The Dragon is one of the main antagonists of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf as well as its many adaptations.
Biography[]
Fifty years after Beowulf's famous battle with Grendel and his mother, he faces the dragon after it is awoken by a slave stealing a jewel-encrusted cup from its lair. The beast attacks Beowulf's homeland, forcing him to take action by going into its lair with his thanes.
In the end, all of Beowulf's thanes run away with the exception of faithful Wiglaf. Beowulf dies in battle with the beast, but he does allow Wiglaf to deliver the killing blow. After Beowulf's death, the dragon, which measured at 25 alens (50 feet long), was dumped unceremoniously into the sea. Its treasure is buried with Beowulf on Wiglaf's orders, and Wiglaf, who is Beowulf's heir, ascends the throne thereafter.
Beowulf Film Adaptation[]
| “ | I'm something you left behind... FATHER!! | „ |
| ~ The Golden Man/Dragon to Beowulf. |
The Dragon
The Dragon appears in the 2007 film adaptation as one of the main antagonists. In this adaptation, the dragon was portrayed as a fire-breathing beast with a large golden coloured body. He was portrayed by Ray Winston, who also played his father Beowulf in the same film.
This interpretations role is largely consistent with that of the original poem. He lived in a dark cave within Beowulf's kingdom. For 50 years, Beowulf ruled the land fairly and justly, unaware of the Dragons existence. However, when a trinket was taken from his lair (a golden horn), the Dragon began attacking Beowulf's subjects. One of the survivors, Unferth, told Beowulf that after burning the settlement he lived in, the Dragon took on the form of a human man with golden skin and told him to relay a message: - "Sins of the fathers!"
Returning to the cave, Beowulf tried to return the horn but it was already too late. The Dragon attacked him and the pair engaged in a brutal battle that took them all the way back to the palace. Ultimately, Beowulf succeeds in killing the beast by ripping out his heart. Shrieking in pain, the Dragon falls down a cliff and into the sea. As his corpse rests lifelessly on the shore, the Dragon changes back into a young golden-skinned man. A powerful wave then washes his corpse out to sea.
There are however a number of differences between this version of the Dragon and its original counterpart: -
- The Dragon possesses the ability to shapeshift into a humanoid being dubbed the Golden Man. This did not happen in the original narrative.
- In this story, the Dragon is portrayed as the son of Beowulf and Grendel's mother, making him the younger half-brother of Grendel. Traditionally, the Dragon had no relation to Beowulf, Grendel or Grendel's mother. It was an entirely separate being and antagonist.
- Lastly, in the film, the Dragon's only known treasure was the golden horn, which belonged to his mother. In the original story, the Dragon sat upon a massive treasure horde and was furious to learn that somebody had pilfered it.
Trivia[]
- The Dragon from the Beowulf saga is the first known example of a fire-breathing dragon to appear in literature.
- The Dragon was the inspiration for Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Indeed, Smaug's attack on Lake Town after Bilbo plundered the Arkenstone from his stolen treasure, is similar to how Beowulf's Dragon attacked the residents of Beowulf's kingdom after a servant stole a golden cup from his own horde.
