Thewyvern (/ˈwaɪvərn/WY-vərn), sometimes spelledwivern (/ˈwɪvərn/WIV-ərn), is a type of mythicaldragon withtwo legs, twowings, and often a pointedtail.[4]
The wyvern in its various forms is important inheraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in theUnited States,United Kingdom, andCanada). 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.
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the word is a development ofMiddle Englishwyver (attested fourteenth century), fromAnglo-Frenchwivre (compareFrench:vouivre andguivre), which originate fromLatin:vīpera, meaning "viper", "adder", or "asp".[5][6] This coincides with earlier Germanic tradition, where dragons are portrayed as large venomous serpents, and so often called "worms" (compareOld English:wyrm,Middle Low German:worm,Middle High German:wurm). The wyvern is thus directly related to the Frenchvouivre andguivre, then by extension, also, the Central Europeanlindworm.
The concluding "–n" had been added by the beginning of the 17th century, whenJohn Guillim in 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".[5]John Gibbon in 1682 emphasises that it "hath but two Legs".[5]
Conversely,medievalistWilliam Sayers proposes a more complex origin for the term. He notes that the Anglo-Frenchguivre and 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.[7]: 460 Adducing another meaning ofwiver (this timeOld English) andguivre, "lightjavelin",[7]: 461 and noting partial resemblances between the size and shape of javelins and snakes,[7]: 462 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.[7]: 463
The concept ofwinged snakes as mythological creatures appears across numerous ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures, representing a widespread archetypal form that would later influence the development of the wyvern in European tradition. The Egyptian goddessWadjet, depicted as a winged cobra or uraeus, exemplifies this tradition and served as a protective deity of Lower Egypt from thePredynastic period onwards.[8] Similar winged serpentine creatures appear in Mesopotamian iconography, particularly in Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs from the 9th-7th centuries BCE, where they function as apotropaic guardians.
The earliest Greek literary reference to creatures explicitly described as "winged serpents" and "winged dragons" (πτερωτῶν ὀφίων and πτηνοὶ δράκοντες) appears inHerodotus'Histories where they come from Arabia to Egypt in spring but are stopped and killed by ibises (sacred Egyptian birds) waiting for them at the pass. Similarly,Euripides' Medea (431 BCE), where they are identified as the chariot steeds ofHelios that transportMedea fromCorinth. This motif was subsequently adopted by Roman authors, withOvid'sMetamorphoses (8 CE) providing an expanded description of these serpentine creatures possessing both wings and fiery breath. The conflation of serpentine and draconic features in classical literature established a precedent for the morphological ambiguity that would characterize medieval depictions of such creatures.
In medieval British heraldry, the earliest documented use of "wyver" appears inThe Great, Parliamentary, or Banneret's Roll of1312. The term derives from the Anglo-Normanwivre and Old Frenchguivre "poisonous snake", both ultimately descended from the Latinvipera (viper), indicating the creature's fundamentally serpentine nature. Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, heraldic texts demonstrate considerable terminological fluidity, with "dragon," "wyrm," and "wyver" often used interchangeably for two-legged winged serpents. The taxonomic distinction between four-legged dragons and two-legged wyverns emerged gradually during the late medieval period, becoming codified in English heraldry during the 16th century.[9] This distinction was further elaborated in subsequent heraldic manuals, includingGerard Legh'sThe Accedens of Armory (1562) andJohn Guillim's influentialDisplay of Heraldrie (1610), which established the iconographic conventions that would persist in British heraldry.
Since the sixteenth century, in English, Welsh, Scottish, French 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.[10][11]
The wyvern frequently features in modern fantasy fiction, such asFourth Wing,Throne of Glass, andThe Black Witch Chronicles, though its first literary appearances may have been in medievalbestiaries.[12]
The wyvern is a frequentcharge inEnglish heraldry andvexillology, also occasionally appearing as asupporter orcrest. In the context of British heraldry, the four-leggeddragon and the two-leggedwyvern are considered to be two strictly different entities.[11][13] This distinction is not typically made in French or German heraldry.[11]
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.[11] On occasion, a wyvern may be depicted as wingless and with its tailnowed.[11][13] A wingless heraldic wyvern is typically referred to as either a wyvernsans wings or as alindworm. Legless wyverns, termedsans legs, are also used in some charges.[13]
A silver (argent) wyvern formed the crest of theBorough of Leicester as recorded at theheraldic visitation of 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.[14][15][16] This was adopted by theMidland Railway in 1845 when it became the crest of its unofficialcoat of arms.[17] 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".[18][19][20] However, in 1897 theRailway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia".[21] It has been associated withLeicester since 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.[22]
The arms of theWorshipful Society of Apothecaries depict a wyvern, symbolising disease, being overcome byApollo, symbolising medicine.[citation needed]
A green wyvern stands in the emblem of the ancientUmbrian city ofTerni; the dragon is called by the name Thyrus by the citizens. A sable wyvern on a white background with endorsed wings forms the coat of arms of the Tilley family.[citation needed]
Theroyal arms of Portugal use two wyverns holding banners as supporters, with a further demi-wyvern as a crest.[13]
WyvernZilant is depicted on the coat of arms of the city ofKazan, the capital of theRepublic of Tatarstan.[citation needed]
The wyvern is a popular commerciallogo ormascot, especially inWales and what was once theWest Country Kingdom ofWessex, but also inHerefordshire andWorcestershire, as the riversWye andSevern run throughHereford andWorcester respectively. A local radio station was formerly calledWyvern FM.Vauxhall Motors had a model in its range in the 1950s called theWyvern. TheWestland Wyvern was 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.
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![General Nursing Badge awarded to graduates of the Epworth Hospital General Nursing School (1924–1988). This particular design features a wyvern and the motto Non 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).[24][25]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEpworth_Hospital_General_Nursing_Badge_circa_1987.jpg){kind=icon}
![A proposed flag for Cumbria, England, which was one of the finalists in the 2025 competition to create an official community flag for the region[26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aProposed_flag_of_Cumbria_(2025)_-_Design_C.svg)
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