The Niort Dragon
There are four bronze
dragons in the main shopping street of Niort in France. Niort is also known as
the Green Venice
They are based on the
story of a dragon from 1692.
The city was terrorised
by a giant snake with wings that devoured women ,children and men The dragon sat on Notre-Dame and drank water
from the Sèvre Niortaise. No one dared to challenge it. Then Jacques Allonneau, a convicted deserter,
a soldier .who was condemned to death offered to fight the dragon in exchange
for his freedom. Wearing a suit of armour, that included a glass visor, he was armed with a long spear and dagger. He fatally
stabbed the dragon in the throat. When
he lifted his visor in triumph the dragon spat venom at him with its dying
breath. The soldier was mortally poisoned .
His tomb was located
in the old cemetery of Notre Dame de Niort , but the cemetery was destroyed in
1792,
A Description of the
tombstone was found:
The tomb was
roof-shaped, from which two sculptures can be seen on the tombstone:
First side: a
character representing a soldier wearing a short coat and holding a short sword on his chest.His head is covered
with a helmet.The top of his head is decorated with a cross.
The Second side shows
a winged serpent a Dragon
So was this really the
tomb of a dragon slayer? We shall never know but the town celebrates the story
as real.
1 comment:
In Wales, we have dragons. Welsh culture is represented by a Welsh dragon on the flag.
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