Thewyvern (/ˈwaɪvərn/WY-vərn, sometimes spelledwivern) 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 (cf. Frenchguivre andvouivre), which originate fromLatinvīpera, meaning "viper", "adder", or "asp".[5][6] 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, mythical creatures similar to wyverns, is common in cultures around the Mediterranean, with a notable example being the Egyptian goddessWadjet.[8] 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 in1312, 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".[9]
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.
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.[11]
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.[13][14][15] This was adopted by theMidland Railway in 1845 when it became the crest of its unofficialcoat of arms.[16] 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".[17][18][19] However, in 1897 theRailway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia".[20] 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.[21]
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.
The arms of theWorshipful Society of Apothecaries depict a wyvern, symbolising disease, being overcome byApollo, symbolising medicine.
WyvernZilant is depicted on the coat of arms of the city ofKazan, the capital of theRepublic of Tatarstan.
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).[23][24]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEpworth_Hospital_General_Nursing_Badge_circa_1987.jpg){kind=icon}
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