The Wisdom of Dragons

Unknown , Ca. 1270
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 3 (83.MR.173), fol. 89
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
Dragons abound in medieval bestiaries. But dragons’ greatest treasure is often their wisdom. In fantasy, dragons are supposed to be keepers of a primordial knowledge: in Ursula Le Guin's Tales of Earthsea or in the Skyrim universe, their language holds the magical power, the original knowledge of the world. Far from being unintelligent monsters that the hero must defeat, they become characters in their own right, capable of cunning but also of giving wise counsel.
© BnF, Éditions multimédias, 2020