Dragon
Dragon names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Dragon a fabulous animal
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a fabulous animal, found the in mythology of nearly all nations, generally as an enormous serpent of abnormal form. Ancient legends represent the dragon as a huge hydra, watching as sentinel the Garden of the Hesperides, or guarding the tree on which was hung the Golden Fleece at Colchis. In other places he appears as a monster, making the neighborhood around his cave unsafe, and desolating the land; his death being ascribed to a hero or god made for the task, which was a service to all mankind. In Christian art the dragon is the usual emblem of sin; is met with in pictures of St. Michael and St. Margaret, when it typifies the conquest over sin; it also appears under the feet of the Saviour, and under those of the Virgin. The dragon also typifies idolatry. In pictures of St. George and St. Sylvester it serves to exhibit the triumph of Christianity over paganism. As a symbol of Satan we find the dragon nearly always in
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a fabulous animal of monstrous size and fierceness. As represented in ancient art it is not unlike a winged crocodile; in heraldry it is a nondescript quadruped with fierce claws, large armed wings, a crested head, fiery eyes, and an open mouth, usually spouting fire. In legends the dragon is a fiery monster guarding a treasure, as the Golden Fleece , or the Garden of the Hesperides. The idea or modern notion most nearly approaching the dragon is possibly the popular conception of the devil, "who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Spenser speaks of the dragon "stretched like a great hill." Among Christian traditions, that of St. George and the Dragon is one of the most noted. The dragon, which is regarded in China as a sort of divinity, has been made that nation's imperial emblem. The figure appears on the Chinese flag.
Dragon A purely fabulous monster of enormous size
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)
A purely fabulous monster of enormous size, common to almost all countries. Descriptions of its appearance vary; but it appears to have been of a reptilian nature. often of a red or green colour, sometimes with several heads which vomited forth fire and vapours, and a large and clumsy tail. It was of enormous strength; but the ancients believed that it could be charmed by music, and the dragon which guarded the golden fleece was soothed by the voice of Medea . In India at the time of Alexander the Great, a dragon was worshipped as a god; and in occult history it is the manifestation of hell. The dragon, however, is best known in legendary history as the terrible monster, whose duty it was to provide the hero with opportunities of valour, and in this capacity it has figured in many a tale. The legend of St. George and the Dragon is familiar to everyone, and also the dragon that was slain by Sir Lancelot, one of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table. In Revelation the dragon, a representation of the Evil One, is overcome by the Archangel Michael . On one side of the coin given to those who were cured of possession, about the time of Henry VII ., there was portrayed an angel standing with both feet on a dragon. The idea of the dragon is perhaps evolved from the conception of the earth, as a living being, a notion which would gain currency from Earthquake and related phenomena.
Dragon GREEN the form of the fossil Ichthyosaurus
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GREEN the form of the fossil Ichthyosaurus. The dragon appears on the shield of the most famous of the early Grecian heroes, as well as on the helmets of kings and generals. It is found on English shields after the time of William the Conqueror. In modern heraldry it appears on the shield and helmet ; and as supporter it is called a lindworm when it has no wings, and serpent when it has no feet; hangs by the head and wings it means a when it conquered dragon.
Dragon the lizard, genus Draco
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the lizard, genus Draco. has the first It six ribs extended in a nearly straight line, and supporting an expansion of the skin on each side which acts like a pair of parachutes. This enables these animals to take long leaps, if need be, about 30 paces from branch to branch, but there is no beating of the air, and consequently no flying ordinary sense of the word. There are , in the various species in the United States, Africa, Java , etc.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The mythological account still stands, but two factual points have dated. Aiton's noted in 1910 that the dragon "has been made that nation's imperial emblem" and "appears on the Chinese flag" — the Qing dynasty and its yellow dragon banner fell in 1912, and while the dragon remains the most potent symbol in Chinese culture, no Chinese state has flown it since. Collier's 1921 entry on the gliding lizard genus Draco claims "various species in the United States, Africa, Java"; the genus is in fact confined to South and Southeast Asia, and high-speed filming has shown these lizards steer their glides actively by gripping the rib struts with their forelimbs rather than merely dropping like a parachute. On origins, the modern favourite is not the earth-as-living-being idea offered by the 1920 Encyclopaedia of Occultism but the suggestion that fossil bones — the very Ichthyosaurus Collier's mentions — fed ancient monster tales, and popular dragon imagery has been reshaped since by fiction, from Tolkien's Smaug in 1937 onward.
Written for this edition, 2026.