If you want to explore this idea further *and* feel like you're almost completely out of your depth at the same time, I can't recommend Calvert Watkins' How to Kill a Dragon : Aspects of Indo-European Poetics more highly. It's a fascinating, difficult book on linguistics, philology, stories, poetry, and more.
It's one of those books I don't think I'll ever be fully equipped to fully appreciate, but it's a fantastic trip.
I'd like to second this recommendation. How to Kill a Dragon is extremely dense but even reading a little bit will change the way you read any of the Indo-European languages.
It's so interesting to learn about the history of dragons in stories. I never knew of it and always wondered why gold seemed so deeply connected to dragons; for since I was a child I have always loved dragons, but rather for their freedom of flight, majesty and power.
There's certainly also the other side of the figure of the dragon — not only are they seen as a force choking off social life, but also as symbol of power and kingly majesty.
Not having noticed who'd written this, and a lot of the substack content I read being political, I was fully expecting this to segue nicely onto billionaires, their role in society and what we should do with them!
Fascinating! It also reminds me of vampires as creatures who take the lifeblood of the community for themselves and are considered strangers. It is the image of being parasitic on a society instead of symbiotic.
Great text as always! I also want to share how the Tupi people saw the big snake and the waters.
Here the snake is the same way the one that starts and the ends, some believes that the Amazon River was created by a big black snake that also can create another animals.
We also had the legend that the cities of Manaus and Belem have a sleep snake underneath the cities, that one day, they will wake up and destroy all on top of that, but the way we interpret that is that as the snakes are water creatures that starts and ends and water calls water, included the underneath water one day the actions of the man will make the snake wake up as a creature that starts the cities and end the cities.
You text make me realise how ironic that's is, because if you see the catholic influence here, year after year in Belem they had one catholic festival that is there to make sure this snake didn't wake up and with that the waters and way were they land as in the end *we* are the dragons who are blocking the order of the life.
Thank you so much for sharing these stories! I hadn't heard them before. The Tupi idea reminds me of the figure of the Ouroboros, the serpent that eats his own tail. (Jǫrmungandr is one of these as well!)
The dragon immediately noticing the loss of a single cup reminds me of that piece in the New Testament where Jesus immediately noticed his robe being touched by an unseen woman who sought healing (for her son?)
This was a nice addition to my current read “The Woman and the Dragon in Premodern Art” by Sharon Khalifa-Gueta. The first chapter of this book is dedicated to the analysis of the figure of the dragon to then study its connections and collaboration with women, opposed to the dragon-slayer topos. Dragons and other monsters are first and foremost a symbol of the fear of the unknown. It was used quite a lot in kings’ propaganda, presenting them as military commanders and builders of cities, who had to fight chaos and the unknown to do so. But regarding the dragon in itself, I loved how the author explained why dragons are good keepers: according to her, the dragon is conceived as a reptile and so shares several characteristics with snakes. One thing I learned is that snakes don’t have eyelids, and so were thought to not need sleep. And what a better guardian than a reptile that never sleeps! However I don’t remember the author writing anything about the connection between dragons and gold, that’s why your thoughts were new to me and it actually makes sense!
I really enjoyed this and love that you include the hoard being buried with Beowulf.
I wonder, though, if our present sensibilities aren’t still profoundly different from those in the poem, even after the transition from resource (water) to wealth (gold). Burying all that treasure with the hero would seem like a radical act for the *Homo economicus* of game theory, and I'm wondering if Germanic people would have thought through the negative economic effects of this being mitigated by grave robbers. The tone toward the end of the poem suggests that the Geats are in a vulnerable position. They might even be wiped out. Utility has been sacrificed to valor, and maybe also to story-making, much as it is in "The Battle of Maldon" (even though how best to read "The Battle of Maldon" presents its own difficulties).
My quibble aside, thank you for letting me see *Beowulf* from such a fresh perspective and showing how it relates to earlier mythic texts around the world. You also provide further evidence that *Homo economicus* is as much an invention as a discovery.
