The Dragon of Mordiford
A village girl found a tiny green dragon in the woods and raised it on milk, until it grew too big and too hungry to hide.
What was reported
Herefordshire legend tells that a little girl from Mordiford found a small green creature in the woods and took it home as a pet, feeding it milk. It grew, and grew hungry for more: first chickens, then sheep and cattle, and finally the villagers themselves. It took a path through the woods still known as Serpent Lane.
In most versions, a condemned criminal won his pardon by hiding in a cider barrel by the river and killing the dragon as it came to drink, though he died in its fiery last breath.
Explanations offered
It's a local legend. A large painting of a green dragon on the end wall of Mordiford's church, recorded in the 1600s, kept the story alive until it was painted over around 1811. The dragon may first have been the heraldic arms of a local family.
- When
- Legend from the Middle Ages
- Where
- Mordiford, Herefordshire, England
- Witnesses
- Herefordshire tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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