There be dragons
After reading Igoli – our latest publication written by Keka Dilano – we were struck by how much we enjoyed a story about dragons. This inspired us to find out more about their presence in literature through the centuries.
Obviously, dragons absolutely abound in modern fantasy titles and things like Lord of the Rings. But do they appear in older books?
A good starting point is Beowulf, that great Anglo-Saxon poem. No real surprises here. But we were intrigued by how, broadly speaking, monsters were used in Shakespeare’s plays, from Othello to King Lear, and many more besides, as narrative devices. More specifically, dragons represent enemy forces, such as in Richard III, or are representations of all kinds of character defects and vices. King Lear’s egoism is made bare when he is likened to a dragon.
In fact, dragons are universal and appear in places as diverse as Germany and China. Why? Some posit that since humans are genetically linked to monkeys, we have inherited the same fear of serpents and reptiles. There are archaeologists that believe that dinosaur bones were mistaken for remnants from a strange mythological creature.
There is such a wealth of culture around dragons, it’s impossible to make reference to all of them. We will focus on one we particularly like. In China, the animal is linked to rain, and droughts are attributed to the dragon’s laziness.
Dragons and Ireland
Now that the literature part is done and dusted, it would be remiss of us, a half-Irish publisher to investigate the links between dragons and Ireland.
We were blown away by what we found.
The Gaelic for these creatures is Ollphéisteanna, and though they were reptiles, they usually did not have claws or breathe tremendous columns of fire. And they were sometimes described as worms or serpents.
The most ferocious of them, a dragoness called Caoránach, was assumed to be the mother of all demons, and she was, depending on the source, ultimately defeated by St. Patrick or Fionn Mac Cumhaill, the great Irish warrior.
As with all myths, there are many incidences and tales. In our modern world, perhaps the most enduring one is a mountain that juts out of the horizon. Found in Kerry, Cnoc na Péiste means ‘Peak of the Serpent’ in English.
Enjoy Igoli today
Igoli is a book where dragons cross paths with angels. There are love triangles and peril, and the novel is a new entry into the rich tapestry of dragon stories.
In a saga where all three protagonists have to unite and save the world from impending darkness, familial and romantic love comes to the fore. If that whets your appetite, follow this link to continue the adventure. And you can find out more about the author here, where she is interviewed in The Madrid Review.
As always, happy reading.
