Dragon of Mordiford

The Dragon of Mordiford was said to reside just outside the Herefordshire village of Mordiford, at the confluence of the River Lugg and the River Wye.

From early life, the dragon, green in colour, was said to have loved a small girl named Maud who resided in Mordiford and had nurtured it from infancy. When it grew into adolescence and adulthood, she remained the only person safe from its reign. Only she could soothe it, by gently stroking its claws and cuddling with it. But it saw all other creatures in its territory, human or animal, as prey.

Early life

The legend explains that the dragon was found by a little girl from Mordiford, Maud, who had desperately wanted a pet. While wandering the forest adjacent to her village one day, Maud had found a small bright creature with a snout and small, translucent wings prowling around a small group of flowers. Excited by the creature, the girl took it home to show to her parents. Immediately her mother and father realized it was a wyvern and commanded Maud to take it back to where she had found it because it would cause trouble in the village. The indignant Maud pretended to obey but instead hid the infant dragon in a safe place in the forest. There she nurtured her "pet" with milk, playing with it and watching it try to fly.[1] The dragon grew vastly each month, eventually taking on an emerald hue and developing thick, powerful wings.[2]

Later life

In the legend, after reaching maturity, the dragon's hunger could not be satisfied with milk anymore—it now had an enormous hunger for meat. Soon, it began to plague the local farms, killing their livestock, especially cows and sheep, and farmers were intolerant. These men tried to stop the beast by extermination, but it soon feasted upon them, finding human flesh delicious.[2] Maud implored the beast during her visits afterward to stop its rampage. Still the beast, now fully mature, killed everything in its way except for Maud, its only friend.[2]

The townspeople in the tale grew exhausted of the constant attacks from the dragon and desperate, sought help from the noblemen of Mordiford. A man from the local Garstone family set out in full armour to end the beast's life forever, finding the beast nearly camouflaged into the forest's many plants. The dragon almost instantly released a blast of fire, Garstone barely deflecting it. He aimed a lance at the wyvern's throat, releasing it and fully penetrating through the dragon. Maud, insane with rage and grief, burst from the surrounding forest and came to mourn her past pet.[3]

Aftermath

The story of the dragon remains part of Mordiford's culture: it is continually mentioned in modern records of the town. From the time the dragon was said to have lived until 1811, a portrait of the dragon appeared on the wall of the main church of the village. In 1811, however, a vicar ordered it destroyed because dragons were considered "a sign of the devil".[2] A reproduction of this painting of the dragon is displayed inside the church.

See also

References
  1. Shuker 1995, p. 49.
  2. Shuker 1995, p. 50.
  3. Shuker 1995, p. 51.

Sources
  • Shuker, Karl (1995). Dragons: A Natural History. Barnes and Noble. ISBN 0-7607-4551-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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