Origin: English Epic
History: Beowulf was a warrior who had battled many monsters in his youth, two of which being Grendel and Grendel's mother. As he grew older, be became the King of the Geats, and his legend grew. An epic poem, which is indeed historical in some respects, was written containing the story of his struggles with monsters, one of which was the Fire-Drake.
The Fire-Drake was a fearsome dragon that lived in a cave guarding a large horde. Someone crept into the dragon's lair and stole a cup. The dragon awoke and found that his treasure was indeed missing a cup, so it searched for it. It discovered human foot steps, which allowed the dragon to learn who stole the cup: humans. With that, the fire-drake took to the skies and began tormenting a nearby town.
Beowulf, the King, was informed of this creature's wrath, and he, as the legend and the king, was asked to slay the beast. He took with him men, but in the end only one man helped him. They went to the dragon's lair, and Beowulf began to fight the mighty monster.
Unfortunately, the Fire-Drake had a good deal of fiery breath, which made it hard to fight. Beowulf's sword, Naegling, broke during the battle, which made Beowulf quite helpless. Being bitten by a venomous dragon, Beowulf did not die right away, but lived to see the dragon slain with the help of Wiglaf, his relative. However, he died later because of the poison.
Symbolism: The Fire-Drake attacked because something was stolen from it, which makes at least some of this creature's actions warrented. However, Beowulf fought this creature to save his reputation as a beast-slayer, which makes this dragon a symbol of such.
Physical Description: Being fifty "paces" long, the dragon was serpentine in nature and fearsome in presentation.
- Information on Beowulf was obtained reading a translation of the poem.
For more information about these footnotes, please see the bibliography.
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© Kylie 'drago' McCormick.
Last updated: 2 October 2009