The Penguin Book of Dragons

Contents

Ancient Enemies: Monstrous Snakes in the Greco-Roman World
·        The Hydra of Lerna: From Apollodorus’s The Library
·        Medusa, Mother of Monsters: From Lucan’s Pharsalia
·        Cadmus and the Dragon of Ares: From Ovid’s Metamorphoses
·        The Death of Laocoön: From Virgil’s Aeneid
·        The Dragon of Bagrada River: From Silius Italicus’s Punica
·        Dragons Against Elephants: From Pliny’s Natural History
 
Satanic Serpents: Dragons and Saints in Early Christianity
·        Biblical Beasts: From the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament
·        The Guardian of Heaven’s Ladder: From the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity
·        Descendants of Darkness: From the Acts of Philip
·        The Dragon Became Her Tomb: From Venantius Fortunatus’s Life of Marcellus
·        Coiled Couriers of the Damned: From the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great
·        The Monster of the River Ness: From Adomnán of Iona’s Life of Columba
 
Guardians of the Hoard: The Wyrms of Northern Literature
·        The Terror of Nations: From the Beowulf Poem
·        Sigurd, Slayer of Fáfnir: From Völsunga saga
·        Winged Dragons of the North: From the Saga of Ketil Trout and the Saga of Þiðrek of Bern
           
Books of Monsters: Dragon Lore in Medieval Europe
·        A Treasury of Ancient Dragon Lore: From Isidore of Seville’s Etymologies
·        Dark Age Creature Catalogues: From the Marvels of the East and the Book of Monsters
·        You Crushed their Heads Upon the Waters: From Hrabanus Maurus’s About Everything
·        Remembering a Pannonian Dragon: From Arnold of St. Emmeram’s Concerning the Miracles of St. Emmeram
·        God’s Fiery Vengeance: From Henry of Tournai’s Concerning the Miracles of St. Mary of Laon
·        Bone Fires and Dragon Sperm: From John Beleth’s Summa on Ecclesiastical Offices
·        The Prophecies of Merlin: From Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain
·        The Devil is the Largest Serpent: From the Medieval Bestiary Tradition
·        Hunting Monsters in Kara-Jang: From Marco Polo’s The Travels of Marco Polo
 
Draconic Demons and Ogres: Dragons in Byzantium
·        A Theologian Contemplates the Nature of Dragons: From Pseudo-John of Damascus’s On Dragons
·        Why Dragons Fear Lightning: From Michael Psellos’ On Meteorological Matters
·        A Demon in Disguise: From the Martyrdom of Saint Marina
·        The Treasury Dragon of Constantinople: From the Life and Martyrdom of Saint Hypatios of Gangra
·        The Terror of Trebizond: From the Life of Saint Eugenios
·        The Ogre-Dragon’s Pitiless Heart: From the Romance of Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe
 
Dragons and their Slayers in the Later Middle Ages
·        The Dragon and the Lion: From Chrétien de Troyes’ The Knight with the Lion
·        A Dragon with the Devil Inside: From The Captives
·        Four Saintly Dragonslayers: From Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend
 
Antichrist Ascendent: Dragons in Early Modern Literature
·        The Dragons of Fairyland: From Edmund Spenser’s The Fairie Queene
·        A Farting Dragon Burlesque: The Dragon of Wantley
·        The Great Serpent Returns: From John Milton’s Paradise Lost
 
Gods and Monsters: Dragons of the East
·        The Dragon of Drought: From the Rigveda
·        A Black Wind from the Sea: From Al-Masudi’s Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems
·        No One Ever Escapes My Claws: From The Book of Kings by Abolqasem Ferdowsk
·        The Eight-Headed Serpent of Koshi: From Ō No Yasumaro’s Records of Ancient Matters
·        Chief of the Scaly Creatures: From Li Shizhen’s Collected Interpretations
·        My Lord Bag of Rice: A Japanese Folktale
·        The Fisherman and the Dragon Princess: A Japanese Folktale
 
Here Be Dragons: Monstrous Habitats in Early Modern Thought     
·        Strange, Yet Now A Neighbour to Us: From A Discourse Relating a Strange and             Monstrous Serpent or Dragon
·        A World Full of Dragons: From Edward Topsell’s The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents
·        Dwellers Below: From Athanasius Kircher’s Subterranean World
·        The Last American Dragons: Excerpts from Early American Newspapers
 
Terror Tamed: Domesticated Drakes in Childrens’ Literature
·        A Lizardy Sort of Beast: Kenneth Grahame’s The Reluctant Dragon
·        Your Kindness Quite Undragons Me: Edith Nesbit’s The Last of the Dragons