Mythical Beasts (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - The Dragon's Inferno - full transcript
Dragons are one of the most popular mythological creatures. With the power of flight and fiery breath, they are prevalent in mythologies from around the world, from Ancient Greece to China, Medieval England and even the Americas. But are these stories true?
[ THUNDER CRASHING ]
♪♪
Narrator: THE DRAGON... A
TERRIFYING MYTHICAL MONSTER
WITH SCALES LIKE STEEL,
RAZOR-SHARP TEETH...
♪♪
...AND BREATH OF FIRE.
DRAGONS ARE LITERALLY
THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.
Narrator: WHAT WAS THE
REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION
FOR THIS FEROCIOUS WINGED MONSTER?
THESE BEASTS REPRESENTED
EVERYTHING THAT WAS WICKED AND EVIL.
Narrator: AND COULD THERE
BE MORE TO THIS LEGEND
THAN WE REALIZE?
TODAY, INVESTIGATORS USE NEW SCIENCE
AND ARCHEOLOGY TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH
BEHIND THIS FEROCIOUS BEAST...
THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE
THE LEGEND OF DRAGONS
BREATHING FIRE CAME FROM.
...AND REVEAL WHY OUR ANCESTORS
FEARED THEM FOR SO LONG.
♪♪
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
EUROPE... A MEDIEVAL
HOTSPOT FOR DRAGON MYTHS.
500 YEARS AGO, TALES THRIVED
OF FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS
INCINERATING ENTIRE TOWNS
AND TERRORIZING THOSE WHO LIVED HERE.
WHY WERE OUR ANCESTORS
SO CONVINCED THEY WERE REAL?
Reidenberg: DRAGONS HAVE BEEN
AROUND FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
YOU SEE IT IN "HARRY POTTER,"
"GAME OF THRONES,"
"THE HOBBIT."
WE'RE STILL FASCINATED WITH DRAGONS TODAY.
THERE ARE STORIES OF
DRAGONS TERRORIZING PEOPLE
ACROSS COUNTRIES, AND
ACROSS CULTURES FOR CENTURIES.
IT'S A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR
A HERO TO SLAY A DRAGON,
AND RESCUE A MAIDEN AT THE SAME TIME.
EVEN THOUGH NOW, WHILE WE'VE
CONQUERED THE ANIMAL WORLD,
OUR FEAR OF THE DRAGON REMAINS.
♪♪
Narrator: WHAT IS THE TRUTH
BEHIND THESE STORIES
OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS?
THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR CLUES
IS THE NORSE MYTH OF FAFNIR,
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS
AND TERRIFYING DRAGONS OF ALL.
ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND,
FAFNIR LIVES IN THE RHINE VALLEY
INSIDE A MOUNTAIN CALLED DRAGON ROCK.
HE IS A HUGE, MERCILESS BEAST,
WITH DEADLY SPINES, AND AN
ARMOR OF IMPENETRABLE SCALES.
GUARDING A LAIR FULL OF TREASURE,
FAFNIR IS A BRUTAL KILLER.
ONE DAY, A HERO NAMED SIEGFRIED
DECIDES TO CONFRONT THE BEAST.
HE HIDES IN A PIT AND LIES IN WAIT.
WHEN FAFNIR PASSES OVER HIM,
SIEGFRIED ATTACKS THE
MONSTER'S SOFT UNDERBELLY
AND ENDS HIS REIGN OF TERROR.
THIS 13th CENTURY SAGA
DESCRIBES A CREATURE
OF ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS,
ONE SO POWERFUL THAT
ONLY A HERO COULD DEFEAT HIM.
♪♪
SO, WHAT COULD HAVE INSPIRED
SUCH A FEARSOME BEAST?
IN SWITZERLAND, PALEONTOLOGIST BEN PABST
SPECIALIZES IN HUNTING FOR
LARGER THAN LIFE CREATURES.
HE INVESTIGATES SKELETONS
MORE THAN 200 MILLION YEARS OLD
THAT COULD SHED NEW LIGHT
ON THE DRAGON'S ORIGINS.
Narrator: BEN BELIEVES
THAT PREHISTORIC ANIMALS
MAY BE THE INITIAL CAUSE OF
MANKIND'S BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
♪♪
HE HUNTS FOR EVIDENCE AT
THE SWISS VILLAGE OF FRICK.
♪♪
Narrator: BEN'S TEAM MAKES
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
Narrator: BEN IDENTIFIES A
POTENTIAL PLATEOSAURUS.
THIS SUPERSIZED CREATURE ROAMED THESE LANDS
LONG BEFORE DRAGON MYTHS BEGAN.
HE COLLECTS DATA FROM THE BEAST'S ANATOMY.
ITS DRAGON-LIKE
CHARACTERISTICS ARE STRIKING.
Narrator: BEN THINKS THAT
ANCIENT FARMERS HERE
UNCOVERED BONES LIKE
THIS WHEN WORKING THE LAND.
BUT BEFORE MODERN
SCIENCE, THESE HUGE FOSSILS
WERE SEEN AS CLEAR EVIDENCE OF DRAGONS.
Reidenberg: IF YOU'RE
DIGGING IN THE GROUND,
AND YOU FIND SOMETHING FROM A FOSSIL,
YOU'RE GONNA ASSUME THERE
WAS SOMETHING BIGGER AROUND,
AND THAT'S NOT REALLY
MYTHOLOGY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
THAT'S JUST RECONSTRUCTING
SOME ANCIENT ANIMAL.
Narrator: THE LARGE NUMBER AND VARIETY
OF EXTINCT PREHISTORIC GIANTS
THAT LEFT ENORMOUS FOSSILS HERE
PARTLY EXPLAINS WHY EUROPE
BECAME A DRAGON HOTSPOT.
♪♪
THE PLATEOSAURUS IN
SWITZERLAND HAS 6-INCH CLAWS
AND 15 VERTEBRAE IN ITS TAIL ALONE.
IT SPANS THE LENGTH OF A BUS.
A MEGALOSAUR UNEARTHED
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
HAS POWERFUL LEGS
AND A MOUTH FULL OF
SIX-INCH-LONG, RAZOR-SHARP TEETH.
♪♪
AND IN ROMANIA, PALEONTOLOGISTS DISCOVER
A PTEROSAUR, A TERRIFYING FLYING CARNIVORE
WITH A WINGSPAN OF OVER 40 FEET.
BUT DINOSAURS CAN ONLY EXPLAIN
A VERY SMALL PART OF OUR
ANCESTORS' BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
♪♪
WHAT ELSE WOULD CONVINCE THEM
THAT SUCH CREATURES ROAMED THE EARTH
AND WANTED TO HURT THEM?
♪♪
INVESTIGATOR DR. MARTA COBB
BELIEVES THE ANSWER
COULD LIE WITH THE CHURCH.
SHE EXPLORES THE ABBEY OF ST. GALL,
HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST LIBRARIES
TO FIND THE EVIDENCE.
Cobb: I'M REALLY HOPING TO SEE
HOW THE IDEA OF DRAGONS WAS IMPLANTED
IN THE MEDIEVAL MIND.
♪♪
Narrator: IN MEDIEVAL TIMES,
MOST PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE.
MARTA SUSPECTS PREACHERS PLAYED A KEY ROLE
IN FUELING A FEAR OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS
IN THEIR IMPRESSIONABLE FOLLOWERS.
SHE LOOKS FOR EVIDENCE IN MANUSCRIPTS HERE
THAT ARE SO PRECIOUS,
THEY CAN ONLY BE HANDLED
BY SPECIALLY TRAINED STAFF.
OKAY, SO, WE HAVE TWO
9th CENTURY MANUSCRIPTS.
HOW FANTASTIC.
AND THIS IS THE OPENING OF CHAPTER 27,
WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT
LEVIATHAN SERPENTUM VECTUM,
LEVIATHAN SERPENTUM TORTUOSUM.
LEVIATHAN, THE FLEEING SERPENT,
LEVIATHAN, THE WINDING OR CROOKED SERPENT.
Narrator: THIS 1,100 YEAR OLD BIBLE
CONTAINS THE EVIDENCE MARTA IS LOOKING FOR.
THE STORY OF LEVIATHAN,
A HUGE DRAGON-LIKE CREATURE,
PRESENTED AS TERRIFYING FACT.
LEVIATHAN IS THIS GREAT SEA MONSTER.
IT CAN EAT WHALES,
IT'S GOT FEROCIOUS SCALES AND TEETH,
JUST A MONSTER.
Narrator: BUT MARTA DISCOVERS
THAT IN SOME VERSIONS,
LEVIATHAN WAS REFERRED
TO BY A DIFFERENT NAME.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HEBREW
CAPITA DRACONUM IN AQUIS,
IT'S TALKING ABOUT LEVIATHAN.
BUT COMING FROM THE GREEK,
IT TALKS ABOUT DRAGONS.
"AND HE SEIZES THE
DRAGON, THE SERPENT OF OLD.
THAT IS THE DEVIL. THAT IS SATAN."
WHAT THIS TEXT IS TELLING ME HERE
IS THAT THE DRAGON IS SATAN.
LIKE THE DEVIL, THE DRAGON
WAS OUT TO DESTROY MANKIND.
WE HAVE THE BIBLE,
WHICH IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY,
THE ULTIMATE TRUTH, AND IT IS SAYING
THAT SCALY, SERPENTINE DRAGON-LIKE MONSTERS
ARE REAL, THAT THEY EXIST.
♪♪
DRAGONS WERE NO LONGER
THE STUFF OF MERE FOLKLORE.
IF THE CHURCH WAS TAKING DRAGONS SERIOUSLY,
THEN ORDINARY PEOPLE DEFINITELY WOULD.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, AT THIS TIME,
SATAN IS A REAL BEING,
HELL IS A LITERAL PLACE,
AND, THEREFORE, THE DRAGON,
INTIMATELY CONNECTED WITH THESE THINGS,
CAN BE SEEN AS A REAL
AND VERY TERRIFYING BEING.
♪♪
EXPERTS ARE STARTING TO PIECE TOGETHER
THE ORIGINS OF THESE GIANT
SERPENT-LIKE MONSTERS.
BUT WHY DID OUR MEDIEVAL ANCESTORS
BELIEVE THAT THESE
CREATURES COULD BREATHE FIRE,
AND HOW DESTRUCTIVE WAS THE
DRAGON'S DEADLIEST OF WEAPONS?
WE SEE THE DAMAGE...
HOW HUGE THE FIRE WENT UP.
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS...
TERRIFYING MYTHICAL MONSTERS.
MANY OF OUR ANCESTORS THOUGHT
THEY CAME STRAIGHT FROM HELL,
AND WERE OUT TO KILL MANKIND.
BUT IF THE BELIEF IN DRAGONS WAS INSPIRED
PARTLY BY ANCIENT FOSSILS,
WHAT MADE PEOPLE THINK
THEY COULD BREATHE FIRE?
♪♪
IN THE MEDIEVAL CITY OF LUCERNE,
INVESTIGATOR DR. MARTA
COBB LOOKS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE TRACKS DOWN A REPORT OF A DRAGON ATTACK
DESCRIBED IN AN EPIC POEM
WRITTEN AT LEAST 700 YEARS AGO.
WHEN I THINK OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS,
I THINK OF BEOWULF.
THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS
OF A FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON.
Narrator: THE STORY OF BEOWULF
WAS A MEDIEVAL BLOCKBUSTER.
IT RECOUNTS HOW A GIANT
DRAGON GOES ON THE RAMPAGE
LEAVING AN ENTIRE KINGDOM IN RUINS.
THE KING, BEOWULF, LEADS AN ARMY
TO THE DRAGON'S LAIR TO SLAY THE BEAST,
BUT WHEN THE HERO AND HIS MEN ARRIVE...
[ CREATURE SNARLING ]
...THE MONSTER GREETS THEM
WITH JETS OF ITS FIERY BREATH.
♪♪
ALL BEOWULF'S SOLDIERS DESERT HIM
EXCEPT THE BRAVE WARRIOR WIGLAF.
HE STANDS HIS GROUND AND PLUNGES HIS SWORD
DEEP INTO THE DRAGON'S BELLY.
HIS STRIKE EXTINGUISHES THE SOURCE OF FIRE,
AND THE BEAST BECOMES EASY PREY.
THE MYTH TELLS HOW DEADLY FIRE
SHOOTS OUT FROM DEEP
WITHIN THE DRAGON'S BELLY.
WAS THIS PURE FANTASY,
OR WAS THERE SOMETHING REAL BEHIND IT?
♪♪
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST JOY REIDENBERG
SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
♪♪
THERE ARE NO ANIMALS IN
NATURE THAT BREATHE FIRE,
BUT THAT INSPIRATION FOR THE DRAGON
MUST HAVE COME FROM SOMEWHERE.
THIS... IS ARIEL.
LOOK AT THAT TONGUE. IT'S FORKED.
AND THE REASON IT'S FORKED IS
IT'S ACTUALLY PICKING
UP ODORS OUT OF THE AIR
SO THAT IT CAN DETECT WHICH WAY TO TRAVEL,
TO GO GET TOWARDS THE PREY.
Narrator: JOY THINKS THE UNUSUAL SHAPE
OF A SNAKE'S TONGUE COULD BE A CLUE
TO THE ORIGIN OF THE DRAGON'S FIERY BREATH.
SO, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN FRONT OF ME
IS A PAGE FROM A MEDIEVAL
BOOKED CALLED THE BEASTIARY.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A DICTIONARY
OR AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALL
THE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD.
AND RIGHT OVER HERE,
YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT'S VERY SNAKE-LIKE.
IT'S GOT ITS BODY WOUND AROUND,
JUST THE SAME WAY ARIEL'S
WOUND AROUND MY ARM.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT TONGUE
FLICKING IN AND OUT, IT
KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A FLAME
GOING IN AND OUT OF ITS MOUTH.
BUT, IT'S REALLY, ESSENTIALLY, A SNAKE.
SO, THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE THE LEGEND
OF DRAGONS BREATHING FIRE CAME FROM.
Narrator: JOY THINKS BOOKS LIKE THIS
PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN FUELING
THE FIRE-BREATHING MYTH.
Reidenberg: WE HAVE TO
REMEMBER THAT MEDIEVAL PEOPLE
MOSTLY DIDN'T READ OR WRITE,
ONLY THE VERY WELL EDUCATED COULD DO THAT.
SO, THINGS MIGHT HAVE
BEEN WRITTEN DOWN IN BOOKS,
SOMEONE MAY HAVE READ IT ALOUD AS A STORY,
SOMEONE TAKES THAT STORY,
DESCRIBES IT TO SOMEONE ELSE,
WHO THEN MAYBE DRAWS A PICTURE OF IT,
AND YOU END UP ADDING
A LITTLE MORE FANTASTIC FEATURES
UNTIL IT MORPHS FROM A SNAKE
TO SOMETHING MAGNIFICENT LIKE A DRAGON.
Narrator: MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
PRESENTED FEROCIOUS
DRAGONS AS INDISPUTABLE FACT.
♪♪
BUT WHAT INSPIRED THE
IDEA OF THESE MONSTERS
USING FIRE TO RAZE VILLAGES TO THE GROUND?
♪♪
MARTA THINKS A CHURCH IN THE
SWISS VILLAGE OF HERGISWALD
MAY PROVIDE A CLUE.
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING.
SHE TRACKS DOWN A CARVING
THAT INTRODUCED A NEW
AND TERRIFYING CONCEPT
TO MEDIEVAL PEOPLE... THE FIRES OF HELL.
JESUS DOESN'T HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HELL.
THAT REALLY TOOK THE THEOLOGIANS TO DEVELOP
AND EXPLORE THIS CONCEPT OF HELL
AS A PLACE WHERE THE
DAMNED WILL BURN FOREVER.
Narrator: THIS IDEA OF ETERNAL FIRE
WAS USED TO WARN
PEOPLE OF THE PERILS OF SIN
AND THE DANGERS OF
BEING TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL.
IMAGES LIKE THIS ARE
MEANT TO TEACH LESSONS,
"DO WHAT THE CHURCH TELLS
YOU, OR YOU WILL GO TO HELL,
AND YOU WILL BE THERE FOREVER."
Narrator: BELIEF IN HELLFIRE
AND FIRE-BREATHING
MONSTERS BECAME MAINSTREAM.
♪♪
SATAN BECOMES INCREASINGLY
ASSOCIATED WITH HELL,
THIS PLACE OF BURNING FLAME.
SO, IT IS REALLY NOT SURPRISING
THAT THE DRAGON BECOMES
ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE.
Narrator: HISTORIAN MANUEL MENRATH
BELIEVES FIRE WAS ONE OF
THE MOST TERRIFYING ASPECTS
OF MEDIEVAL LIFE.
HE'S COME TO LUCERNE TO INVESTIGATE
THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE
CAUSED BY A RECENT BLAZE
AT A 700-YEAR-OLD HOTEL.
Menrath: THEY ARE VERY OLD
BUILDINGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES.
Narrator: COULD THIS HELP EXPLAIN
WHY FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS WERE SO FEARED?
NOW WE SEE THE DAMAGE...
HOW HUGE THE FIRE WENT UP.
IF THIS BUILDING CAUGHT
FIRE IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THE OTHER BUILDINGS
WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE, TOO.
Narrator: THEO HANNEMANN,
LUCERNE'S FIRE CHIEF,
WAS FIRST ON THE SCENE.
♪♪
THE FIRE STARTED HERE IN A PAN,
THEN WENT INTO THE VENTILATION.
BE CAREFUL.
Menrath: WHAT IS THE THING
THAT BURNED THE MOST?
Hannemann: IT'S THE MODERN STRUCTURE,
AND ALSO HERE, I MEAN,
YOU KNOW THAT IN THE ROOFS,
THAT THE WOOD IS REALLY VERY, VERY DRY.
Narrator: IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THESE WOODEN BUILDINGS
INCINERATED INSTANTANEOUSLY.
BUT EVEN WORSE, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE THE EQUIPMENT OR TECHNOLOGY
TO PUT OUT THE BLAZE.
THERE IS NO WAY, IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
TO EXTINGUISH THESE FIRES.
IF A WHOLE STREET CAUGHT FIRE,
THEY LOST EVERYTHING THEY HAD.
IT WAS JUST A DISASTER.
MEDIEVAL CITIES AND FIRE
WERE A DEADLY COMBINATION.
IN THE YEAR 1212, A BLAZE
STARTED IN SOUTH LONDON
AND BURNED SWIFTLY THROUGH
THE STREETS OF WOODEN HOUSES.
HOT EMBERS DRIFTED ACROSS THE THAMES RIVER,
IGNITING THE STRAW ROOFS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
♪♪
FLAMES THAT SPREAD AT THE
SPEED OF A FLYING DRAGON
AND CITIES LEFT DEVASTATED
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE
ASSOCIATED DRAGONS WITH FIRE.
Nubia: FIRE WAS THE MEANS
BY WHICH HUMAN BEINGS
OBTAINED SUPREMACY OVER OTHER CREATURES.
SO, THE IDEA THAT AN ANIMAL
COULD ALSO MASTER FIRE
WOULD CAUSE FEAR AMONGST HUMAN BEINGS.
Narrator: TERRIFIED BY THE IDEA
OF FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS AT LARGE,
MEDIEVAL EUROPEANS LOOKED FOR A SAVIOR.
Cobb: WITH SO MANY DRAGONS ABOUT,
IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT
PEOPLE WANTED THE PROTECTION
OF A DRAGON-SLAYER LIKE ST. GEORGE.
Narrator: BUT WHY DID THEY BELIEVE
ONLY A SAINT COULD KILL SUCH A MONSTER?
FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO LIVE,
THE DRAGON NEEDED TO BE DESTROYED.
Narrator: AND WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA
AT DRAGONS COULD TAKE TO THE SKIES
AND CONTROL THE WEATHER?
♪♪
[ THUNDER CRASHING ]
Narrator: THE DRAGON... A
MONSTROUS DEMONIC BEAST.
IT COULD INCINERATE
TOWNS WITH ITS FIERY BREATH.
♪♪
BUT FIRE WAS NOT THE ONLY WAY
DRAGONS WERE THOUGHT TO
TERRORIZE MEDIEVAL PEOPLE.
♪♪
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
THEY WERE ALSO BELIEVED
TO BRING DEVASTATING STORMS.
DR. MARTA COBB LOOKS FOR REASONS WHY
AT THE SPREUER BRIDGE IN LUCERNE.
A 500-YEAR-OLD ACCOUNT ABOUT THIS RIVER
OFFERS CLUES TO THE REAL
WORLD INSPIRATION FOR THIS BELIEF.
THIS IS A PICTURE FROM A CHRONICLE
DEPICTING SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED HERE
AT THE TURN OF THE 15th CENTURY.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
Narrator: THE ACCOUNT TELLS
HOW ON ONE NIGHT IN MAY, 1499,
A TREMENDOUS STORM SWEPT
IN FROM NEARBY MOUNT PILATUS.
♪♪
FLOODWATERS WASHED THROUGH THE CITY,
A HUGE RAGING TORRENT.
♪♪
THE NEXT MORNING, AMONG THE CARNAGE,
PEOPLE ON THE BRIDGE OVER THE LAKE
WITNESS THE TERRIFYING
SIGHT OF A GREAT DRAGON
THAT THE FLOOD HAD WASHED
DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN.
♪♪
EVEN TODAY, ABNORMALLY FIERCE STORMS HERE
SEEM TO COME FROM MOUNT PILATUS.
MARTA SUSPECTS THE WEATHER COULD EXPLAIN
WHY PEOPLE THOUGHT DRAGONS
ONCE CONTROLLED THE SKIES
FROM REMOTE MOUNTAIN TOPS.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
♪♪
SHE HEADS TO THE SUMMIT TO INVESTIGATE.
AT ALMOST 7,000 FEET HIGH,
MOUNT PILATUS TOWERS ABOVE LUCERNE.
♪♪
YOU CAN IMAGINE THE
DRAGONS OF MOUNT PILATUS
IN THEIR LAIR, LOOKING
DOWN ON THE CITY BELOW.
Narrator: IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A
DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS JOURNEY.
WITHOUT MODERN EQUIPMENT,
PILATUS IS INACCESSIBLE,
SO HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
IT WOULD HAVE SEEMED
QUITE REMOTE AND MYSTERIOUS.
