies: A Hunter's Guide. In addition, his fantasy short stories have appeared in various books and magazines such as Black Gate, Lords of Swords, and Adventure Mystery Tales. He also co-wrote The Grey Mountains, a supplement for the Middle-Earth Role-Playing game. Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Table of contents

The Myth of the Dragonslayer /The Ancient Greek Dragonslayers: Cadmus, Jason, Hercules /The Pagan Dragonslayers: Cuchulain, Beowulf, Sigfried /The Christian Dragonslayers: Saint George /The Eastern Dragonslayers: Bobrynya Nikitch, Krak/ Dragonslaying in modern fiction