Before I begin there is a point that needs to be made clear. This article will deal with European dragons only, Chinese use differs greatly and as such is a separate issue and not a subject of this work.
European dragons are divided into 3 separate but similar subspecies. Draconus Cymrianus, native to Wales; Draconus Teutonicus, native to modern northern Germany and Poland and Draconus Sarmanticus, native to modern Romania. In modern times only Draconus Cymrianus still exists. Draconus Teutonicus went mostly extinct during migration period (5th-8th century AD) though isolated dragons survived until early 11th century. Many Draconus Sarmanticus were killed during Roman-Dacian wars (early 1st century AD), those that survived were killed during Gothic wars (late 4th-early5th century) and Hunnic invasions so they were extinct by 6th century.
Reasons for survival of Draconus Cymrianus have been generally agreed as following: their native area was isolated part of isolated region and as such didn't experience frequent massive warfare and the fact that Snowdon massif in NW Wales is only place where cinnabar is found both in it's pure (actually around 97%) form and can be extracted without risking mercury poisoning. This ore allowed Welsh and later English to feed it to their dragons thus achieving fire-breathing ability and increased their fighting potential. At this point I must point out that while fire breathing is traditionally associated with dragons this is present only among Draconus Cymrianus; Draconus Teutonicus and Draconus Sarmanticus didn't breathe fire. While study of excavated fossils of those two subspecies indicate that they could be capable of it, lack of pure cinnabar prevented it.
While I'm sure readers of this history are well aware of how dragons look like, allow me to focus on their characteristics that influence their use in warfare. It is impossible to distinguish female from male dragon by looking at their exterior when females are not nursing, fact that hindered their domestication. In addition both sexes display similar behavioral characteristics. Dragons fall into class "reptilia", order "Crocodylia". As the classification shows, they are closely related to crocodiles. Dragons go through mating season, but as females take long care of their offspring this does not happen yearly. Like rest of "reptilia" class dragons lay eggs, usually 4-5 per hatch. After approximately 9 months dragons hatch. Dragon eggs have displayed various traits not found in other species. The skin is very strong and can survive strong pressure and force, while some eggs have been found in some sort of hibernation. How this process comes about is not entirely understood but also not relevant to this history.
Young dragons experience quite rapid growth once they hatch, provided sufficient food is available. Dragons reach adulthood at around 9 years although sexual maturity comes later, likely evolutionary response to keep population size in check. Young dragons stay with their mother until they reach adulthood, at which point mother goes into another mating period. Maximum size has been estimated as approximately 20 meters in length (neck extended, not counting the tail) with approximate 18 meters wingspan (fully extended). Size of adult dragon depends on quantity and quality of food it receives during early life, ironically dragons bred in captivity can therefore be bigger than ones growing up in the wild. One of the defining dragon characteristics is its muscle redundancy, their muscles are much stronger than necessary for flight. This made them very useful in early warfare as they could lift approximately 500 kilograms of weight in addition to their 300 kilogram bodies, or 3 men in full plate armor, however as only one could effectively fight from it only 2 men rode it into combat at any time, other being the dragon handler. 3 men teams were used either for reconnaissance or transport. Maximum age is hard to determine, histories indicate dragons living past 150 years. However the repeated stress of battles, not to mention injuries, meant dragons seldom reached 100 years of age. Currently oldest know specimen are male at Cardiff Zoo, estimated to be around 120 years old (age is difficult to determine as it was caught in the wild when adult), female at Moscow Kremlin (102 years old, once belonging to Czar Nikolai II now “belonging to Russian people”) and male part of Royal British Dragon Guard, 93 years old. Fossil analysis show that all three dragonic subspecies share similar characteristics, they differ slightly in bone structure. Dragon body is fully covered in scales which offer them slightly better protection than chainmail armor but not as good as plate armor.
Ancient Greek histories show that rulers used dragons but rarely in warfare. They were mostly used as status symbol, showing the power and wealth of their owner, or as guardians of treasures (see Ladon guarding Garden of the Hesperides, Python at Delphi, Hydra, though this one was a wild specimen, Colchian and Ismenian Dragon...). Historians have argued about meaning of descriptions of multiple heads attributed to these dragons, generally accepted reason is that authors had to rely on second hand accounts and such stories always grow with time, people attributing various things to their foes to make themselves appear in better light). What is sure is that there are no accounts of dragons being used in warfare. Small numbers and resulting high value made them to valuable to risk in open warfare. Histories also show that dragons owned by rich rulers of various cities and states were prime targets for rebels and thiefs, later mostly when they tried to steal gold or other valuables. It seems that for reasons yet unknown Romans didn't develop much interest in them. Conquest of Greece and Asia Minor did bring them in contact with dragons, but it seems dragons simply couldn't find a place in their culture. And at this point I need to point out again that Draconus Teutonicus and Draconus Sarmanticus were not capable of fire breathing, post-roman writers often blamed fires in Roman cities on them, this is simply not true!