♪♪
Narrator: AT THE PEAK OF MOUNT
PILATUS IS AN EXTENSIVE CAVE SYSTEM.
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
IT LOOKS LIKE A DRAGON'S LAIR.
♪♪
IN STORIES ABOUT DRAGONS,
THE LAIR CAN BE IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
IT'S ALWAYS REMOTE.
IT'S ALWAYS AT THE FRINGES OF CIVILIZATION,
SO, IN A WAY, THE DRAGON'S
LAIR REPRESENTS THE UNKNOWN.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHY DID PEOPLE BELIEVE
DRAGONS WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR TERRIBLE STORMS?
TO FIND OUT, MARTA WORKS
WITH METEOROLOGISTS
YVES-ALAIN ROULET AND MICHAEL KOPP
TO INVESTIGATE THE MOUNTAIN'S
VOLATILE WEATHER SYSTEMS.
♪♪
Narrator: WINDS OF NEARLY
A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR
HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BATTER
THE PEAKS OF MOUNT PILATUS.
Narrator: TOWERING HIGH INTO THE SKY,
THE MOUNTAIN NOT ONLY ATTRACTS STORMS,
IT DIRECTS THEIR FORCE ONTO
THE TOWN OF LUCERNE BELOW.
SO, THIS MOUNTAIN ACTUALLY
TRIGGERS THUNDERSTORMS?
Narrator: MARTA BELIEVES
THAT MEDIEVAL PEOPLE
DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT CAUSED STORMS,
SO DRAGONS BECAME THE REASON BEHIND THEM.
[ THUNDER CRASHING ]
Cobb: DRAGONS MAY SEEM LIKE
A RATHER FRIGHTENING EXPLANATION FOR THIS,
BUT SOMETIMES A FRIGHTENING EXPLANATION
IS BETTER THAN NO EXPLANATION AT ALL.
A LOT OF TIMES, MYTHS CAME FROM A NEED
TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AROUND US,
OR TO RATIONALIZE AND
EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON.
Kerr: MYTHS ARE OFTEN REFLECTING
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES LIKE WHY IT RAINS
OR WHAT'S BEHIND AN EARTHQUAKE,
AND THAT MAKES MYTHS ENDURE,
BECAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE STRUGGLING
WITH THESE UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS OF SURVIVAL.
Narrator: EUROPE WASN'T THE ONLY
CONTINENT TO BELIEVE IN DRAGONS.
CHINA IS ANOTHER DINOSAUR FOSSIL HOTSPOT.
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
GIANT BONES HELPED INSPIRE THE IDEA
OF HUGE SCALY CREATURES HERE TOO.
BUT IF THE INSPIRATION WAS THE SAME,
WHY WERE CHINESE DRAGONS VERY DIFFERENT?
WHY WERE THESE BEASTS REVERED, NOT FEARED?
AND AS DRAGON FEVER
REACHED ITS PEAK IN EUROPE,
WHO DID PEOPLE THINK COULD FINALLY RID THEM
OF THESE FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS?
Cobb: THEY BELIEVED
THAT ONLY A SAINTLY HERO
COULD DEFEAT THE DRAGON.
AND THERE IT IS.
IT'S THE STATUE OF ST. GEORGE.
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS... MONSTROUS
FIRE-BREATHING BEASTS.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
MEDIEVAL EUROPEANS THOUGHT
THAT DRAGONS CAME FROM HELL
TO TERRORIZE THE SKIES.
FOR MEDIEVAL PEOPLE,
THERE WASN'T SUCH A BARRIER
BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
EVIL COULD INHABIT A PHYSICAL FORM.
Narrator: AROUND THE WORLD,
EXPERTS INVESTIGATE THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE DRAGON MYTHS.
IN CHINA, DINOSAUR BONES
ALSO TRIGGERED A BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
WHAT'S AMAZING IS THAT
CHINA'S DISCOVERY OF DINOSAUR BONES
MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED THEIR DRAGON MYTHS
COMPLETELY INDEPENDENTLY OF EUROPE.
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
Narrator: CHINESE DRAGONS
WERE VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THEIR EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS.
WHY?
GABRIELLE FLEXER THINGS SHE CAN FIND A CLUE
ON A PRECIOUS ARTIFACT
UNCOVERED IN A DIG IN CHINA.
♪♪
THIS IS A CHINESE VESSEL
AND WE'RE GONNA X-RAY
IT IN ORDER TO FIND OUT
IF THERE'S ANY CRACKS OR WEAKNESSES
IN THE SURFACE AND THE STRUCTURE.
Narrator: AT HER LAB, GABRIELLE
BEGINS RESTORATION WORK
ON THE 3,000-YEAR-OLD ARTIFACT.
THE CHINESE VESSEL APPEARS
TO HAVE DRAGON DECORATIONS,
PARTICULARLY ROUND THE HANDLES,
AND SO BY CONSERVING IT TODAY,
WE'RE HOPING TO GET A
MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT THE DRAGONS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE.
♪♪
Narrator: AS GABRIELLE
REMOVES THE IMPURITIES,
SHE IDENTIFIES A VERY DISTINCT BEAST.
NOW I'VE CLEANED UP THE OUTSIDE,
THE DETAILS, WE CAN CLEARLY SEE
THAT THE EMPEROR'S VESSEL
IS DEFINITELY DECORATED
WITH DRAGON HANDLES.
♪♪
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
Narrator: UNLIKE THE FEARSOME AND
AGGRESSIVE EUROPEAN DRAGONS,
CHINESE DRAGONS ARE
BENEVOLENT MAGICAL SPIRITS.
LONG AND SNAKE-LIKE, THEY
CAN FLY WITHOUT WINGS,
AND THEY CAN CHANGE COLOR
TO FIT THEIR SURROUNDINGS.
IN CHINA, DRAGONS ARE
PART OF THE SPIRIT WORLD
AND VERY RARELY REVEAL
THEMSELVES TO PEOPLE.
THEY ALSO HAVE CONTROL
OVER THE FORCES OF NATURE.
CHINESE DRAGONS WOULD
NOT HAVE BEEN BREATHING FIRE
OR TERRORIZING TOWNS.
INSTEAD, THEY WERE MUCH
MORE ASSOCIATED WITH WATER,
RAIN, AND BRINGING THE RICE
CROPS THAT WERE SO NEEDED.
♪♪
Narrator: AN ANCIENT INSCRIPTION
REVEALS MORE CLUES ABOUT
THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP
CHINESE PEOPLE HAD WITH
THIS BENEVOLENT BEAST.
IT TRANSLATES AS [SPEAKING CHINESE].
"MAY THIS HONORED GUI
VESSEL BE USED IN PRAYER
FOR A VIGOROUS OLD AGE.
MAY XI'S SONS AND GRANDSONS
FOREVER VALUE AND EMPLOY
IT FOR A MYRIAD YEARS."
THE RELATIVES OF THE FAMILY
ARE CONTINUING TO USE THE VESSEL
INTO THE FUTURE TO HONOR THEIR ANCESTORS
AND THEIR DEAD RELATIVES.
Narrator: THE INSCRIPTION REVEALS
THAT WHILE EUROPEANS
LIVED IN FEAR OF DRAGONS,
THE CHINESE INVITED THEM INTO
THEIR MOST SACRED CEREMONIES.
♪♪
IN THE MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART,
DR. NICOLE CHIANG SEARCHES
FOR THE REASONS WHY.
SHE FINDS AN ARTIFACT ALMOST 300 YEARS OLD
ONCE OWNED BY EMPEROR YONGZHENG OF CHINA.
THIS BOWL IS DECORATED
WITH NINE RED DRAGONS,
AND YOU CAN SEE THE
DRAGONS' HEADS RIGHT HERE.
Narrator: NICOLE REVEALS THAT THE CREATURES
EUROPEANS THOUGHT OF VICIOUS AND EVIL,
THE CHINESE REVERED
AS NOBLE AND PROTECTIVE.
DRAGONS SYMBOLIZED POWER AND AUTHORITY.
THEY HAVE CONTROL OVER THE WEATHER,
THE OCEAN, RAINFALL, AND
SO THEY'RE VERY POWERFUL
MYTHICAL CREATURES.
Narrator: NOT ONLY DID THE
CHINESE LOOK UP TO DRAGONS,
THE EMPEROR HIMSELF EVEN
HAD HIS OWN SPECIAL TYPE.
NICOLE IDENTIFIES CLUES.
SO, THESE NINE DRAGONS HAVE FIVE CLAWS.
THAT'S A SYMBOL OF IMPERIAL POWER
AND THE SYMBOL OF EMPERORS AT THE TIME
IN THE 18th CENTURY.
♪♪
THE DRAGONS, THEY APPEAR AROUND WAVES,
OCEAN WAVES AND CLOUDS,
AND THAT'S BECAUSE DRAGONS
ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH WATER.
Narrator: NICOLE THINKS
THE WATER AND CLOUDS
REFER TO AN ANCIENT
CHINESE STORY ABOUT A FLOOD
AND THE ROLE DRAGONS PLAYED IN IT.
THE YELLOW RIVER ONCE BURST ITS BANKS,
TURNING THE LAND INTO A SEA,
FORCING PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES
AND UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
DETERMINED TO TAME THE
WATER AND PROTECT HIS PEOPLE,
THE DEMIGOD YU COMES TO THE RESCUE
WITH A GREAT BENEVOLENT DRAGON.
TOGETHER, THEY DIG DEEP
CANALS TO DRAIN THE WATER,
AND BUILD STRONG DAMS
TO TAME THE MIGHTY RIVERS.
NOW, PEOPLE CAN RETURN TO THEIR HOMES
AND BE SAFE FROM FLOODS.
YU BECOMES EMPEROR OF CHINA,
AND THE DRAGON, A SYMBOL OF PROTECTION.
Nubia: THE DRAGON WAS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED
WITH THE BIRTH OF CHINESE CULTURE.
THE DRAGON WAS THERE
AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME,
AND THE EMPERORS OF CHINA
OFTEN STYLED THEMSELVES
AS DESCENDANTS OF THE DRAGON.
Narrator: IN CHINA, LIVES WERE
ENRICHED BY PROTECTIVE DRAGONS.
♪♪
BUT IN EUROPE, PEOPLE
WERE STILL LIVING IN FEAR.
SOMEONE HAD TO COME TO THE RESCUE.
WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA
THAT ONLY A NOBLE KNIGHT
COULD SLAY THESE BEASTS?
AND WHY WOULD SOME PEOPLE
TRY TO HARNESS THESE
MONSTERS TERRIFYING POWERS
TO PERFORM MIRACLE CURES.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS...
HELLISH FLYING MONSTERS
THAT PLAGUED MEDIEVAL EUROPE FOR CENTURIES.
PEOPLE FINALLY NEEDED TO BE RESCUED.
IT WAS TIME FOR THE DRAGON
SLAYER TO TAKE UP ARMS.
♪♪
BUT WHO WERE THE PEOPLE
WHO COULD KILL SUCH MONSTERS?
IN THE ALPS, DR. MARTA
COBB HUNTS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE TRACKS DOWN THE MOST
FAMOUS DRAGON SLAYER OF ALL.
AND THERE IT IS,
IT'S THE STATUE OF ST. GEORGE.
