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Wyvern: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "thumb|Wyvern found in a medieval bestiary A '''wyvern''' (or wivern) is a legendary two-legged dragon often found in medieval heraldry. ==...") |
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[[Image:wyvern bestiary.jpg|thumb|Wyvern found in a medieval bestiary]] | [[Image:wyvern bestiary.jpg|thumb|Wyvern found in a medieval bestiary]] | ||
A '''wyvern''' (or wivern) is a legendary two-legged | A '''wyvern''' (or wivern) is a legendary two-legged dragon often found in medieval heraldry. | ||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
The name "wyvern" derived from the Saxon word Wivere, which means "serpent". The French wyvern is known as the | The name "wyvern" derived from the Saxon word Wivere, which means "serpent". The French wyvern is known as the Vouivre or Wouive. Both words are etymologically related to viper. | ||
==Description== | ==Description== | ||
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==Symbol== | ==Symbol== | ||
In the | In the bestiaries of the Middle Ages, the wyvern was used as an allegory of Satan and was associated with war, pestilence and sin. In medieval alchemy, the wyvern was used to represent matter in its basest of state. The alchemist himself was depicted as the worthy knight overcoming the beast -- that is, transforming it into gold. | ||
[[Image:wyvern alchemy.jpg|thumb|Georges Ripley XVth]] | [[Image:wyvern alchemy.jpg|thumb|Georges Ripley XVth]] | ||
==Heraldry== | ==Heraldry== | ||
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==Theories== | ==Theories== | ||
Some cryptozoologists have theorized that wyverns are evidence of surviving | Some cryptozoologists have theorized that wyverns are evidence of surviving pterosaurs, a large flying reptile thought to have gone extinct around 65 million years ago. More probable is that the discovery of fossilized skeletons of long extinct species led people to reconstruct those creatures' appearances, and prehistoric and ancient peoples would not have had any reason to believe the creatures represented by the fossils were all dead. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
*Pennick, Nigel (1997). Dragons of the West. Capall Bann Publishing | *Pennick, Nigel (1997). Dragons of the West. Capall Bann Publishing | ||
*Friar, Stephen (1987). A New Dictionary of Heraldry. London: Alphabooks/A & C Black, p 380. ISBN 0906670446. | *Friar, Stephen (1987). A New Dictionary of Heraldry. London: Alphabooks/A & C Black, p 380. ISBN 0906670446. | ||
*Flags of the World: Wessex, England http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-wessx.html | *Flags of the World: Wessex, England http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-wessx.html | ||
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[[Category:Dragons]] | [[Category:Dragons]] | ||
[[Category:Race: Winged | [[Category:Race: Winged Dragon]] | ||
[[Category:Dragon Names]] | [[Category:Dragon Names]] | ||
[[Category:Continent: Europe]] | [[Category:Continent: Europe]] | ||
[[Category:Race: Dragon]] | [[Category:Race: Dragon]] | ||
