Historic Tales of Dragons and Reptilian Monsters
The Egyptians were said to be invaded each year by flying serpents from Arabia that threatened their frankincense trade, while Alexander the Great encountered a great hissing dragon when he invaded India. In 1035, a terrible dragon was killed in the swamps of Hungary, the memory of this event living on through the royalty of the Báthory family and the Báthory seal.
In Kradów, Poland, a dragon was said to terrify the inhabitants, requiring weekly an offering of cattle to appease its appetite lest it devour human flesh. The dragon’s demise, according to Polish folklore, traces to a poor cobbler’s apprentice. Cleverly concealing smoldering sulfur in the skin of a calf, this apprentice caused the fiery death of the dragon. Today, large bones said to belong to this dragon hang from the ceiling of the Wawel Cathedral.