Narrator: THIS MONUMENT
WAS ERECTED 500 YEARS AGO.
IT HONORS THE MAN WHO
COULD FINALLY FREE EUROPE
FROM MERCILESS DRAGONS.
WITH SO MANY DRAGONS ABOUT,
IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT
PEOPLE WANTED THE PROTECTION
OF A DRAGON SLAYER LIKE ST. GEORGE.
BUT HE ORIGINATED A LONG WAY FROM HERE.
♪♪
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
Narrator: IN ONE ACCOUNT, ST.
GEORGE IS IN NORTH AFRICA.
HERE, A VENOMOUS WATER DRAGON
THREATENS TO POISON A TOWN.
THE CITIZENS OFFER A
PRINCESS AS A HUMAN SACRIFICE,
BUT A PASSING SOLDIER COMES TO THE RESCUE.
HE NOT ONLY WOUNDS, BUT TAMES THE DRAGON
SO THE PRINCESS CAN
LEAD HIM HOME LIKE A PET.
THE SOLDIER VOWS TO KILL THE CAPTIVE BEAST
IF THE CITIZENS CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY.
[ SLICE! ]
THE DRAGON'S FATE IS SEALED,
AND THE SOLDIER BECOMES ST. GEORGE.
BUT HOW DID THIS STORY
BECOME SO CLOSELY LINKED
TO RELIGION AND THE CHURCH?
♪♪
DR. CAMPBELL PRICE THINKS
THE ANSWERS COULD LIE IN EGYPT.
HE BELIEVES THE IDEA OF
A NOBLE DRAGON SLAYER
DIDN'T ORIGINALLY COME FROM CHRISTIANITY,
BUT FROM THE ANCIENT GODS
PEOPLE WORSHIPED HERE.
♪♪
THIS WALL CARVING SHOWS TWO
OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODS
WHO WERE CONSTANTLY FIGHTING.
THERE'S HORUS, THE FALCON
HEADED GOD OF KINGSHIP,
AND SETH, THE GOD OF CHAOS,
A DEMONIC NONDESCRIPT HYBRID CREATURE.
Narrator: THESE EGYPTIAN GODS
REPRESENT GOOD BATTLING EVIL.
♪♪
IN THE MYTH, SETH AND HORUS
FIGHT A SERIES OF BATTLES
TO DETERMINE WHO WILL BE KING OF EGYPT.
THE FINAL CONTEST IS A BOAT RACE.
HE'S ENRAGED AND PLOTS TO DECEIVE HORUS
BY TRANSFORMING INTO
A VICIOUS RIVER MONSTER.
THE BEAST ATTACKS HORUS IN HIS BOAT,
BUT THE GOD FIGHTS THE
MONSTER OFF WITH HIS SPEAR.
♪♪
CAMPBELL BELIEVES THAT THIS
MYTH CHANGED OVER THE CENTURIES,
BECOMING MORE LIKE THE STORY OF ST. GEORGE
AND THE DRAGON THAT WE KNOW TODAY.
SO, THIS IS A CARVING OF
HORUS FROM THE 4th CENTURY A.D.,
BUT THIS TIME, HE'S WEARING ARMOR,
AND HE'S ON THE BACK OF A HORSE.
HERE HORUS IS SPEARING SETH,
WHO'S DEPICTED AS A CROCODILE.
THIS IS AN IMAGE VERY SIMILAR
TO THOSE DEPICTING
GEORGE SLAYING THE DRAGON.
Narrator: BUT HOW DID A
STORY THAT BEGAN IN EGYPT
TAKE HOLD IN SUCH A
DIFFERENT FORM IN EUROPE?
ST. GEORGE WAS KNOWN THROUGHOUT EUROPE
IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES,
BUT NOT AS A DRAGON
SLAYER, JUST AS A MARTYR.
THE DRAGON SLAYING PART
OF HIS STORY GOT ADDED
BY CRUSADERS RETURNING
FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.
WITH MEDIEVAL EUROPE BELIEVING
IT WAS UNDER ATTACK FROM DRAGONS,
TALES OF ST. GEORGE'S
SLAYING DEEDS IN THE EAST
BECAME HUGELY POPULAR.
THE PEOPLE FINALLY HAD THEIR HERO.
WHEN ST. GEORGE KILLED THE DRAGON,
HE ALSO SAVED MANKIND FROM SIN.
FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO LIVE,
THE DRAGON NEEDED TO BE DESTROYED.
Narrator: NOW, DRAGONS COULD
BE HUNTED DOWN AND KILLED,
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE END OF THEIR STORY.
DEAD DRAGONS ALSO HAD GREAT POWERS.
HOW DID SOME PEOPLE TRY TO HARNESS THEM
TO PERFORM MIRACLES?
IS THIS THE DRAGONSTONE?
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW THAT DRAGONS
COULD BE SLAUGHTERED,
WHAT WOULD THE PEOPLE OF
MEDIEVAL EUROPE DO WITH THEM?
COULD THEY HARNESS THE
POWERS OF THESE MIGHTY BEASTS?
ACCOUNTS REVELED THAT MANY PEOPLE TRIED
AND WERE THOUGHT TO HAVE HAD SUCCESS.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1420,
A FARMER IS WORKING IN HIS FIELD
WHEN A FIRE BREATHING DRAGON
FLY'S ACROSS THE SKY ABOVE HIM.
AS THE DRAGON SWOOPS DOWN,
THE FARMER SEE'S HIM DROP SOMETHING.
HE FINDS A STONE COVERED IN DRAGON BLOOD.
THE FARMER TAKES THE ROCK
BACK TO THE NEARBY CITY OF LUCERNE,
WHERE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
IT BRINGS GREAT HEALING
POWERS TO THE PEOPLE.
♪♪
COULD THERE BE ANY TRUTH AT ALL
IN THE DRAGONSTONE'S HEALING QUALITIES?
MEDIEVALIST DR. MARTA
COBB IS NOW ON THE HUNT
FOR THE ORIGINAL DRAGONSTONE
DESCRIBED IN THE MYTH.
WE NEED TO APPRECIATE THAT THIS A TIME
THAT HAD A VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTION
OF WHERE THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN MAGIC,
BETWEEN MEDICINE, AND BETWEEN RELIGION LAY.
♪♪
Narrator: MARTA'S DESTINATION IS LUCERNE'S
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM.
SO, IS THIS THE DRAGONSTONE?
OHH.
THIS ROCK WAS BELIEVED TO BE A
MIRACULOUS CURE FOR EVERYTHING
FROM POISONING TO
NOSEBLEEDS AND THE PLAGUE.
COULD IT CONTAIN ANY SUBSTANCES
THAT HAVE HAD MEDICINAL PROPERTIES?
AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
GEOLOGIST BENEDICT HOTZ USES
AN X-RAY FLUORESCE ANALYZER TO FIND OUT.
♪♪
THE LEGEND TELLS HOW THE
DRAGONSTONE FELL FROM THE SKY,
SO BENEDICT SUSPECTS THIS
COULD BE A METEORITE FRAGMENT.
IF IT IS, IT WILL CONTAIN
LARGE AMOUNTS OF NICKLE.
OKAY.
Narrator: IF IT'S NOT PART
OF A METEORITE, WHAT IS IT?
SO THIS IS A MAN-MADE OBJECT?
THE DRAGONSTONE MAY BE A FAKE.
Narrator: BUT IF THE STONE HAS
NO OBVIOUS MEDICINAL QUALITIES,
WHY WOULD PEOPLE THINK IT COULD HEAL THEM?
MARTA BELIEVES THAT IT COULD BE SIMILAR
TO THE IDEA BEHIND RELIGIOUS RELICS.
SHE HUNTS FOR FURTHER CLUES
AT THIS SWISS CHURCH IN WIL.
NOW HERE'S SOMETHING
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE.
Narrator: THE REMAINS OF ST. PANCRATIUS
HAVE BEEN ON DISPLAY HERE
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
AND THERE HE IS.
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE.
HE'S A FULL SKELETON IN A SUIT OF ARMOR,
AND HE REALLY IS MAGNIFICENT.
IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THERE WAS A BELIEF
THAT RELICS COULD WORK MIRACLES.
IF YOU PRAYED TO A SAINT,
AND TO THE RIGHT SAINT,
PERHAPS THAT SAINT COULD HELP YOU,
PERHAPS THAT SAINT COULD GIVE YOU HEALING.
Narrator: MANY CHURCHES IN THE MIDDLE
AGES SHOWCASED THE RELICS OF SAINTS.
HERE IN SWITZERLAND, SIMILAR
POWERS WERE TRANSFERRED
ONTO DRAGON RELICS, AS WELL.
Cobb: SO, IT WAS A WAY OF
DEALING WITH THE UNKNOWN,
OF SEEKING HELP FOR PROBLEMS
YOU COULDN'T SOLVE YOURSELF.
Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,
PEOPLE TRIED TO HARNESS
THE HEALING POWER OF DRAGON RELICS.
BUT WHEN AND WHY DID THIS BELIEF STOP?
♪♪
AT THIS MUSEUM IN BASEL,
HISTORIAN MARTIN KLUGE TRACKS DOWN
SOME OF THE EARLIEST PHARMACEUTICAL ITEMS
IN SWITZERLAND.
MARTIN BELIEVES THE CONTENTS
OF THIS 300-YEAR-OLD CONTAINER
CAN HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
Narrator: JUST LIKE THE
DRAGONSTONE OF LUCERNE,
THIS BLOOD WAS THOUGHT
TO HAVE HEALING POWERS.
IN PARTICULAR IT WAS PLACED
ON WOUNDS TO STOP BLEEDING.
BUT KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE
WERE STARTING TO KILL OFF THE DRAGON.
Narrator: INCREASINGLY, PEOPLE
RECOGNIZED DRAGON RELICS
AS THE BONES OF EXTINCT
ANIMALS OR CLEVER IMITATIONS.
THE DRAGON'S DAYS WERE NUMBERED.
IT WAS MODERN CIVILIZATION
THAT ENDED IT ALL
FOR THE MYTH OF THE DRAGON.
EVEN THOUGH SCIENCE TELLS US
THAT THE DRAGONS DID NOT LIVE,
THIS FASCINATION WITH DRAGONS REMAINS.
Narrator: THE DRAGON...
ONE OF THE MOST FEARSOME
MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL...
CAPABLE OF GENERATION HORRIFYING STORMS,
BURNING WHOLE VILLAGES TO THE GROUND,
AND TERRIFYING THE PEOPLE
OF EUROPE FOR CENTURIES.
THESE BEASTS WERE CREATED TO HELP EXPLAIN
SEEMINGLY INEXPLICABLE PHENOMENA
FROM GIANT BONES TO BOLTS OF LIGHTNING.
THE DRAGON IS AN EMBODIMENT
OF OUR BIGGEST FEARS,
AND BY WRITING STORIES
WHERE WE CAN FIGHT THEM,
IT GIVES US A FEELING OF
CONTROL OVER THOSE FEARS.
Narrator: BORN FROM THE FIRES OF HELL,
THEY REPRESENT ONE OF
MAN'S GREATEST ENEMIES
THAT ONLY OUR SUPERHEROES CAN KILL.
♪♪
IT'S THE DRAGON'S POWER,
STRENGTH, AND SAVAGE BEAUTY
THAT STILL FASCINATES US TODAY.
