Dragonslayers From Beowulf to St. George by Joseph A. McCullough (Book Review)

"With its fiery breath, scaky armour, and baleful malovent stare, the dragon became the ultimate symbol of evil and corruption in Eurioean folklore and mythology. Often serving as a stand-in for Satan, or the power of evil gods, dragons spread death and hopelessness throughout the land. Only heroes of uncommon valour, courageousness, and purity could hope to battle these monsters and emerge victorious. Those that did became dragonslayers.


"The list of dragonslayers is small, but it is filled with great and legendary names. Hercules, Beowulf, Sigurd, and St. George all battled to the death with dragons. Other heroes such as Cadmus, founder of the City of Thebes, Dieudonne de Gozon, the Knight of Rhodes, and the Russian warrior Dobrynya Nikitich, might be less well known to Western readers, but also fought and defeated dragons. This book retells the greatest legends of this select group of warriors, while examining the myth of the dragonslayer in historical, mythological, and even theological contexts."


DRAGONSLAYERS is part of the Myths and Legends. Mr. McCullough has done a superb job of putting together well researched material complete with illustrations. It covers multiple sections: Ancient Dragonslayers; Norse Dragonslayers; Holy Dragonslayers; Medieval Dragonslayers and Dragonslayers From Around the World.


Advance reading copy provided by Darrin Turpin with many thanks.


Book format: paperback, 82 pages
Publisher: Osprey Adventures


Available:


Amazon.com

Chapters Indigo

There had been an ealier post on the vastness of the cosmos and its different life forms, as as the karma or one's consequences of their actions which was deleted in error by accident. This may have been instant karma or just a rash decision of pressing the wrong button instead of "Update".

Over the years I had read about various types of meditation where one could learn over time answers to questions. It took several attempts of trial and error to mix bits of methods together to facilitate appropriate responses.

One time I was curious about how choices were dealt with, and I queried over how a person was chosen to assist another in a given situation. My meditated answer resulted in a brief internal vision of standing and looking up a very tall lectern where a large book rested, open two-thirds in. Behind the lectern stood a tall man dressed in a long dark coloured robe, the forefinger of his right hand slowly making its way down a list of entries. He turned the page and continued down several more entries until he reached the one he sought. Behind the man were tiers of shelving.

I took note of my position in comparison to the man and discovered I stood less than knee height on him.

Afterwards I contemplated over this experience, thinking it to be a visit to the Akashic Records. At the time I had not seen the entry nor knew what the entries in the large volume were for except it seemed as if the man was trying to find a match to my query.



Photo Credit: 1902 Ice Grotto in Akulkan Glacier by Jasonwoodhead CC=flickr.