[Tidbits] Dragons

Dragons

Nowhere in mythology is there a more popular beastie than the
dragon. This shows itself not only in literature … but also in
jewelry. You can’t browse through books with pictures of jewelry
without coming across dragons. They are fantastical creatures
believed by some to still exist but in hiding for fear of what
humans will do to them.

Heidelberg, Germany. It was not too long ago in relative time that
dragons had insinuated themselves into the daily lives of its
inhabitants. Dragons’ eggs–commonly found in the river–were culled
and hatched. The resulting creatures–our dragons-- became pets and
loyal protectors of hearth and home. Even a Rottweiler or a Doberman
would think twice about attacking the owners of a pet dragon.
Additionally … dragons were quite useful in an age that had not
yet invented matches … for at a simple command … perhaps a wink
of an eye … or the lifting of a finger … a pet dragon could be
coaxed to breathing into the fire-place … thereby bringing light
and warmth to all. It goes without saying that each and every
blacksmith of the time had a pet dragon. By golly … they were darn
near indispensable.

It was the female dragon that was preferred by river inhabitants.
The females were water-loving creatures and brought much joy to
local fishermen. They were known to be truly intelligent creatures
and there were reports indicating some of them could even speak
human. They were much beloved by many and often had quite lengthy
and rather intellectual discourses with alchemists and scholars and
sorcerers of the day. Dragons had much to teach … and they gave of
their knowledge unselfishly.

The males–on the other hand–were preferred by farmers. Only males
were able to fly and stories are told about dragon-riders who
skimmed the clouds many years before Mrs. Wright gave birth to her
prodigal sons. Wanna go for a quick flight son, a father would offer
his offspring after a particularly long afternoon in the fields. A
quick skim in the skies just before dinner was just what was needed
to end a day.

Alas … there were some in power who held their noses in the air
and stated quite unequivocally that keeping a dragon as a pet was
the same as harboring an offspring from hell in one’s house. It
became prohibited … and disobedience was rigorously punished.

And so the dragon went the way of the Dodo … and the Dinosaur …
and other creatures who decided living with humans was not worth the
work and energy. It is for this reason we hold this creature so high
in our esteem and make beautiful pieces of jewelry to commemorate a
time that once was … when a pet dragon would lay his head in our
laps while we watched television … and if their breath
occasionally singed our clothing … so what? We loved them as they
loved us.

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics … and then click on the link that says: Dragon
… where you will see a graphic of our mythical beast with an
elongated baroque pearl body encased in scaly gold and detailed with
green enamel suspended by a chain.

And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all
next week. Benjamin Mark

TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel – 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail: webmaster@tyler-adam.com