AND WHY THEIR MYTH WILL NEVER DIE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE DRAGON... A
TERRIFYING MYTHICAL MONSTER
WITH SCALES LIKE STEEL,
RAZOR-SHARP TEETH...
♪♪
...AND BREATH OF FIRE.
DRAGONS ARE LITERALLY
THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.
Narrator: WHAT WAS THE
REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION
FOR THIS FEROCIOUS WINGED MONSTER?
THESE BEASTS REPRESENTED
EVERYTHING THAT WAS WICKED AND EVIL.
Narrator: AND COULD THERE
BE MORE TO THIS LEGEND
THAN WE REALIZE?
TODAY, INVESTIGATORS USE NEW SCIENCE
AND ARCHEOLOGY TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH
BEHIND THIS FEROCIOUS BEAST...
THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE
THE LEGEND OF DRAGONS
BREATHING FIRE CAME FROM.
...AND REVEAL WHY OUR ANCESTORS
FEARED THEM FOR SO LONG.
♪♪
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
EUROPE... A MEDIEVAL
HOTSPOT FOR DRAGON MYTHS.
500 YEARS AGO, TALES THRIVED
OF FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS
INCINERATING ENTIRE TOWNS
AND TERRORIZING THOSE WHO LIVED HERE.
WHY WERE OUR ANCESTORS
SO CONVINCED THEY WERE REAL?
Reidenberg: DRAGONS HAVE BEEN
AROUND FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
YOU SEE IT IN "HARRY POTTER,"
"GAME OF THRONES,"
"THE HOBBIT."
WE'RE STILL FASCINATED WITH DRAGONS TODAY.
THERE ARE STORIES OF
DRAGONS TERRORIZING PEOPLE
ACROSS COUNTRIES, AND
ACROSS CULTURES FOR CENTURIES.
IT'S A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR
A HERO TO SLAY A DRAGON,
AND RESCUE A MAIDEN AT THE SAME TIME.
EVEN THOUGH NOW, WHILE WE'VE
CONQUERED THE ANIMAL WORLD,
OUR FEAR OF THE DRAGON REMAINS.
♪♪
Narrator: WHAT IS THE TRUTH
BEHIND THESE STORIES
OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS?
THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR CLUES
IS THE NORSE MYTH OF FAFNIR,
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS
AND TERRIFYING DRAGONS OF ALL.
ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND,
FAFNIR LIVES IN THE RHINE VALLEY
INSIDE A MOUNTAIN CALLED DRAGON ROCK.
HE IS A HUGE, MERCILESS BEAST,
WITH DEADLY SPINES, AND AN
ARMOR OF IMPENETRABLE SCALES.
GUARDING A LAIR FULL OF TREASURE,
FAFNIR IS A BRUTAL KILLER.
ONE DAY, A HERO NAMED SIEGFRIED
DECIDES TO CONFRONT THE BEAST.
HE HIDES IN A PIT AND LIES IN WAIT.
WHEN FAFNIR PASSES OVER HIM,
SIEGFRIED ATTACKS THE
MONSTER'S SOFT UNDERBELLY
AND ENDS HIS REIGN OF TERROR.
THIS 13th CENTURY SAGA
DESCRIBES A CREATURE
OF ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS,
ONE SO POWERFUL THAT
ONLY A HERO COULD DEFEAT HIM.
♪♪
SO, WHAT COULD HAVE INSPIRED
SUCH A FEARSOME BEAST?
IN SWITZERLAND, PALEONTOLOGIST BEN PABST
SPECIALIZES IN HUNTING FOR
LARGER THAN LIFE CREATURES.
HE INVESTIGATES SKELETONS
MORE THAN 200 MILLION YEARS OLD
THAT COULD SHED NEW LIGHT
ON THE DRAGON'S ORIGINS.
Narrator: BEN BELIEVES
THAT PREHISTORIC ANIMALS
MAY BE THE INITIAL CAUSE OF
MANKIND'S BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
♪♪
HE HUNTS FOR EVIDENCE AT
THE SWISS VILLAGE OF FRICK.
♪♪
Narrator: BEN'S TEAM MAKES
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
Narrator: BEN IDENTIFIES A
POTENTIAL PLATEOSAURUS.
THIS SUPERSIZED CREATURE ROAMED THESE LANDS
LONG BEFORE DRAGON MYTHS BEGAN.
HE COLLECTS DATA FROM THE BEAST'S ANATOMY.
ITS DRAGON-LIKE
CHARACTERISTICS ARE STRIKING.
Narrator: BEN THINKS THAT
ANCIENT FARMERS HERE
UNCOVERED BONES LIKE
THIS WHEN WORKING THE LAND.
BUT BEFORE MODERN
SCIENCE, THESE HUGE FOSSILS
WERE SEEN AS CLEAR EVIDENCE OF DRAGONS.
Reidenberg: IF YOU'RE
DIGGING IN THE GROUND,
AND YOU FIND SOMETHING FROM A FOSSIL,
YOU'RE GONNA ASSUME THERE
WAS SOMETHING BIGGER AROUND,
AND THAT'S NOT REALLY
MYTHOLOGY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
THAT'S JUST RECONSTRUCTING
SOME ANCIENT ANIMAL.
Narrator: THE LARGE NUMBER AND VARIETY
OF EXTINCT PREHISTORIC GIANTS
THAT LEFT ENORMOUS FOSSILS HERE
PARTLY EXPLAINS WHY EUROPE
BECAME A DRAGON HOTSPOT.
♪♪
THE PLATEOSAURUS IN
SWITZERLAND HAS 6-INCH CLAWS
AND 15 VERTEBRAE IN ITS TAIL ALONE.
IT SPANS THE LENGTH OF A BUS.
A MEGALOSAUR UNEARTHED
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
HAS POWERFUL LEGS
AND A MOUTH FULL OF
SIX-INCH-LONG, RAZOR-SHARP TEETH.
♪♪
AND IN ROMANIA, PALEONTOLOGISTS DISCOVER
A PTEROSAUR, A TERRIFYING FLYING CARNIVORE
WITH A WINGSPAN OF OVER 40 FEET.
BUT DINOSAURS CAN ONLY EXPLAIN
A VERY SMALL PART OF OUR
ANCESTORS' BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
♪♪
WHAT ELSE WOULD CONVINCE THEM
THAT SUCH CREATURES ROAMED THE EARTH
AND WANTED TO HURT THEM?
♪♪
INVESTIGATOR DR. MARTA COBB
BELIEVES THE ANSWER
COULD LIE WITH THE CHURCH.
SHE EXPLORES THE ABBEY OF ST. GALL,
HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST LIBRARIES
TO FIND THE EVIDENCE.
Cobb: I'M REALLY HOPING TO SEE
HOW THE IDEA OF DRAGONS WAS IMPLANTED
IN THE MEDIEVAL MIND.
♪♪
Narrator: IN MEDIEVAL TIMES,
MOST PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE.
MARTA SUSPECTS PREACHERS PLAYED A KEY ROLE
IN FUELING A FEAR OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS
IN THEIR IMPRESSIONABLE FOLLOWERS.
SHE LOOKS FOR EVIDENCE IN MANUSCRIPTS HERE
THAT ARE SO PRECIOUS,
THEY CAN ONLY BE HANDLED
BY SPECIALLY TRAINED STAFF.
OKAY, SO, WE HAVE TWO
9th CENTURY MANUSCRIPTS.
HOW FANTASTIC.
AND THIS IS THE OPENING OF CHAPTER 27,
WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT
LEVIATHAN SERPENTUM VECTUM,
LEVIATHAN SERPENTUM TORTUOSUM.
LEVIATHAN, THE FLEEING SERPENT,
LEVIATHAN, THE WINDING OR CROOKED SERPENT.
Narrator: THIS 1,100 YEAR OLD BIBLE
CONTAINS THE EVIDENCE MARTA IS LOOKING FOR.
THE STORY OF LEVIATHAN,
A HUGE DRAGON-LIKE CREATURE,
PRESENTED AS TERRIFYING FACT.
LEVIATHAN IS THIS GREAT SEA MONSTER.
IT CAN EAT WHALES,
IT'S GOT FEROCIOUS SCALES AND TEETH,
JUST A MONSTER.
Narrator: BUT MARTA DISCOVERS
THAT IN SOME VERSIONS,
LEVIATHAN WAS REFERRED
TO BY A DIFFERENT NAME.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HEBREW
CAPITA DRACONUM IN AQUIS,
IT'S TALKING ABOUT LEVIATHAN.
BUT COMING FROM THE GREEK,
IT TALKS ABOUT DRAGONS.
"AND HE SEIZES THE
DRAGON, THE SERPENT OF OLD.
THAT IS THE DEVIL. THAT IS SATAN."
WHAT THIS TEXT IS TELLING ME HERE
IS THAT THE DRAGON IS SATAN.
LIKE THE DEVIL, THE DRAGON
WAS OUT TO DESTROY MANKIND.
WE HAVE THE BIBLE,
WHICH IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY,
THE ULTIMATE TRUTH, AND IT IS SAYING
THAT SCALY, SERPENTINE DRAGON-LIKE MONSTERS
ARE REAL, THAT THEY EXIST.
♪♪
DRAGONS WERE NO LONGER
THE STUFF OF MERE FOLKLORE.
IF THE CHURCH WAS TAKING DRAGONS SERIOUSLY,
THEN ORDINARY PEOPLE DEFINITELY WOULD.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, AT THIS TIME,
SATAN IS A REAL BEING,
HELL IS A LITERAL PLACE,
AND, THEREFORE, THE DRAGON,
INTIMATELY CONNECTED WITH THESE THINGS,
CAN BE SEEN AS A REAL
AND VERY TERRIFYING BEING.
♪♪
EXPERTS ARE STARTING TO PIECE TOGETHER
THE ORIGINS OF THESE GIANT
SERPENT-LIKE MONSTERS.
BUT WHY DID OUR MEDIEVAL ANCESTORS
BELIEVE THAT THESE
CREATURES COULD BREATHE FIRE,
AND HOW DESTRUCTIVE WAS THE
DRAGON'S DEADLIEST OF WEAPONS?
WE SEE THE DAMAGE...
HOW HUGE THE FIRE WENT UP.
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS...
TERRIFYING MYTHICAL MONSTERS.
MANY OF OUR ANCESTORS THOUGHT
THEY CAME STRAIGHT FROM HELL,
AND WERE OUT TO KILL MANKIND.
BUT IF THE BELIEF IN DRAGONS WAS INSPIRED
PARTLY BY ANCIENT FOSSILS,
WHAT MADE PEOPLE THINK
THEY COULD BREATHE FIRE?
♪♪
IN THE MEDIEVAL CITY OF LUCERNE,
INVESTIGATOR DR. MARTA
COBB LOOKS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE TRACKS DOWN A REPORT OF A DRAGON ATTACK
DESCRIBED IN AN EPIC POEM
WRITTEN AT LEAST 700 YEARS AGO.
WHEN I THINK OF FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS,
I THINK OF BEOWULF.
THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS
OF A FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON.
Narrator: THE STORY OF BEOWULF
WAS A MEDIEVAL BLOCKBUSTER.
IT RECOUNTS HOW A GIANT
DRAGON GOES ON THE RAMPAGE
LEAVING AN ENTIRE KINGDOM IN RUINS.
