page_title: European dragon
section_title: Welsh dragon
hierarchical_section_title: European dragon / Dragons in specific cultures / Welsh dragon
caption_attribution_description: English: Illumination of a 15th-century manuscript of Historia Regum Britanniae showing king of the Britons Vortigern and Ambros watching the fight between two dragons.
context_page_description: European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping
  cultures of Europe.
  The Roman poet Virgil in his poem Culex lines 163-201, describing a shepherd having a fight with a big constricting snake, calls it "serpens" and also "draco", showing that in his time the two words were probably interchangeable.
  In and after the early Middle Ages, the European dragon is typically depicted as a large, 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 one or more of: feathered wings, crests, ear frills, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine, and various exotic decorations.
  In folktales, dragon's blood often contains unique powers, keeping them alive for longer or giving them poisonous or acidic properties. The typical dragon in Christian culture protects a cavern or castle filled with gold and treasure. An evil dragon is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it, and a good one is said to give support or wise advice.
context_section_description: The red dragon features on, and is the name of, the national flag of Wales (Y Ddraig Goch, "the red dragon"). The symbol may originate in Arthurian legend, or more likely from the Celtic dragon god Dewi (not to be confused with Saint David). Employed by Gwrtheyrn, Merlin tells of a vision of the red dragon (representing the Britons) and the white dragon (representing the invading Saxons) fighting beneath Dinas Emrys. This particular legend also features in the Mabinogion in the story of Lludd and Llefelys.
  The dragon was used as a predominant symbol of Welsh leaders throughout history, such as Owain Glyndŵr and Henry VII of England.
caption: Fifteenth-century manuscript illustration of the battle of the Red and White Dragons from Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain
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