In the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, military saints became popular objects of veneration due to being viewed as protectors. Among these, were four dragon-slaying saints that represented the triumph of Christianity over heresy/evil.
The earliest attribution of dragon-slayer is usually given to St. Theodore [Tyro]. A second [later] St. Theodore is also said to have slain a dragon (or serpent), with both events having occured near Euchaita.
St. Demetrius is yet another dragon-slaying saint, though I think his iconography is more associated with killing Tsar Kaloyan [whom I presume was considered a heretic for opposing Constantinople].
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| Occasionally, the figure being slain is misrepresented (purposely?) as Lyaeus, who was actually killed by St. Nestor. |
In Bulgarian folk tales, St. Demetrius and St. George were said to be twins. Their origin legend is similar to later fairy tales like The Knights of the Fish, with Demetrius saving George from a dragon.
The narrative of St. George as the sole dragon-slayer solidified in the 13th century through the Legenda aurea.
The iconography used to depict these saints is influenced by the Cult of the Thracian Horseman, and the Dioscuri, but depictions of the dragon from this legend are varied.
Personally, I always associated the St. George legend with the paintings of Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello.
His earliest painting of this subject shows a dragon with four limbs, wings with ocellated markings, and long neck and tail. The dragon is reminescent of medieval depictions of demons, and it wraps its tail around the saint whose helmet is surrounded by golden rays.
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| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1430 NVG 2124-4 |
When he revisited the subject decades later, the dragon is painted as a wyvern, though the ocellated wings remain. St. George is depicted as the classic horseman, but modernized to an armored knight.
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| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1465 MJAP-P 2248 |
His final attempt at the subject is a refinement of the second painting. The wyvern has the ocellated wings and corkscrew tail of the earlier work, but does not look as awkward. This painting defined how I thought wyverns should look.
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| Paolo Uccello, ca. 1470 NG6294 |
Apparently Conan Scanlon, the sculptor for Saxon Manufacturing was of like mind, and used the painting as inspiration for his Wyvern (Saxon Fantasy 5010).
This particular miniature was used on the Lost Minis Wiki. After I got ahold of it, I used a green Sharpie to color in the eyes and wings. A bit of isopropanol created the ocellated spots. I'm still deciding whether to strip and repaint the miniature or not.
It's probably twice the size it should be to replicate the painting, so one of these days I'll probably use this miniature as a reference to sculpt a smaller version that matches better with 1/72 scale figures.
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