THE KING, BEOWULF, LEADS AN ARMY
TO THE DRAGON'S LAIR TO SLAY THE BEAST,
BUT WHEN THE HERO AND HIS MEN ARRIVE...
[ CREATURE SNARLING ]
...THE MONSTER GREETS THEM
WITH JETS OF ITS FIERY BREATH.
♪♪
ALL BEOWULF'S SOLDIERS DESERT HIM
EXCEPT THE BRAVE WARRIOR WIGLAF.
HE STANDS HIS GROUND AND PLUNGES HIS SWORD
DEEP INTO THE DRAGON'S BELLY.
HIS STRIKE EXTINGUISHES THE SOURCE OF FIRE,
AND THE BEAST BECOMES EASY PREY.
THE MYTH TELLS HOW DEADLY FIRE
SHOOTS OUT FROM DEEP
WITHIN THE DRAGON'S BELLY.
WAS THIS PURE FANTASY,
OR WAS THERE SOMETHING REAL BEHIND IT?
♪♪
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST JOY REIDENBERG
SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
♪♪
THERE ARE NO ANIMALS IN
NATURE THAT BREATHE FIRE,
BUT THAT INSPIRATION FOR THE DRAGON
MUST HAVE COME FROM SOMEWHERE.
THIS... IS ARIEL.
LOOK AT THAT TONGUE. IT'S FORKED.
AND THE REASON IT'S FORKED IS
IT'S ACTUALLY PICKING
UP ODORS OUT OF THE AIR
SO THAT IT CAN DETECT WHICH WAY TO TRAVEL,
TO GO GET TOWARDS THE PREY.
Narrator: JOY THINKS THE UNUSUAL SHAPE
OF A SNAKE'S TONGUE COULD BE A CLUE
TO THE ORIGIN OF THE DRAGON'S FIERY BREATH.
SO, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN FRONT OF ME
IS A PAGE FROM A MEDIEVAL
BOOKED CALLED THE BEASTIARY.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A DICTIONARY
OR AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALL
THE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD.
AND RIGHT OVER HERE,
YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT'S VERY SNAKE-LIKE.
IT'S GOT ITS BODY WOUND AROUND,
JUST THE SAME WAY ARIEL'S
WOUND AROUND MY ARM.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT TONGUE
FLICKING IN AND OUT, IT
KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A FLAME
GOING IN AND OUT OF ITS MOUTH.
BUT, IT'S REALLY, ESSENTIALLY, A SNAKE.
SO, THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE THE LEGEND
OF DRAGONS BREATHING FIRE CAME FROM.
Narrator: JOY THINKS BOOKS LIKE THIS
PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN FUELING
THE FIRE-BREATHING MYTH.
Reidenberg: WE HAVE TO
REMEMBER THAT MEDIEVAL PEOPLE
MOSTLY DIDN'T READ OR WRITE,
ONLY THE VERY WELL EDUCATED COULD DO THAT.
SO, THINGS MIGHT HAVE
BEEN WRITTEN DOWN IN BOOKS,
SOMEONE MAY HAVE READ IT ALOUD AS A STORY,
SOMEONE TAKES THAT STORY,
DESCRIBES IT TO SOMEONE ELSE,
WHO THEN MAYBE DRAWS A PICTURE OF IT,
AND YOU END UP ADDING
A LITTLE MORE FANTASTIC FEATURES
UNTIL IT MORPHS FROM A SNAKE
TO SOMETHING MAGNIFICENT LIKE A DRAGON.
Narrator: MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
PRESENTED FEROCIOUS
DRAGONS AS INDISPUTABLE FACT.
♪♪
BUT WHAT INSPIRED THE
IDEA OF THESE MONSTERS
USING FIRE TO RAZE VILLAGES TO THE GROUND?
♪♪
MARTA THINKS A CHURCH IN THE
SWISS VILLAGE OF HERGISWALD
MAY PROVIDE A CLUE.
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING.
SHE TRACKS DOWN A CARVING
THAT INTRODUCED A NEW
AND TERRIFYING CONCEPT
TO MEDIEVAL PEOPLE... THE FIRES OF HELL.
JESUS DOESN'T HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HELL.
THAT REALLY TOOK THE THEOLOGIANS TO DEVELOP
AND EXPLORE THIS CONCEPT OF HELL
AS A PLACE WHERE THE
DAMNED WILL BURN FOREVER.
Narrator: THIS IDEA OF ETERNAL FIRE
WAS USED TO WARN
PEOPLE OF THE PERILS OF SIN
AND THE DANGERS OF
BEING TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL.
IMAGES LIKE THIS ARE
MEANT TO TEACH LESSONS,
"DO WHAT THE CHURCH TELLS
YOU, OR YOU WILL GO TO HELL,
AND YOU WILL BE THERE FOREVER."
Narrator: BELIEF IN HELLFIRE
AND FIRE-BREATHING
MONSTERS BECAME MAINSTREAM.
♪♪
SATAN BECOMES INCREASINGLY
ASSOCIATED WITH HELL,
THIS PLACE OF BURNING FLAME.
SO, IT IS REALLY NOT SURPRISING
THAT THE DRAGON BECOMES
ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE.
Narrator: HISTORIAN MANUEL MENRATH
BELIEVES FIRE WAS ONE OF
THE MOST TERRIFYING ASPECTS
OF MEDIEVAL LIFE.
HE'S COME TO LUCERNE TO INVESTIGATE
THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE
CAUSED BY A RECENT BLAZE
AT A 700-YEAR-OLD HOTEL.
Menrath: THEY ARE VERY OLD
BUILDINGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES.
Narrator: COULD THIS HELP EXPLAIN
WHY FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS WERE SO FEARED?
NOW WE SEE THE DAMAGE...
HOW HUGE THE FIRE WENT UP.
IF THIS BUILDING CAUGHT
FIRE IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THE OTHER BUILDINGS
WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE, TOO.
Narrator: THEO HANNEMANN,
LUCERNE'S FIRE CHIEF,
WAS FIRST ON THE SCENE.
♪♪
THE FIRE STARTED HERE IN A PAN,
THEN WENT INTO THE VENTILATION.
BE CAREFUL.
Menrath: WHAT IS THE THING
THAT BURNED THE MOST?
Hannemann: IT'S THE MODERN STRUCTURE,
AND ALSO HERE, I MEAN,
YOU KNOW THAT IN THE ROOFS,
THAT THE WOOD IS REALLY VERY, VERY DRY.
Narrator: IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THESE WOODEN BUILDINGS
INCINERATED INSTANTANEOUSLY.
BUT EVEN WORSE, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE THE EQUIPMENT OR TECHNOLOGY
TO PUT OUT THE BLAZE.
THERE IS NO WAY, IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
TO EXTINGUISH THESE FIRES.
IF A WHOLE STREET CAUGHT FIRE,
THEY LOST EVERYTHING THEY HAD.
IT WAS JUST A DISASTER.
MEDIEVAL CITIES AND FIRE
WERE A DEADLY COMBINATION.
IN THE YEAR 1212, A BLAZE
STARTED IN SOUTH LONDON
AND BURNED SWIFTLY THROUGH
THE STREETS OF WOODEN HOUSES.
HOT EMBERS DRIFTED ACROSS THE THAMES RIVER,
IGNITING THE STRAW ROOFS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
♪♪
FLAMES THAT SPREAD AT THE
SPEED OF A FLYING DRAGON
AND CITIES LEFT DEVASTATED
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE
ASSOCIATED DRAGONS WITH FIRE.
Nubia: FIRE WAS THE MEANS
BY WHICH HUMAN BEINGS
OBTAINED SUPREMACY OVER OTHER CREATURES.
SO, THE IDEA THAT AN ANIMAL
COULD ALSO MASTER FIRE
WOULD CAUSE FEAR AMONGST HUMAN BEINGS.
Narrator: TERRIFIED BY THE IDEA
OF FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS AT LARGE,
MEDIEVAL EUROPEANS LOOKED FOR A SAVIOR.
Cobb: WITH SO MANY DRAGONS ABOUT,
IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT
PEOPLE WANTED THE PROTECTION
OF A DRAGON-SLAYER LIKE ST. GEORGE.
Narrator: BUT WHY DID THEY BELIEVE
ONLY A SAINT COULD KILL SUCH A MONSTER?
FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO LIVE,
THE DRAGON NEEDED TO BE DESTROYED.
Narrator: AND WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA
AT DRAGONS COULD TAKE TO THE SKIES
AND CONTROL THE WEATHER?
♪♪
[ THUNDER CRASHING ]
Narrator: THE DRAGON... A
MONSTROUS DEMONIC BEAST.
IT COULD INCINERATE
TOWNS WITH ITS FIERY BREATH.
♪♪
BUT FIRE WAS NOT THE ONLY WAY
DRAGONS WERE THOUGHT TO
TERRORIZE MEDIEVAL PEOPLE.
♪♪
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
THEY WERE ALSO BELIEVED
TO BRING DEVASTATING STORMS.
DR. MARTA COBB LOOKS FOR REASONS WHY
AT THE SPREUER BRIDGE IN LUCERNE.
A 500-YEAR-OLD ACCOUNT ABOUT THIS RIVER
OFFERS CLUES TO THE REAL
WORLD INSPIRATION FOR THIS BELIEF.
THIS IS A PICTURE FROM A CHRONICLE
DEPICTING SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED HERE
AT THE TURN OF THE 15th CENTURY.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
Narrator: THE ACCOUNT TELLS
HOW ON ONE NIGHT IN MAY, 1499,
A TREMENDOUS STORM SWEPT
IN FROM NEARBY MOUNT PILATUS.
♪♪
FLOODWATERS WASHED THROUGH THE CITY,
A HUGE RAGING TORRENT.
♪♪
THE NEXT MORNING, AMONG THE CARNAGE,
PEOPLE ON THE BRIDGE OVER THE LAKE
WITNESS THE TERRIFYING
SIGHT OF A GREAT DRAGON
THAT THE FLOOD HAD WASHED
DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN.
♪♪
EVEN TODAY, ABNORMALLY FIERCE STORMS HERE
SEEM TO COME FROM MOUNT PILATUS.
MARTA SUSPECTS THE WEATHER COULD EXPLAIN
WHY PEOPLE THOUGHT DRAGONS
ONCE CONTROLLED THE SKIES
FROM REMOTE MOUNTAIN TOPS.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
♪♪
SHE HEADS TO THE SUMMIT TO INVESTIGATE.
AT ALMOST 7,000 FEET HIGH,
MOUNT PILATUS TOWERS ABOVE LUCERNE.
♪♪
YOU CAN IMAGINE THE
DRAGONS OF MOUNT PILATUS
IN THEIR LAIR, LOOKING
DOWN ON THE CITY BELOW.
Narrator: IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A
DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS JOURNEY.
WITHOUT MODERN EQUIPMENT,
PILATUS IS INACCESSIBLE,
SO HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
IT WOULD HAVE SEEMED
QUITE REMOTE AND MYSTERIOUS.
♪♪
Narrator: AT THE PEAK OF MOUNT
PILATUS IS AN EXTENSIVE CAVE SYSTEM.
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
IT LOOKS LIKE A DRAGON'S LAIR.
