Western Dragons

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The modern interpretation of dragons in the west often depicts them as large, scaly beasts with legs ending in clawed feet, with large, leathery wings and reptilian heads that tend to breathe fire. They frequently assume the role of antagonist in heroic western myths and stories, such as the dragon that opposed Beowulf or the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece in the classic Greek tale The Argonautica.

Indeed the English word dragon descends from the Latin word "Draco" which itself comes directly from the Greek word "drákōn." Another, although unfashionable, word for dragon in English is worm, which is descended from the Germanic word wurm, itself corrupted into Old English as wyrm.

The wurm-descended words mean snake or serpent, while the Greek word drákōn means, "that which sees" or flashes, and became associated with snakes, serpents and hence modern usage of the word dragon through early Greek poetry, where snake and drákōn were sometimes used interchangeably.

Please note that the below sections are organised by their relevance to each other rather than by a strict adherence to Geographical exactitude.

British Dragon Tales

The tales of dragons in the British Isles generally fall into two distinct categories:

Medieval Dragons

These stories often revolve around a heroic Knight and the safety of a Princess or other fair maiden of social importance, or sometimes the jeopardy of an entire town. The dragon is usually depicted as an evil or malevolent entity, which the brave and just Knight dutifully slays, the most well known of these stories being the classic legend Saint George and the Dragon.

Celtic Dragons

In direct contrast to the Crusading Knights era of dragon mythology and legend, Celtic Britons often considered the dragon to be a symbol of wisdom, associated with magic and mysticism, much like the Eastern representation. This symbolism extended to represent sovereignty and power, such as the Celtic word Pendragon, meaning chief.

Their physical appearance in Celtic mythology was more consistent with the Eastern or Greek dragons and worms, having long bodies generally without legs and wings and possessing poisonous bites or stinging spines.

European Dragon Tales

Many of the myths and legends of Central and Northern European nations revolve around the concept of the World Serpent, such as the Ouroboros or Jörmungandr.

Greek Dragons

The Ancient Greeks serve as the gateway for the modern understanding of the melting pot of Eastern and Ancient Middle Eastern dragon idioms. A classic example of this is the Ouroboros a Greek word meaning "the tail-devourer" which describes a symbol that can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, depicting a serpentine dragon eating its own tail. This symbol has come to represent many ideals and has been co-opted into many philosophies and practices.

In addition to this, the influence of Greek serpents and dragons can be seen in many other countries, such as in the Crusading Knights era Great Britain, where the religiously allegorical nature of tales such as the Lambton Worm do not detract from the similarities to Ancient Greek tales, such as the story of the Lernaean Hydra. The creatures in both tales share the characteristic of regeneration and both are, in the end, defeated by base elements, Water and Fire respectively.

Still other Ancient Greek tales involving serpents describe maiden Princess sacrifices, such as the story of Perseus and Andromeda, the Greek hero who rescued the Princess from a sea serpent.

Nordic Dragons

Dragons in Norse mythology return to the idea of the Ouroboros, represented by the World Serpent Jörmungandr. In Norse mythology, Midgard is the realm inhabited by humans which is encircled by the Ocean. Jörmungandr was a child of Loki who was tossed into this ocean by the mighty god Odin and subsequently grew so large that he could encircle the world and hold his tail in his mouth.

Other appearances of dragons include the figureheads carved into the Viking longships, which were said to endow keen eyesight and also were a symbol of destruction and chaos in Viking lore.

Germanic Dragons

Perhaps the most uniquely Germanic dragons are the Lindwurm dragons, a word meaning approximately "ensnaring serpent" in the Germanic languages. These types of dragon have links with the Nordic dragons, such as Fafnir, a dwarven prince in Norse mythology who was turned into a dragon by his own greed.

French Dragons

From the town of Rouen on the river Seine in France comes the tale of a Water serpent called La Gargouille, which is French for throat and is also derived from the Latin word gurgulio, which means to gurgle.

The French legend describes a fierce dragon, which rose from the river and flooded the countryside and devoured ships and sacrificial villagers. As in many religiously allegorical stories, the dragon was eventually subdued by a passing Saint and the dragon was burned at the stake. Its head and neck survived and were mounted on the Town Hall as a reminder of the town's religious conversion.

Bibliography

http://users.aber.ac.uk/cjy5/nfeuropean.htm
http://www.biocrawler.com/encyclopedia/Western_dragon
http://reptile.users2.50megs.com/hist/h110599a.html
http://www.theserenedragon.net/Tales/Germany-Nidhogg.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindworm
http://www.greyglass.com/dragontypes.html
http://northstargallery.com/gargoyles/aboutgargoyles.htm