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.jpg) Swedish lindworm drawn by Swedish illustrator John Bauer, 1911. The Swedish lindworm lacks wings and limbs. | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | Lindwurm, lindwyrm, lindorm |
| Grouping | Monster |
| Sub grouping | Dragon |
| Family | Worm (dragon), Whiteworm (mythology), Basilisk, Guivre, Vouivre, Wyvern, Sea serpents, Jörmungandr |
| Folklore | Mythical creature, legendary creature |
| Origin | |
| Region | Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe |
The lindworm (worm meaning snake, see germanic dragon), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern, Western and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives deep in the forest. It can be seen as a sort of dragon.
In Central Europe and beyond, it is often depicted as a serpent with forelimbs, often also with wings and sometimes even hindlimbs, but in some traditions, especially Swedish folklore, it is foremost limbless; however, the various traits are generally just considered variation within the "species", and a lindworm is not defined by limbs or lack thereof. A broad definition is any western dragon with heavy serpentine features.
According to legend, everything that lies under a lindworm will increase as the lindworm grows. This belief gave rise to tales of dragons that brood over treasures to become richer. Legend tells of two kinds of lindworm: a good one, associated with luck, often a cursed prince who has been transformed into the beast (compare to the Frog Prince and Beauty and the Beast stories), and a bad one, a dangerous man-eater that will attack humans on sight. A lindworm may swallow its own tail, turning itself into a rolling wheel, to pursue fleeing humans (compare ouroboros and hoop snake).[1]
The head of the 16th-century lindworm statue at Lindwurm Fountain (Lindwurmbrunnen) in Klagenfurt, Austria, is modeled on the skull of a woolly rhinoceros found in a nearby quarry in 1335. It has been cited as the earliest reconstruction of an extinct animal.[2][3][4]
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
ungafakta.sewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mayor, Adrienne (2000). The first fossil hunters: paleontology in Greek and Roman times. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08977-9.
- ^ Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Academic Press. 147-148. 1887.
- ^ "Lindwurm Fountain". Tourism Information Klagenfurt am Wörthersee. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
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