Roman legions did use “draco”, a sort of windsock in the form of a dragon to be used by a cohort, similar to legionary eagle. Draco first appeared after conquest of Dacia and was used as a shock tactics. As mentioned before, dragons held high status among Greeks and Dacians. When Romans slew a dragon they cut off its head and bore it in front of their army to demoralize their eastern opponents, however carrying actual head was difficult due to its size, so draco was used instead. It signified that Roman legionaries were not afraid of them and by extension not afraid of people who respected dragons. Later draco began to symbolize general courage of roman armies and not specifically their dragon-slaying.
It is hardly surprising that Draconus Teutonicus is least well known. Their habitat didn’t offer them much food and by the time advanced agriculture developed in the region they were mostly extinct. Fossils found show small specimen, though detailed analysis showed this was not due to their genetics but simply lack of food. Marginal agriculture barely sufficient to feed Germanic population at the time of Roman Empire also didn’t allow rulers to keep them as status symbols as they couldn’t feed them enough, Germanic people also placed high value on things other than material possessions. They are briefly mentioned in Tacitus “Germania”, however he thought he was talking about Draconus Sarmanticus, which was known to Romans. Other literary works don’t go into details since by the time literacy spread to the region dragons were mostly extinct.
What literature there is deals with various heroes battling dragons, indicating dragons were seen as a threat to Germanics, mostly due to attacking domestic animals, threatening people with starvation. As such dragons acquired mostly negative character in Germanic culture and people associated positive character with eagle and adopted it as their symbol.
Draconus Sarmanticus is well researched animal, which is no surprise seeing how widespread its use was. Earliest mentions of dragons can be found in Roman texts, however Wales didn’t feature prominently in Roman plans and region was mostly left alone. After Romans left Britain to its own devices in 410AD England devolved into fighting between Roman successors and Saxon invaders, followed by establishment of English kingdoms. Wales became even more of a backwater and mostly ignored by players further west. English kings started to cast their eyes on Wales in later centuries, however such advances were stopped. The role of dragons in this is not entirely clear, though it’s certain they were used.
Around the time of Roman departure dragons underwent the most dramatic change in their history, acquiring fire breathing ability. How exactly this happened is not clear, what is clear is that it was accidental discovery rather than deliberate process. Most widely accepted theory is that cinnabar from mines in Snowdon massif found its way into digestive system of some dragons, their fire breathing ability was quickly noted, traced to Snowdon massif as fire breathing dragons were present only there and then systematically developed. Cinnabar mining produces various form of this mineral, most likely large amounts of waste were dumped near early refineries, where it seeped into the ground, was absorbed into the grass which in turn was eaten by sheep who were in turn devoured by dragons. Other theories, such as waste being dumped into water where it was drunk by dragons seem unlikely as concentrations would be too small, as are theories that dragons somehow ate refined cinnabar or mercury extract as dragons don’t eat rocks.
But even though Welsh kingdoms were able to use fire breathing dragons against English, who didn’t have them, their numbers were too small to achieve more than turning back English invasions. We must again remember that Wales at that time was undeveloped with little agricultural surplus to feed large numbers of dragons. Even so, they managed to temporary preserve Welsh independence. But even dragons were not able to prevent eventual conquest on Wales in late 13th century. By then English were aware of dragons and their war potential and were developing weapons to counter them. One of the reasons for English adoption of longbow, which later won victory and eternal fame at Agincourt, was to counter dragons. As mentioned before, dragons are covered with scales, giving them good protection against arrows. Important detail here is that when fighting dragons one generally shoots upward, not level as when fighting people. That means that as arrow ascends it looses its speed and power, often enough of it to be unable to penetrate the scales. English adoption of longbow together with bodkin arrowhead and improved archery training meant that if dragons couldn’t be brought down, massed longbow fire was enough to keep them at a distance where they couldn’t be a deciding factor. English also used ballistae for set-piece battles and for protection of camps, forts, castles and other infrastructure that were often targeted by dragons. Dragons inflicted enough casualties on English to slow their invasion and even win a temporary peace, but ultimately English prevailed.
One of the first acts English did in Wales was establishment of direct royal control over Snowdon mines, control that persist to this day, though today it’s the British government that exercises the control. With larger population and more better developed agriculture English were able to steadily increase number of dragons, forming units of some 20 dragons each. Their importance can be seen by the fact that despite their small size they were commanded either by royal princes or high nobles known for their loyalty to the king. Dragons saw limited use during Scottish wars, their small numbers, estimated to be around 40 altogether, not enough to ensure English victory.
In the next big conflict English started to experience troubles that plagued dragon use practically until the end, supply. Adult dragons require large amounts of food, approximately 400 kilograms of meat per day per dragon (or in practical terms, about a cow). In addition to ensure continued fire breathing ability each dragon has to consume about half a kilogram of cinnabar (or about 150 grams of quicksilver). Because of this keeping large number of dragons in the field will be always problematic.
This story is by Luka Novak
You can follow him on Twitter as Aktarian
www.twitter.com/aktarian