Wyvern

For other uses, seeWyvern (disambiguation).

Y Ddraig Aur,a flag which was carried byOwain Glyndwrwho most notably displayed it at Twt Hill after his successes in reclaiming Welsh territory. The wyvern is based on his privy seal.

Wessexis often, in modern times, symbolised by a wyvern ordragon.While there is little to no evidence that it explicitly identified Wessex at the time of the kingdom, the association was popularised in the 19th century.The above flag was created byWilliam Crampton,an advocate for English regional flags, in 1974.

Thewyvern(/ˈwaɪvərn/WY-vərn,sometimes spelledwivern) is a type of mythicaldragonwithtwo legs,twowings,and often a pointed tail which is said to be a venomous stinger.

The wyvern in its various forms is important inheraldry,frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada). It is a popular creature in European literature, mythology, and folklore. Today, it is often used in fantasy literature and video games. The wyvern in heraldry and folklore is rarely fire-breathing, unlike other dragons.

Etymology

According to theOxford English Dictionary,the word is a development ofMiddle Englishwyver(attested fourteenth century), fromAnglo-Frenchwivre(cf. Frenchguivreandvouivre), which originate fromLatinvīpera,meaning "viper", "adder", or "asp".The concluding "–n"had been added by the beginning of the 17th century, whenJohn Guillimin 1610 describes the "wiverne"as a creature that" partake[s] of a Fowle in the Wings and Legs... and doth resemble a Serpent in the Taile ".John Gibbonin 1682 emphasises that it "hath but two Legs".

Conversely,medievalistWilliam Sayersproposes a more complex origin for the term. He notes that the Anglo-Frenchguivreand its Middle English derivative ceased to retain the original sense of "venomous snake" after the Latin term was re-introduced into medieval Latin, freeing them up to take an alternative meaning.Adducing another meaning ofwiver(this timeOld English) andguivre,"lightjavelin",and noting partial resemblances between the size and shape of javelins and snakes,plus the later medieval era's increasing use of heavy armor and decreasing use of light javelins, he proposes that the concepts of "venomous snake" and "light javelin" were melded to produce a new term for a previously unimagined concept of flying snake, a kind of dragon.

History

A wyvern from a fourteenth-century manuscript in theNational Library of Wales,Aberystwyth:this example has a second head at the end of its tail.

A carved wyvern on the choir stalls ofChester Cathedralin Cheshire, England, c. 1380

The concept ofwinged snakes,mythical creatures similar to wyverns, is common in cultures around the Mediterranean, with a notable example being the Egyptian goddessWadjet.The oldest creatures outright referred to as "winged dragons" areHelios's chariot steeds, which aidMedea.

In British heraldry, the term "wyver" first appears in Great Roll in 1312, and is derived from the Old French "wyvre", meaning "serpent". The term "dragon" appears by the following century. Afterwards, four-legged dragons become increasingly popular in heraldry and become distinguished from the two-legged kind during the sixteenth century, at which point the latter kind becomes commonly known as the "wyver" and later "wyvern".

Distinction from other dragons

Since the sixteenth century, in English, Scottish, and Irish heraldry, heraldic wyverns are defined as distinct entities from heraldic dragons. The key difference has been that a wyvern has two legs, whereas a dragon has four. This distinction is not commonly observed in the heraldry of other European countries, where two-legged dragon creatures are simply called dragons.

In modern fiction

The wyvern frequently features in modern fantasy fiction, though its first literary appearances may have been in medievalbestiaries.

In heraldry

Wyvernssupportingthe arms ofJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

The wyvern is a frequentchargeinEnglish heraldryandvexillology,also occasionally appearing as asupporterorcrest.

A wyvern is typically depicted resting upon its legs and tail, but may be depicted with its claws in the air and only supported by its tail. On occasion, a wyvern may be depicted as wingless and with its tailnowed.

