In the Middle Ages the dragon was almost always associated with the devil and Satan, the serpent of all evil numerous stories portray the dragon as the bearer of evil, death, and misfortune. He then brings the helpless dragon to town where he demands that the inhabitants convert to Christianity or be killed by the dragon-which he later slays. George saves the princess, stuns the dragon with his lance, and orders the princess to bind it with her girdle. There, he finds the king and his people about to offer the king’s own daughter to a dragon. In a popular Christian saint story, a Roman soldier named Saint George arrives at a pagan community called Silena while in Libya in the third century AD. In Revelations, the archangel Saint Michael kills a ferocious dragon and banishes it from heaven, paving the way for Christ’s Resurrection. Stories from Christian texts also portray the dragon in satanic fashion. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program Dragon as Bearer of Evil Pen-and-ink drawing tinted with with body color and translucent washes on parchment, 8 1/4 × 6 3/16 in. Once again the dragon represents the devil, this time cowering in fear in the face of God.Ī Dragon in the Northumberland Bestiary (detail), about 1250–60, unknown artist/illuminator, made in England. Upon waking, it lets out a roar with a fragrant odor that attracts all animals-except the dragon, which flees in fear to hide deep within the earth. After consuming a large meal, this large cat is said to fall asleep for several days. The story of the dragon and the elephant reveals that the devil (the dragon) is always lying in wait the good Christian (the elephant) must keep watch.Īnother dragon story involves the panther, which is a symbol of Christ. The elephant gives birth in water to ward off such a threat. When an elephant crosses underneath, the dragon swoops down, coils its tail around the elephant’s neck, and strangles it to death. The dragon successfully kills elephants by hiding in a tree, hidden by foliage. The dragon is elephants’ only enemy because it is the only creature capable of killing it. As the female elephant gives birth in a pond, its mate stands guard to protect the mother from their enemy, the dragon. One dragon story told in the bestiary involves the elephant. The Dragon, the Elephant, and the Panther The bestiary, a type of illuminated manuscript featuring stories and biblical lessons about animals, depicts the dragon as the bearer of death and misfortune or as the incarnation of the devil and evil. The dragon, so closely identified with the medieval era in fantasy tales, is one of literature’s most iconic beasts. The posts complement the exhibition Book of Beasts at the Getty Center from May 14 to August 18, 2019. Meet 19 animals of the medieval bestiary in Book of Beasts, a blog series created by art history students at UCLA with guidance from professor Meredith Cohen and curator Larisa Grollemond. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program Tempera colors, pen and ink, gold leaf, and gold paint on parchment, 9 3/16 × 6 7/16 in. A Winged Dragon (detail) in a bestiary, 1278–1300, unknown illuminator, Franco-Flemish.
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