Thank you, Joseph! The burial of the hoard does indeed present us with some difficulties in interpretation. And I agree with your assessment that we're at too much of a distance from the worldview of the poem to be able to interpret it in a straightforward manner.
Two thoughts come to mind as I write this:
One, which I didn't include (for reasons of space), is the fact that, arguably, the burial of grave goods indicates a belief that those goods had some function in the afterlife. So in that way, even buried, the goods could be thought of as continuing to "circulate."
The article you've linked to is fascinating. I appreciate you sending it and encourage everyone to read it. The mention of the dog at Obertraubling-Köstlmeierfeld was especially memorable!
i really enjoyed your thoughts in this essay!! i know some beowulf interpretations posit that the burning of beowulf’s treasures essentially put his people in danger following his death as they would no longer be able to pay tribute to ward off enemies. do you see this cause and effect relating to the nature of the dragon?
That's a good question — I know some interpretations see the dragon as representing the fall of the Geatish monarchy. Under that interpretation, you could see the whole episode as representing the end of the ability of the Geatas to function as an independent people, losing both martial and economic strength at once.
The political parallels are uncanny. Just goes to show "the more things change the more they stay the same". As a cynical type, it gives me real appreciation that our ancestors were trying to encode wisdom in our myths and legends. Thank you for this and your other excavations!
If you want to explore this idea further *and* feel like you're almost completely out of your depth at the same time, I can't recommend Calvert Watkins' How to Kill a Dragon : Aspects of Indo-European Poetics more highly. It's a fascinating, difficult book on linguistics, philology, stories, poetry, and more.
It's one of those books I don't think I'll ever be fully equipped to fully appreciate, but it's a fantastic trip.
I'd like to second this recommendation. How to Kill a Dragon is extremely dense but even reading a little bit will change the way you read any of the Indo-European languages.
It's so interesting to learn about the history of dragons in stories. I never knew of it and always wondered why gold seemed so deeply connected to dragons; for since I was a child I have always loved dragons, but rather for their freedom of flight, majesty and power.
There's certainly also the other side of the figure of the dragon — not only are they seen as a force choking off social life, but also as symbol of power and kingly majesty.
I love the artwork you use to illustrate your essays - fantastic!
Thanks, Jack! One of my favourite parts of preparing these is choosing the art.
Not having noticed who'd written this, and a lot of the substack content I read being political, I was fully expecting this to segue nicely onto billionaires, their role in society and what we should do with them!
That'd be a unique angle for a pundit: "What does Beowulf teach us about free trade?", etc.
Flexes fingers... Sits at keyboard... "In this essay, I will show..."
Fascinating! It also reminds me of vampires as creatures who take the lifeblood of the community for themselves and are considered strangers. It is the image of being parasitic on a society instead of symbiotic.
Yes, vampires are a great parallel!
Well, that pretty much maps exactly onto our problems with the hordweards of today.
Great text as always! I also want to share how the Tupi people saw the big snake and the waters.
Here the snake is the same way the one that starts and the ends, some believes that the Amazon River was created by a big black snake that also can create another animals.
We also had the legend that the cities of Manaus and Belem have a sleep snake underneath the cities, that one day, they will wake up and destroy all on top of that, but the way we interpret that is that as the snakes are water creatures that starts and ends and water calls water, included the underneath water one day the actions of the man will make the snake wake up as a creature that starts the cities and end the cities.
You text make me realise how ironic that's is, because if you see the catholic influence here, year after year in Belem they had one catholic festival that is there to make sure this snake didn't wake up and with that the waters and way were they land as in the end *we* are the dragons who are blocking the order of the life.
Thank you so much for sharing these stories! I hadn't heard them before. The Tupi idea reminds me of the figure of the Ouroboros, the serpent that eats his own tail. (Jǫrmungandr is one of these as well!)
Fascinating. Have just started following you and have already learnt so much.
Thank you, Rex! Glad to have you here!