A white (argent) wyvern formed the crest of theBorough of Leicesteras recorded at theheraldic visitationof Leicestershire in 1619: "A wyvern sans legs argent strewed with wounds gules, wings expanded ermine." The term "sans legs" may not imply that the wyvern was "without legs", rather than its legs are not depicted, being hidden or folded under.This was adopted by theMidland Railwayin 1845 when it became the crest of its unofficialcoat of arms.The company asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of theKingdom of Mercia",and that it was" a quartering in the town arms of Leicester ".However, in 1897 theRailway Magazinenoted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia".It has been associated withLeicestersince the time ofThomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester(c. 1278–1322), the most powerful lord in theMidlands,who used it as his personal crest.

A green Wyvern stands in the emblem of the ancient and historicalUmbriancity ofTerni,the dragon is called by the citizens with the name of Thyrus. A sable wyvern on a white background with endorsed wings forms the coat of arms of the Tilley family.

The arms of theWorshipful Society of Apothecariesdepict a wyvern, symbolising disease, being overcome byApollo,symbolising medicine.

WyvernZilantis depicted on the coat of arms of the city ofKazan,the capital of theRepublic of Tatarstan.

As a logo or mascot

The wyvern is a popular commerciallogoormascot,especially inWalesand what was once theWest CountryKingdom ofWessex,but also inHerefordshireandWorcestershire,as the riversWyeandSevernrun throughHerefordandWorcesterrespectively. A local radio station was formerly calledWyvern FM.Vauxhall Motorshad a model in its range in the 1950s called theWyvern.TheWestland Wyvernwas a British single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft built by Westland Aircraft that served in the 1950s, seeing active service in the 1956Suez Crisis.

• The wyvern is a frequent mascot of athletic teams, colleges and universities, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was the mascot of the formerKorea Baseball OrganizationteamSK Wyverns,established in 2000,King's College, within the University of Queensland,and the Japanese basketball team, thePasslab Yamagata Wyvernsof theJapanese B.League.
• The wyvern is also the mascot of the 51st Operations Support Squadron atOsan Air Base,with the motto: "breathin' fire!"
• A wyvern is depicted on the unit crest of theUSAF31st Fighter Wing.
• A wyvern is featured on the club crests of bothLeyton Orient F.C.andCarlisle United F.C.
• A wyvern is featured as the team mascot forWoodbridge CollegeinWoodbridge,Ontario,Canada.
• A wyvern is the mascot ofQuinsigamond Community CollegeinWorcester,Massachusetts.
• A wyvern is the logo ofLLVM,the compiler infrastructure project.
• A wyvern is the logo of the Swiss chocolate manufacturerLindt.
• A wyvern is the emblem of East London Rugby Football Club.
• Wyvern is the a nickname of a fictional aircraft in theAce Combatseries: the X-02 Wyvern.
• A wyvern is the emblem ofOld Wesley R.F.C.
• A wyvern is contained in the emblem ofTernana Calcio
• A wyvern is featured on the crest ofKing Alfred School, Plön

Examples

• 
  Arms ofSophie, Countess of Wessex
• 
  A wyvern fighting with a wolf,relief,TrentoCathedral, Italy
• 
  Arms ofMidland RailwayatDerbystation, bearing in crest a wyvernsans legs
• 
  Wyverns assupportersin the coat of arms of the PortugueseHouse of Braganza
• 
  43rd (Wessex) Infantry Divisioninsignia (World War II)
• 
  US Army 3rd Infantry Division has a wyvern on its emblem. The insignia is worn as a unit badge by members of the division's command.
• 
  The flag of the formerDuchy of Masovia
• 
  Wyvern atop the crest of Dr. Thomas Kingsbury, Fellow of the King and Queen's College of Physicians, Ireland (1742).
• 
  Flag ofTrégor,Brittany
• 
  General Nursing Badge awarded to graduates of theEpworth HospitalGeneral Nursing School (1924–1988). This particular design features a wyvern and the mottoNon ministrari sed ministrare (not to be served but to serve).The design was adopted for use by nursing training schools established by the Methodist Church in Adelaide (Memorial Hospital) and Sydney (Waverly War Memorial Hospital).
• 
  Crest ofKing Alfred School, Plön

See also

• Basilisk
• Cockatrice
• European dragon
• Lindworm
• White dragon