Dragon legends are the most common monster legends on our planet. The creepy monstrous reptile has found its place in the folklore of almost all the peoples of the world. At the same time, judging by some literary and musical works, this creature was perceived more as a real monster than as a character in myths.
Edward Topsell in his "History of Reptiles" (1608) said: "Among all the species of reptiles, there is not a single one comparable to the dragon or one that can provide sufficiently complete historical material to reveal the essence and nature of this animal."
When you analyze the "true stories" about dragons in folklore or written records of some cultures, the questions immediately arise: why are dragons everywhere so similar? Did dragons really fly over the earth and devour the unfortunate villagers, while demanding young girls as sacrifices and instilling terror in every heart? And is it true that no one but the brave knight could stop them?
Who among us has not seen the icon where St. George the Victorious kills the dragon? And on the other hand, what child has not read fairy tales about lazy and kind, gentle and timid dragons?
Every myth has a particle of truth and reality. Many serious scientists adhere to the theory that a small number of dinosaurs could survive to the human era. Take any book about dinosaurs - and you will see that, for example, the royal tyrannosaurus could be a great dragon in some legend. Such an enormous reptile, plodding heavily on the outskirts of early Europe, would certainly fit even the most impressive descriptions of dragons.
Today no one says that there were a lot of dinosaurs. But even a handful of these prehistoric reptiles, which lived in remote lakes and forested valleys, could not have gone unnoticed even in sparsely populated Europe of the 1500s. e. A meeting with just one of these "monsters" would give rise to legends and traditions for many centuries.
The following theory, perhaps, will interest the ordinary reader more: the fact is that ancient historians often described huge snakes, similar to python, which reached more than 15 meters in length. Many stories about dragons that have come down to us from the Middle Ages tell how these creatures entwine their prey and slowly crush it, which fully corresponds to the behavior of a python or a boa constrictor.
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But all these theories do not explain why the dragon can move on four limbs.
Certain types of giant lizards would probably fit the description of a dragon and satisfy many theorists. One of them is known as the Komodo dragon, which is often more than 3.5 meters long, but it lives in East India.
Saint George the Victorious and the other dragon slayers would have taken a long time - in terms of Western history - to venture into the tropics. Probably, the battle with the dragon itself would be much less of an ordeal than such a campaign.
If in Europe there was still such a species of lizard (presumably several million years ago), which survived before the appearance of man, this would solve the mystery of the origin of the myths about dragons.
A third theory - and very plausible - suggests that a medieval adventurer accidentally discovered a cave filled with the bones of a giant cave bear and mistaken them for the remains of a dragon skeleton. It happened that even workers who dug pits during the construction of churches found fossilized dinosaur bones.
Scientists only in the 19th century realized that often the age of fossil remains is estimated at millions of years (before that it was believed that the skeletons found belonged to some giant animals that had recently become extinct).
If at the time when the legends of dragons were at the peak of popularity in Europe, the remains of a fossil were found in the ground or in a cave, the existence of fabulous monsters would certainly have been proven.
Now let's try to independently develop a theory according to which peasants, digging a well, found mammoth bones in the ground. The diggers immediately concluded that this was a dragon's grave. Well, where there are the remains of one, there may well be another, a living dragon! The inhabitants of the village must have been tormented by the question: how to get rid of the huge beast - so that it does not fly in and devour all of them to one? Need a sacrifice! The priest said that this does not work on the dragon, but it can appease the ancient gods!
The peasants chose a young beauty, took her into a dark forest and tied her to a tree, hoping in this way to appease the dragon. It is difficult to imagine all the horror that the girl experienced when wolves or bears attacked her at night … The next day the most daring village men went into the forest. The way it is! The dragon flew in and devoured the girl!
A month passed - it turned out that the victim "worked": the monster did not appear in the village, and the locals did not hunt. So the maiden flesh pacified him. If they continue to sacrifice from time to time, even if it is a calf or a kid, the dragon will leave them alone.
It is possible that in Europe such bones - be it a mammoth, a Sumatran rhino or a giant cave bear - were not considered unusual. Mammoth tusks are very common in medieval recipes for the elixir of love. On the market square of the Austrian city of Klagenfurt stands a statue of a giant slaying a dragon; the head of this monster, apparently, was molded in the shape of the skull of a Sumatran rhinoceros.
Proof of this connection is the fact that the ancient manuscripts mention a "dragon skull" found in Klagenfurt in the 16th century. All these long years, the skull has been under the protection of the city administration, and today it can be quite identified as the skeleton of the head of an Ice Age rhinoceros.