Today on the Oakeley blog we’re continuing our journey through the legends of Wales, with a look at one of the most legendary tales and characters of all time – the story of the Welsh Dragon, or yr Ddraig Goch.

These days, the dragon is used to identify all sorts of Welsh things – from our national flag to the logos of tourism bodies and local councils. However, the red dragon has a long and fascinating history. The distinctive red dragon has long been a symbol of Welsh culture and identity and has strong links with our history.

In the Mabinogion story Llydd and Llefelys, a fierce red dragon fights with an invading white dragon, and the dragons’ cries are so piercing and loud that they cause plants to wither, animals to curl up and die and women to miscarry their unborn babies. Llydd needs to keep his kingdom under control so he captures both dragons and throws them in a pit filled with mead and honey at Dinas Emrys. When they finally awake from their drunken mead stupor they continue their fight. Every night for centuries on end they fight and fight, which, unbeknown to the next king – Vortigern, is the reason his half built castle keeps toppling over every night. Vortigern gets a little fed up of this constant castle building and asks his trusted advisors what to do. They tell him he needs a boy without a father to sacrifice to the stones, which will then be happy to stand still and his castle can be built. Vortigern immediately goes on the hunt for a boy and comes back with a boy who is said to be the wisest wizard who ever lived – Merlin. As he is wise and clever, Merlin knows how to save himself from the sacrifice and tells Vortigern that he knows the real reason his castle keeps collapsing – it’s because of the fighting dragons. Vortigern sets the dragons free from their hole and eventually, the red dragon defeats the white one, and peace returns to Wales. The red dragon’s victory is used as a prophecy of the coming of King Arthur (the Arthurian legends also have very strong links with Wales and Snowdonia in particular).

As with all ancient myths and legends, there are many variations of the tale, and many disagreements about it’s origins. But, one thing’s for sure, the beautiful red dragon is unique across Europe – usually, cultures use a dragon to show the strength of their men in defeating the dragon and slaying it, but in Wales the dragon is used as our own proud symbol. Our ancestors learnt to live with the proud and strong dragons, rather than setting out to kill them.

So, next time you see a red dragon symbol, flag or logo, think about the story behind the dragon – about the origins of the myth and legend, and bring it to life…….