Dragons I Have Known

According to Carl Jung, dragons are an archetype ingrained in our unconscious. Dragons of stories, however, come in many forms, colors and sizes. Initially, I wanted to understand how dragon archetypes might be synthesized, as Joseph Campbell did with heroes, but world of dragons is so varied that I could not really find a starting place. But, along the way I read hundreds of dragon stories and met many dragons. I tried to postulate some theories in my introduction to this book, but mostly I think the stories themselves are worth sharing. Here is an introduction to some magical creatures—sometimes evil and sometimes wise—but all worth knowing. The bibliography should help you in choosing the stories that catch your attention, but the biographies of the dragons are a pure labor of love.

Judith John Dr. Judith John is a professor in the English Department at Missouri State University where she teaches children’s and young adult literature. Her research interests include high fantasy, censorship, mother’s advice books, and literacy. She has been researching and reading about dragons for fifteen years.