From East to West

The Dragons of Yunnan, in The Book of Marvels
Marco Polo (1254-1324), author; Maître d'Egerton, illuminator , Written 1299, copied in Paris ca. 1410–1412
BnF, département des Manuscrits, Français 2810 fol. 55v
Photo © Bibliothèque Nationale de France
The image of the benevolent dragon is thus gradually taking hold in fantasy, especially in children's books. We can find cute little dragonnets, intelligent mature dragons, and sometimes dragons as protagonists in stories such as the Kingdoms of Fire series. Nothing prevents us having fun with these monsters, as Terry Pratchett does by creating slightly ridiculous dragons whose most fearsome feature is their flatulence…