{"id":18439,"date":"2022-10-10T16:35:01","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T14:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=216747"},"modified":"2022-10-10T16:53:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T14:53:13","slug":"how-do-you-really-kill-a-dragon","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/how-do-you-really-kill-a-dragon\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you really kill a dragon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Kev Lochun\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 10 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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In House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a>, HBO\u2019s Game of Thrones<\/em> prequel, the Targaryens have little to think about when it comes to dragonslaying \u2013 after all, they have dragons of their own.<\/p>\n

In lieu of a winged and fire-breathing steed, pop culture suggests the best way to slay a dragon is to shoot it with a bolt worthy of a ballista, as is the case for Smaug in The Hobbit<\/em> and Rhaegal in Games of Thrones<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It is easy to see why hurling a sharp projectile at a flying dragon might seem the most effective way to take down a creature of such ferocious power, considering their nigh-impenetrable scales and unfortunate tendency towards pyromania.<\/p>\n

But there are many more imaginative ways of killing a dragon, as the annals of historical texts, poetry and folklore attest. The dragonslaying experts of medieval literature dispatched their foes in myriad more inventive \u2013 if sometimes unorthodox \u2013 ways.<\/p>\n

How to slay a dragon: 10 examples from history<\/h2>\n
1<\/span>

Lance through the mouth<\/h3>\n<\/div>

Performed by St George (died AD 303) and John de Somerville (late 12th century)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lancing a dragon is probably the best-known method, as popularised by St George<\/a> (though he is sometimes confused with other dragonslaying saints such as St Theodore). The account made famous in the medieval west is found in Jacobus de Voragine\u2019s Golden Legend<\/em>, a collection of saints\u2019 biographies.<\/p>\n

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Russian icon of St George and the Dragon (Photo by Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

It tells how a dragon was poisoning the countryside around the city of Silene in Libya, with its people buying protection by offering the dragon a daily snack of two sheep. When they inevitably run out of sheep, they begin sacrificing their children. Interestingly, not all versions agree about the lance dealing the mortal blow \u2013 the Golden Legend says that George beheads the creature with his sword.<\/p>\n

But it was the horseman thrusting a spear down the throat of a dragon writhing on the ground who was popularised in art, becoming the iconic medieval dragon-slaying image. This approach certainly is effective in getting around the dragon\u2019s scaly armour, with a gaping mouth providing access to the heart.<\/p>\n

John de Somerville, one of many medieval imitators of what we may dub the \u2018St George method\u2019, took it to the next level. John faced the dragon known as the Linton Worm, which terrorised the county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, eating crops and livestock and developing a taste for humans. De Somerville\u2019s lance had a tip of burning peat, and he lodged the fiery lance in the dragon\u2019s throat as it was getting ready to eat. It just goes to show that even tried and tested methods can be improved.<\/p>\n