Lindworm
The lindworm (worm meaning snake), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster living deep in the forest. It can be seen as a sort of dragon.
Swedish lindworm drawn by Swedish illustrator John Bauer, 1911. The Swedish lindworm lacks wings and limbs. | |
| Grouping | Monster |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Dragon |
| Family | Whiteworm, Guivre, Vouivre, Wyvern, Sea serpents |
| Folklore | Mythical creature, legendary creature |
| First attested | Viking age |
| Other name(s) | Lindwurm, lindwyrm, lindorm |
| Region | Northern Europe, Central Europe |
According to legend, everything that lies under the lindworm will increase as the lindworm grows, giving rise to tales of dragons that brood over treasures to become richer. Legend tells of two kinds of lindworm, a good one, associated with luck, often a cursed prince who has been transformed into the beast (same trope as in the fairy tales The Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast etc), and a bad one, a dangerous man-eater which will attack humans on sight. A lindworm may swallow its own tail, turning itself into a rolling wheel, as a method of pursuing fleeing humans.
The head of the 16th-century lindworm statue at Lindwurm Fountain (Lindwurmbrunnen) in Klagenfurt, Austria, is modeled on the skull of a woolly rhinoceros found in a nearby quarry in 1335. It has been cited as the earliest reconstruction of an extinct animal.