Dragons of Fame

Knucker

Type/Species: Western Dragon (most likely)
Origin: English Folklore

History: Knucker lived in a hole in Lyminster (Sussex in England). Although no water could be seen going into the hole that the dragon lived in, a stream came out of it. Knucker did cause a good deal of problems: eating people, animals, and a number of other naughty dragon things.

One version of the tale tells that Knucker was killed by a local boy named Jim Pulk. The boy baked a poisonus pie of Sussex, which the dragon willingly accepted. Sadly, somehow Jim managed to get some of the poison on him, and he died as a result of it.

Closely related to this version is the version of Jim Puttock. Puttock did the same thing as Pulk, but he did not die in the end. He was lucky enough to receive an award from Mayor of Arundel.

The most well-known version is that of the King. The King, wanting to rid himself of the nuisance, decided to allow the man who slew the beast to marry his daughter. A wandering knight happened upon this place, and he gladly slew the dragon in return for the princess.¹

Symbolism: Knucker was one of those sterotyped dragons, yet the humans have a roll in each of the version. In the first version mentioned here, Jim Pulk dies trying to kill off the dragon, much like the Germanic tale of Jormungand. In the second version here, it is the more "western" version of the tale. The final story told here is the most "western" dragon tale, although it is similar to some Greek Myths loosely.

Physical Description: Most likely, given the time period and location, Knucker was a Western dragon with four limbs and two wings.

1. Mythological Dragon List

For more information about footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.