|
European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. In the modern period, the European dragon is typically depicted as a huge, fire-breathing, scaly, horned, lizard-like creature; the creature also has leathery, bat-like wings, four legs, and a long, muscular prehensile tail. Some depictions show dragons with feathered wings, crests, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine, and various exotic decorations. In folktales, dragon's blood often contains magical properties. For example, in the opera ''Siegfried'', dragon's blood allows Siegfried to understand the language of the Forest Bird. The typical dragon protects a cavern or castle filled with gold and treasure and is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it. Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave that identifies it as an ancient creature of earth. Possibly, the dragons of European and Mid-Eastern mythology stem from the cult of snakes found in religions throughout the world. ==Terminology== "Dragon" is derived from the Latin word ''draco'', as in the constellation, Draco, which comes directly from Greek ''δράκων'', (drákōn, ''gazer''). The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is ''worm'' (Old English: ''wyrm'', Old High German: ''wurm'', Old Norse: ''ormr''), meaning snake or serpent. In Old English, ''wyrm'' means "serpent", and ''draca'' means "dragon". Finnish ''lohikäärme'' directly translated means "salmon-snake", but the word ''lohi-'' was originally ''louhi-'' meaning crags or rocks, a "mountain snake". The prefix lohi- in lohikäärme is also thought to derive from the ancient Norse word lógi, meaning "fire", as in Finnish mythology there are also references to "tulikäärme" meaning fire-snake, or fire-serpent. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「European dragon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|