Flying Reptiles In Medieval European Lore

[DD1991]

I'm curious. I've known that winged dragons are a common staple in folklore and legends in medieval Europe, but until recently I had no idea whether European winged dragons were based on fossils of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles or pterosaurs. However, the pterosaur fossils found in Europe bear uncanny resemblance to the wyvern of English folklore. Is it possible that Europeans came upon specimens of pterodactyls when they crafted folktales about winged dragons?

[fenixsmom]

They may have been tripping off mushrooms or moldy Rye bread (acid). There are little winged dragons in I believe the Philippines. I'll look for the link and post. The.greatest thing abiut stories being passed down from generation to generation is exaggeration. Like the game telephone. (How did "your mamma wears boots" turn into Sally is pregnant??)

Your explanation is quite plausible in my opinion. They could have been digging stone for a castle or other building and stumbled upon the fossil.

[fenixsmom]

http://www.amazfacts.com/2011/11/real-life-dragon-found-in-indonesia.html?m=1 there ya go. Indonesia here's a picture of it.[attachment=208648:1.

[fenixsmom]

Aww my picture didn't load. (I'm new, don't judge)

[Auspex]

The European dragon legends are rooted in Greek and Middle Eastern mythology. My suspicion is that it is a tale that grew in the telling, and probably arose from basal anxiety/fear, rather than from fossil remains (the original legends are about serpents; flying came later).

[painshill]

The very word itself in Europe derives from the ancient Greek “drakon”, which referred to any large serpent-like creature (including real animals such as large snakes, as well as mythical ones), whether terrestrial or aquatic. The first written use of the word in Europe comes from Homer’s Iliad, written around 1250 BC.

The earliest representations depict them as long tailed and very serpent-like with scaly reptilian skin. Although they are sometimes depicted with feathers, wings were a later mediaeval addition and generally depicted as bat-like. They’re not usually depicted as flying creatures (despite the wings) and often suggested as cave dwellers, living underground or occasionally in rivers. They’re also generally depicted as hatching from eggs. Legs were also a later mediaeval addition (generally having clawed feet), with two-legged versions generally being referred to as “wyverns” and four-legged ones as “dragons”.

The mythology in Europe seems to have originated in the Near Eastern part of the Greek Empire and it’s possible that the fire-breathing aspect sometimes associated with dragons may have derived from the spitting cobra.

It’s pretty clear that various cultures (almost universally so) independently originated the mythology from different sources. Around the world there are various possible inspirations including real animals such as large snakes, crocodiles and monitor lizards as well as fossil bones from large extinct animals including dinosaurs. The Chinese historian Chang Qu describes what seem to be large fossil dinosaur bones discovered in 300 BC which he attributes to a dragon.

There was reference to Adrienne Mayor in another thread about fossil mythology recently and she covers the topic of dragons and their possible origins in her interesting book “The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times.”

[Auspex]

In the "Full Circle" department, we now have a pterosaur named for the Meso American flying-serpent deity Quetzalcoatl: Quetzalcoatlus.

[fenixsmom]

Is there a like button on this forum???

[Auspex]

Is there a like button on this forum???

Nope; too FaceBook-ish.

What we do have is an "Informative" button (lower-right in each post), whereby you can acknowledge a post as being uncommonly informative, in-depth, and going the extra mile.

[fenixsmom]

Hey, thanks Admin!! I appreciate your post! I agree, too fb-ish.

[RichW9090]

Draco volans - from a locality which Alfred Wallace visited in Sulawesi (it was called Celebes in his time).

[Wrangellian]

Hey, maybe we'll have pterosaurs again in a few million years!

[PFOOLEY]

Hey, maybe we'll have pterosaurs again in a few million years!

You may have to settle for bats.