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Unusual Animals On A 14th Century Pulpit (Wiltshire)

Dragons: More than a myth? Paperback – 12 Jun 2005
by Richard Freeman (Author)

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Four teenage boys are dragged to their deaths by a reptilian monster that emerges from a fog-bound sea off the coast of Florida.

In the north-east of England, a shadowy cult is rumoured to have sacrificed human victims to a dragon-god well into the 20th century.
In New Guinea, giant lizards with huge teeth and claws kill dozens of villagers and send the natives into a panic.

In the Gambia, an enraged dragon smashes a bridge, tipping people to their doom.

These all sound like the scripts for horror films or novels, but they are all alleged to have actually happened - and furthermore, well within living memory. From our earliest childhood, we are taught that dragons are imaginary beasts; the stuff of myths and legends, yet these most ancient of monsters are still being reported from all corners of the globe in this, the age of reason. Could the dragon legends have a basis in fact?

Richard Freeman, cryptozoologist, author, explorer, adventurer, and Zoological Director of the world’s largest mystery animal research organisation, follows this uber-monster right across the globe, from prehistory to the present day. He tracks it from the steamy jungles of the Congo, to the desolate lakes of eastern Siberia.

The dragon rears its scaly head in every culture on Earth; from the Indians to the Australian Aborigines, and from the Vikings to the Pygmies. The inescapable conclusion is that there are very real beasts at the core of these fantastic stories.

The dragon has its teeth and claws deep into the collective psyche of mankind, and it’s not about to let go. Our most ancient fear still stalks the earth today. Beware. This is no fairytale! When your parents told you that there were no such things as dragons, they lied


Sounds good!

The New Guinea dragon or artrellia (as called by the natives) is supposed to be an over sized lizard of the monitor family. It is reported to achieve a large size > 12' in length, with some reports of much greater lengths. It's possible it could be an oversized specimen of the crocodile monitor, however the color doesn't match?

http://itsmth.wikia.com/wiki/Artrellia

 
Is this the only thread we have on dragons and draconic entities? Perhaps it should be retitled.
 
Is this the only thread we have on dragons and draconic entities? Perhaps it should be retitled.
Nope, by no means the only one. There's the splendid Dragons: Evidence they existed for a start - I've copied the dragon discussion from this thread and merged it into that one so you can continue that topic there. This one can then stick to the pulpit carvings.
 
I've got some photos of the carvings in Burton Dassett church (mentioned earlier in this thread) that I will upload when I get some time. They feature some pretty fantastic beasts.
Burton Dassett is an interesting place. It was once a much larger settlement that was mysteriously depopulated in the medieval period with some legends saying it was burned to the ground. Perhaps by dragons? The village of Wormleighton lies close by.
 
St Mary's church in Nantwich, Cheshire features 14th century carvings by a local craftsman whom, the story goes, the parson was slow to pay.

The carver expressed his dissatisfaction by adding a bird with the parson's instantly-recognisable profile on its behind. Hence the expression 'the parson's nose'!
 
Sorry a bit late, and thought I took more than two.

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I think that's the green man in the top right of the second photo. Looking at these I could have got some better shots TBH.
 
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