♪♪
IN STORIES ABOUT DRAGONS,
THE LAIR CAN BE IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
IT'S ALWAYS REMOTE.
IT'S ALWAYS AT THE FRINGES OF CIVILIZATION,
SO, IN A WAY, THE DRAGON'S
LAIR REPRESENTS THE UNKNOWN.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHY DID PEOPLE BELIEVE
DRAGONS WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR TERRIBLE STORMS?
TO FIND OUT, MARTA WORKS
WITH METEOROLOGISTS
YVES-ALAIN ROULET AND MICHAEL KOPP
TO INVESTIGATE THE MOUNTAIN'S
VOLATILE WEATHER SYSTEMS.
♪♪
Narrator: WINDS OF NEARLY
A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR
HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BATTER
THE PEAKS OF MOUNT PILATUS.
Narrator: TOWERING HIGH INTO THE SKY,
THE MOUNTAIN NOT ONLY ATTRACTS STORMS,
IT DIRECTS THEIR FORCE ONTO
THE TOWN OF LUCERNE BELOW.
SO, THIS MOUNTAIN ACTUALLY
TRIGGERS THUNDERSTORMS?
Narrator: MARTA BELIEVES
THAT MEDIEVAL PEOPLE
DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT CAUSED STORMS,
SO DRAGONS BECAME THE REASON BEHIND THEM.
[ THUNDER CRASHING ]
Cobb: DRAGONS MAY SEEM LIKE
A RATHER FRIGHTENING EXPLANATION FOR THIS,
BUT SOMETIMES A FRIGHTENING EXPLANATION
IS BETTER THAN NO EXPLANATION AT ALL.
A LOT OF TIMES, MYTHS CAME FROM A NEED
TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AROUND US,
OR TO RATIONALIZE AND
EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON.
Kerr: MYTHS ARE OFTEN REFLECTING
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES LIKE WHY IT RAINS
OR WHAT'S BEHIND AN EARTHQUAKE,
AND THAT MAKES MYTHS ENDURE,
BECAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE STRUGGLING
WITH THESE UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS OF SURVIVAL.
Narrator: EUROPE WASN'T THE ONLY
CONTINENT TO BELIEVE IN DRAGONS.
CHINA IS ANOTHER DINOSAUR FOSSIL HOTSPOT.
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
GIANT BONES HELPED INSPIRE THE IDEA
OF HUGE SCALY CREATURES HERE TOO.
BUT IF THE INSPIRATION WAS THE SAME,
WHY WERE CHINESE DRAGONS VERY DIFFERENT?
WHY WERE THESE BEASTS REVERED, NOT FEARED?
AND AS DRAGON FEVER
REACHED ITS PEAK IN EUROPE,
WHO DID PEOPLE THINK COULD FINALLY RID THEM
OF THESE FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS?
Cobb: THEY BELIEVED
THAT ONLY A SAINTLY HERO
COULD DEFEAT THE DRAGON.
AND THERE IT IS.
IT'S THE STATUE OF ST. GEORGE.
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS... MONSTROUS
FIRE-BREATHING BEASTS.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
MEDIEVAL EUROPEANS THOUGHT
THAT DRAGONS CAME FROM HELL
TO TERRORIZE THE SKIES.
FOR MEDIEVAL PEOPLE,
THERE WASN'T SUCH A BARRIER
BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
EVIL COULD INHABIT A PHYSICAL FORM.
Narrator: AROUND THE WORLD,
EXPERTS INVESTIGATE THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE DRAGON MYTHS.
IN CHINA, DINOSAUR BONES
ALSO TRIGGERED A BELIEF IN DRAGONS.
WHAT'S AMAZING IS THAT
CHINA'S DISCOVERY OF DINOSAUR BONES
MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED THEIR DRAGON MYTHS
COMPLETELY INDEPENDENTLY OF EUROPE.
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
Narrator: CHINESE DRAGONS
WERE VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THEIR EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS.
WHY?
GABRIELLE FLEXER THINGS SHE CAN FIND A CLUE
ON A PRECIOUS ARTIFACT
UNCOVERED IN A DIG IN CHINA.
♪♪
THIS IS A CHINESE VESSEL
AND WE'RE GONNA X-RAY
IT IN ORDER TO FIND OUT
IF THERE'S ANY CRACKS OR WEAKNESSES
IN THE SURFACE AND THE STRUCTURE.
Narrator: AT HER LAB, GABRIELLE
BEGINS RESTORATION WORK
ON THE 3,000-YEAR-OLD ARTIFACT.
THE CHINESE VESSEL APPEARS
TO HAVE DRAGON DECORATIONS,
PARTICULARLY ROUND THE HANDLES,
AND SO BY CONSERVING IT TODAY,
WE'RE HOPING TO GET A
MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT THE DRAGONS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE.
♪♪
Narrator: AS GABRIELLE
REMOVES THE IMPURITIES,
SHE IDENTIFIES A VERY DISTINCT BEAST.
NOW I'VE CLEANED UP THE OUTSIDE,
THE DETAILS, WE CAN CLEARLY SEE
THAT THE EMPEROR'S VESSEL
IS DEFINITELY DECORATED
WITH DRAGON HANDLES.
♪♪
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
Narrator: UNLIKE THE FEARSOME AND
AGGRESSIVE EUROPEAN DRAGONS,
CHINESE DRAGONS ARE
BENEVOLENT MAGICAL SPIRITS.
LONG AND SNAKE-LIKE, THEY
CAN FLY WITHOUT WINGS,
AND THEY CAN CHANGE COLOR
TO FIT THEIR SURROUNDINGS.
IN CHINA, DRAGONS ARE
PART OF THE SPIRIT WORLD
AND VERY RARELY REVEAL
THEMSELVES TO PEOPLE.
THEY ALSO HAVE CONTROL
OVER THE FORCES OF NATURE.
CHINESE DRAGONS WOULD
NOT HAVE BEEN BREATHING FIRE
OR TERRORIZING TOWNS.
INSTEAD, THEY WERE MUCH
MORE ASSOCIATED WITH WATER,
RAIN, AND BRINGING THE RICE
CROPS THAT WERE SO NEEDED.
♪♪
Narrator: AN ANCIENT INSCRIPTION
REVEALS MORE CLUES ABOUT
THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP
CHINESE PEOPLE HAD WITH
THIS BENEVOLENT BEAST.
IT TRANSLATES AS [SPEAKING CHINESE].
"MAY THIS HONORED GUI
VESSEL BE USED IN PRAYER
FOR A VIGOROUS OLD AGE.
MAY XI'S SONS AND GRANDSONS
FOREVER VALUE AND EMPLOY
IT FOR A MYRIAD YEARS."
THE RELATIVES OF THE FAMILY
ARE CONTINUING TO USE THE VESSEL
INTO THE FUTURE TO HONOR THEIR ANCESTORS
AND THEIR DEAD RELATIVES.
Narrator: THE INSCRIPTION REVEALS
THAT WHILE EUROPEANS
LIVED IN FEAR OF DRAGONS,
THE CHINESE INVITED THEM INTO
THEIR MOST SACRED CEREMONIES.
♪♪
IN THE MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART,
DR. NICOLE CHIANG SEARCHES
FOR THE REASONS WHY.
SHE FINDS AN ARTIFACT ALMOST 300 YEARS OLD
ONCE OWNED BY EMPEROR YONGZHENG OF CHINA.
THIS BOWL IS DECORATED
WITH NINE RED DRAGONS,
AND YOU CAN SEE THE
DRAGONS' HEADS RIGHT HERE.
Narrator: NICOLE REVEALS THAT THE CREATURES
EUROPEANS THOUGHT OF VICIOUS AND EVIL,
THE CHINESE REVERED
AS NOBLE AND PROTECTIVE.
DRAGONS SYMBOLIZED POWER AND AUTHORITY.
THEY HAVE CONTROL OVER THE WEATHER,
THE OCEAN, RAINFALL, AND
SO THEY'RE VERY POWERFUL
MYTHICAL CREATURES.
Narrator: NOT ONLY DID THE
CHINESE LOOK UP TO DRAGONS,
THE EMPEROR HIMSELF EVEN
HAD HIS OWN SPECIAL TYPE.
NICOLE IDENTIFIES CLUES.
SO, THESE NINE DRAGONS HAVE FIVE CLAWS.
THAT'S A SYMBOL OF IMPERIAL POWER
AND THE SYMBOL OF EMPERORS AT THE TIME
IN THE 18th CENTURY.
♪♪
THE DRAGONS, THEY APPEAR AROUND WAVES,
OCEAN WAVES AND CLOUDS,
AND THAT'S BECAUSE DRAGONS
ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH WATER.
Narrator: NICOLE THINKS
THE WATER AND CLOUDS
REFER TO AN ANCIENT
CHINESE STORY ABOUT A FLOOD
AND THE ROLE DRAGONS PLAYED IN IT.
THE YELLOW RIVER ONCE BURST ITS BANKS,
TURNING THE LAND INTO A SEA,
FORCING PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES
AND UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
DETERMINED TO TAME THE
WATER AND PROTECT HIS PEOPLE,
THE DEMIGOD YU COMES TO THE RESCUE
WITH A GREAT BENEVOLENT DRAGON.
TOGETHER, THEY DIG DEEP
CANALS TO DRAIN THE WATER,
AND BUILD STRONG DAMS
TO TAME THE MIGHTY RIVERS.
NOW, PEOPLE CAN RETURN TO THEIR HOMES
AND BE SAFE FROM FLOODS.
YU BECOMES EMPEROR OF CHINA,
AND THE DRAGON, A SYMBOL OF PROTECTION.
Nubia: THE DRAGON WAS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED
WITH THE BIRTH OF CHINESE CULTURE.
THE DRAGON WAS THERE
AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME,
AND THE EMPERORS OF CHINA
OFTEN STYLED THEMSELVES
AS DESCENDANTS OF THE DRAGON.
Narrator: IN CHINA, LIVES WERE
ENRICHED BY PROTECTIVE DRAGONS.
♪♪
BUT IN EUROPE, PEOPLE
WERE STILL LIVING IN FEAR.
SOMEONE HAD TO COME TO THE RESCUE.
WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA
THAT ONLY A NOBLE KNIGHT
COULD SLAY THESE BEASTS?
AND WHY WOULD SOME PEOPLE
TRY TO HARNESS THESE
MONSTERS TERRIFYING POWERS
TO PERFORM MIRACLE CURES.
[ CREATURE ROARS ]
♪♪
Narrator: DRAGONS...
HELLISH FLYING MONSTERS
THAT PLAGUED MEDIEVAL EUROPE FOR CENTURIES.
PEOPLE FINALLY NEEDED TO BE RESCUED.
IT WAS TIME FOR THE DRAGON
SLAYER TO TAKE UP ARMS.
♪♪
BUT WHO WERE THE PEOPLE
WHO COULD KILL SUCH MONSTERS?
IN THE ALPS, DR. MARTA
COBB HUNTS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE TRACKS DOWN THE MOST
FAMOUS DRAGON SLAYER OF ALL.
AND THERE IT IS,
IT'S THE STATUE OF ST. GEORGE.
Narrator: THIS MONUMENT
WAS ERECTED 500 YEARS AGO.
IT HONORS THE MAN WHO
COULD FINALLY FREE EUROPE
FROM MERCILESS DRAGONS.