Love this, this is exactly the type of essay that I love to dive into. Especially after having read and wrote essays on epic poetry.
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Fascinating read!
Thank you!
The dragon immediately noticing the loss of a single cup reminds me of that piece in the New Testament where Jesus immediately noticed his robe being touched by an unseen woman who sought healing (for her son?)
Interesting parallel! I hadn't thought of that before.
This was a nice addition to my current read “The Woman and the Dragon in Premodern Art” by Sharon Khalifa-Gueta. The first chapter of this book is dedicated to the analysis of the figure of the dragon to then study its connections and collaboration with women, opposed to the dragon-slayer topos. Dragons and other monsters are first and foremost a symbol of the fear of the unknown. It was used quite a lot in kings’ propaganda, presenting them as military commanders and builders of cities, who had to fight chaos and the unknown to do so. But regarding the dragon in itself, I loved how the author explained why dragons are good keepers: according to her, the dragon is conceived as a reptile and so shares several characteristics with snakes. One thing I learned is that snakes don’t have eyelids, and so were thought to not need sleep. And what a better guardian than a reptile that never sleeps! However I don’t remember the author writing anything about the connection between dragons and gold, that’s why your thoughts were new to me and it actually makes sense!
I'm going to have to add that to my reading list! Sounds like the perfect complement. Thank you for letting me know about it!
I really enjoyed this and love that you include the hoard being buried with Beowulf.
I wonder, though, if our present sensibilities aren’t still profoundly different from those in the poem, even after the transition from resource (water) to wealth (gold). Burying all that treasure with the hero would seem like a radical act for the *Homo economicus* of game theory, and I'm wondering if Germanic people would have thought through the negative economic effects of this being mitigated by grave robbers. The tone toward the end of the poem suggests that the Geats are in a vulnerable position. They might even be wiped out. Utility has been sacrificed to valor, and maybe also to story-making, much as it is in "The Battle of Maldon" (even though how best to read "The Battle of Maldon" presents its own difficulties).
My quibble aside, thank you for letting me see *Beowulf* from such a fresh perspective and showing how it relates to earlier mythic texts around the world. You also provide further evidence that *Homo economicus* is as much an invention as a discovery.
Plus, there are dragons! Great stuff.
Thank you, Joseph! The burial of the hoard does indeed present us with some difficulties in interpretation. And I agree with your assessment that we're at too much of a distance from the worldview of the poem to be able to interpret it in a straightforward manner.
Two thoughts come to mind as I write this:
One, which I didn't include (for reasons of space), is the fact that, arguably, the burial of grave goods indicates a belief that those goods had some function in the afterlife. So in that way, even buried, the goods could be thought of as continuing to "circulate."
More to the point of grave robbing, though, the tomb reopening I mention in the article may have been a regularly act performed by the community, or perhaps the family itself, rather than being what we'd normally think of as robbery. There's been some interesting archaeological work done on this, e.g.: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/reopening-graves-in-the-early-middle-ages-from-local-practice-to-european-phenomenon/7AF3550F7CDD3FEEF7E1E8146BF71284
Much to ponder!
The article you've linked to is fascinating. I appreciate you sending it and encourage everyone to read it. The mention of the dog at Obertraubling-Köstlmeierfeld was especially memorable!
i really enjoyed your thoughts in this essay!! i know some beowulf interpretations posit that the burning of beowulf’s treasures essentially put his people in danger following his death as they would no longer be able to pay tribute to ward off enemies. do you see this cause and effect relating to the nature of the dragon?
That's a good question — I know some interpretations see the dragon as representing the fall of the Geatish monarchy. Under that interpretation, you could see the whole episode as representing the end of the ability of the Geatas to function as an independent people, losing both martial and economic strength at once.
The political parallels are uncanny. Just goes to show "the more things change the more they stay the same". As a cynical type, it gives me real appreciation that our ancestors were trying to encode wisdom in our myths and legends. Thank you for this and your other excavations!
So that makes the Just Stop Oil people contemporary dragons.