WITH SO MANY DRAGONS ABOUT,
IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT
PEOPLE WANTED THE PROTECTION
OF A DRAGON SLAYER LIKE ST. GEORGE.
BUT HE ORIGINATED A LONG WAY FROM HERE.
♪♪
[ CREATURE SNARLS ]
Narrator: IN ONE ACCOUNT, ST.
GEORGE IS IN NORTH AFRICA.
HERE, A VENOMOUS WATER DRAGON
THREATENS TO POISON A TOWN.
THE CITIZENS OFFER A
PRINCESS AS A HUMAN SACRIFICE,
BUT A PASSING SOLDIER COMES TO THE RESCUE.
HE NOT ONLY WOUNDS, BUT TAMES THE DRAGON
SO THE PRINCESS CAN
LEAD HIM HOME LIKE A PET.
THE SOLDIER VOWS TO KILL THE CAPTIVE BEAST
IF THE CITIZENS CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY.
[ SLICE! ]
THE DRAGON'S FATE IS SEALED,
AND THE SOLDIER BECOMES ST. GEORGE.
BUT HOW DID THIS STORY
BECOME SO CLOSELY LINKED
TO RELIGION AND THE CHURCH?
♪♪
DR. CAMPBELL PRICE THINKS
THE ANSWERS COULD LIE IN EGYPT.
HE BELIEVES THE IDEA OF
A NOBLE DRAGON SLAYER
DIDN'T ORIGINALLY COME FROM CHRISTIANITY,
BUT FROM THE ANCIENT GODS
PEOPLE WORSHIPED HERE.
♪♪
THIS WALL CARVING SHOWS TWO
OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODS
WHO WERE CONSTANTLY FIGHTING.
THERE'S HORUS, THE FALCON
HEADED GOD OF KINGSHIP,
AND SETH, THE GOD OF CHAOS,
A DEMONIC NONDESCRIPT HYBRID CREATURE.
Narrator: THESE EGYPTIAN GODS
REPRESENT GOOD BATTLING EVIL.
♪♪
IN THE MYTH, SETH AND HORUS
FIGHT A SERIES OF BATTLES
TO DETERMINE WHO WILL BE KING OF EGYPT.
THE FINAL CONTEST IS A BOAT RACE.
HE'S ENRAGED AND PLOTS TO DECEIVE HORUS
BY TRANSFORMING INTO
A VICIOUS RIVER MONSTER.
THE BEAST ATTACKS HORUS IN HIS BOAT,
BUT THE GOD FIGHTS THE
MONSTER OFF WITH HIS SPEAR.
♪♪
CAMPBELL BELIEVES THAT THIS
MYTH CHANGED OVER THE CENTURIES,
BECOMING MORE LIKE THE STORY OF ST. GEORGE
AND THE DRAGON THAT WE KNOW TODAY.
SO, THIS IS A CARVING OF
HORUS FROM THE 4th CENTURY A.D.,
BUT THIS TIME, HE'S WEARING ARMOR,
AND HE'S ON THE BACK OF A HORSE.
HERE HORUS IS SPEARING SETH,
WHO'S DEPICTED AS A CROCODILE.
THIS IS AN IMAGE VERY SIMILAR
TO THOSE DEPICTING
GEORGE SLAYING THE DRAGON.
Narrator: BUT HOW DID A
STORY THAT BEGAN IN EGYPT
TAKE HOLD IN SUCH A
DIFFERENT FORM IN EUROPE?
ST. GEORGE WAS KNOWN THROUGHOUT EUROPE
IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES,
BUT NOT AS A DRAGON
SLAYER, JUST AS A MARTYR.
THE DRAGON SLAYING PART
OF HIS STORY GOT ADDED
BY CRUSADERS RETURNING
FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.
WITH MEDIEVAL EUROPE BELIEVING
IT WAS UNDER ATTACK FROM DRAGONS,
TALES OF ST. GEORGE'S
SLAYING DEEDS IN THE EAST
BECAME HUGELY POPULAR.
THE PEOPLE FINALLY HAD THEIR HERO.
WHEN ST. GEORGE KILLED THE DRAGON,
HE ALSO SAVED MANKIND FROM SIN.
FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO LIVE,
THE DRAGON NEEDED TO BE DESTROYED.
Narrator: NOW, DRAGONS COULD
BE HUNTED DOWN AND KILLED,
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE END OF THEIR STORY.
DEAD DRAGONS ALSO HAD GREAT POWERS.
HOW DID SOME PEOPLE TRY TO HARNESS THEM
TO PERFORM MIRACLES?
IS THIS THE DRAGONSTONE?
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE.
♪♪
Narrator: NOW THAT DRAGONS
COULD BE SLAUGHTERED,
WHAT WOULD THE PEOPLE OF
MEDIEVAL EUROPE DO WITH THEM?
COULD THEY HARNESS THE
POWERS OF THESE MIGHTY BEASTS?
ACCOUNTS REVELED THAT MANY PEOPLE TRIED
AND WERE THOUGHT TO HAVE HAD SUCCESS.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1420,
A FARMER IS WORKING IN HIS FIELD
WHEN A FIRE BREATHING DRAGON
FLY'S ACROSS THE SKY ABOVE HIM.
AS THE DRAGON SWOOPS DOWN,
THE FARMER SEE'S HIM DROP SOMETHING.
HE FINDS A STONE COVERED IN DRAGON BLOOD.
THE FARMER TAKES THE ROCK
BACK TO THE NEARBY CITY OF LUCERNE,
WHERE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
IT BRINGS GREAT HEALING
POWERS TO THE PEOPLE.
♪♪
COULD THERE BE ANY TRUTH AT ALL
IN THE DRAGONSTONE'S HEALING QUALITIES?
MEDIEVALIST DR. MARTA
COBB IS NOW ON THE HUNT
FOR THE ORIGINAL DRAGONSTONE
DESCRIBED IN THE MYTH.
WE NEED TO APPRECIATE THAT THIS A TIME
THAT HAD A VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTION
OF WHERE THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN MAGIC,
BETWEEN MEDICINE, AND BETWEEN RELIGION LAY.
♪♪
Narrator: MARTA'S DESTINATION IS LUCERNE'S
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM.
SO, IS THIS THE DRAGONSTONE?
OHH.
THIS ROCK WAS BELIEVED TO BE A
MIRACULOUS CURE FOR EVERYTHING
FROM POISONING TO
NOSEBLEEDS AND THE PLAGUE.
COULD IT CONTAIN ANY SUBSTANCES
THAT HAVE HAD MEDICINAL PROPERTIES?
AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
GEOLOGIST BENEDICT HOTZ USES
AN X-RAY FLUORESCE ANALYZER TO FIND OUT.
♪♪
THE LEGEND TELLS HOW THE
DRAGONSTONE FELL FROM THE SKY,
SO BENEDICT SUSPECTS THIS
COULD BE A METEORITE FRAGMENT.
IF IT IS, IT WILL CONTAIN
LARGE AMOUNTS OF NICKLE.
OKAY.
Narrator: IF IT'S NOT PART
OF A METEORITE, WHAT IS IT?
SO THIS IS A MAN-MADE OBJECT?
THE DRAGONSTONE MAY BE A FAKE.
Narrator: BUT IF THE STONE HAS
NO OBVIOUS MEDICINAL QUALITIES,
WHY WOULD PEOPLE THINK IT COULD HEAL THEM?
MARTA BELIEVES THAT IT COULD BE SIMILAR
TO THE IDEA BEHIND RELIGIOUS RELICS.
SHE HUNTS FOR FURTHER CLUES
AT THIS SWISS CHURCH IN WIL.
NOW HERE'S SOMETHING
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE.
Narrator: THE REMAINS OF ST. PANCRATIUS
HAVE BEEN ON DISPLAY HERE
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
AND THERE HE IS.
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE.
HE'S A FULL SKELETON IN A SUIT OF ARMOR,
AND HE REALLY IS MAGNIFICENT.
IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THERE WAS A BELIEF
THAT RELICS COULD WORK MIRACLES.
IF YOU PRAYED TO A SAINT,
AND TO THE RIGHT SAINT,
PERHAPS THAT SAINT COULD HELP YOU,
PERHAPS THAT SAINT COULD GIVE YOU HEALING.
Narrator: MANY CHURCHES IN THE MIDDLE
AGES SHOWCASED THE RELICS OF SAINTS.
HERE IN SWITZERLAND, SIMILAR
POWERS WERE TRANSFERRED
ONTO DRAGON RELICS, AS WELL.
Cobb: SO, IT WAS A WAY OF
DEALING WITH THE UNKNOWN,
OF SEEKING HELP FOR PROBLEMS
YOU COULDN'T SOLVE YOURSELF.
Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,
PEOPLE TRIED TO HARNESS
THE HEALING POWER OF DRAGON RELICS.
BUT WHEN AND WHY DID THIS BELIEF STOP?
♪♪
AT THIS MUSEUM IN BASEL,
HISTORIAN MARTIN KLUGE TRACKS DOWN
SOME OF THE EARLIEST PHARMACEUTICAL ITEMS
IN SWITZERLAND.
MARTIN BELIEVES THE CONTENTS
OF THIS 300-YEAR-OLD CONTAINER
CAN HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
Narrator: JUST LIKE THE
DRAGONSTONE OF LUCERNE,
THIS BLOOD WAS THOUGHT
TO HAVE HEALING POWERS.
IN PARTICULAR IT WAS PLACED
ON WOUNDS TO STOP BLEEDING.
BUT KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE
WERE STARTING TO KILL OFF THE DRAGON.
Narrator: INCREASINGLY, PEOPLE
RECOGNIZED DRAGON RELICS
AS THE BONES OF EXTINCT
ANIMALS OR CLEVER IMITATIONS.
THE DRAGON'S DAYS WERE NUMBERED.
IT WAS MODERN CIVILIZATION
THAT ENDED IT ALL
FOR THE MYTH OF THE DRAGON.
EVEN THOUGH SCIENCE TELLS US
THAT THE DRAGONS DID NOT LIVE,
THIS FASCINATION WITH DRAGONS REMAINS.
Narrator: THE DRAGON...
ONE OF THE MOST FEARSOME
MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL...
CAPABLE OF GENERATION HORRIFYING STORMS,
BURNING WHOLE VILLAGES TO THE GROUND,
AND TERRIFYING THE PEOPLE
OF EUROPE FOR CENTURIES.
THESE BEASTS WERE CREATED TO HELP EXPLAIN
SEEMINGLY INEXPLICABLE PHENOMENA
FROM GIANT BONES TO BOLTS OF LIGHTNING.
THE DRAGON IS AN EMBODIMENT
OF OUR BIGGEST FEARS,
AND BY WRITING STORIES
WHERE WE CAN FIGHT THEM,
IT GIVES US A FEELING OF
CONTROL OVER THOSE FEARS.
Narrator: BORN FROM THE FIRES OF HELL,
THEY REPRESENT ONE OF
MAN'S GREATEST ENEMIES
THAT ONLY OUR SUPERHEROES CAN KILL.
♪♪
IT'S THE DRAGON'S POWER,
STRENGTH, AND SAVAGE BEAUTY
THAT STILL FASCINATES US TODAY.
AND WHY THEIR MYTH WILL NEVER DIE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