Dragonslayer

And God bless that man.

Now, before we get into Dragon Slayer and I tell you a little bit more about magic and monsters, everybody, I do want to say stay tuned.

Two weeks from now on Camp Kaiju, we are going to go back to some traditional Kaiju and talk about Son of Kong, the 1933 sequel to King Kong.

Effects by Willis O'Brien.

But...

Okay.

I can't wait to talk about Dragon Slayer.

I can't wait to catch up with you.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Phil Schampf.

The Heroic Life and Exploits of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous First Adventure of King Siegmund and of Heroes, Dwarfs, Giants, and Dragons of Ancient Times in times of old there lived in the low countries a king named siegmund who was mighty in power and rich in honor his castles were strong and his men-at-arms were brave he had swords glancing as the sun and shields of silver white as the moon festal robes embroidered with gold precious jewels noble steeds and herds of fat cattle but his greatest and noblest treasure was a lofty and truly royal mind for king siegmund was wise in council brave in battle and upright in judgment he listened willingly to the advice of the wise and aged among his people and was never displeased even if they spoke with rudeness and reproach his heart was not set upon wealth or treasures as the majestic sun fills the hill and vale with warmth and light as the cheerful may decks the fields and woods with flowers so from his gentle hand flowed gifts and favors in rich abundance to reward true merit to honor the deeds of fathers or kindle the heroism of their sons to every wanderer his kingly hall stood open to every one he proffered the hand of welcome he entertained all as became his royal dignity and at parting he offered to every one a gift in token of remembrance thus king siegmund was famed throughout all germany and along the rhine from north to south the keen edge of his sword and the glitter of his gold-wrought shield were the theme of heroic song far and wide too whoever had complaint to make against injustice or oppression whoever desired to acquire honor and renown repaired to xanthi at konigsberg on the rhine where siegmund sat amid his heroes at an iron table on his right hand was siegelinde his beauteous queen and his companion who shared his happiness consoled him in adversity and tended his wounds with her gentle hand all the people honored and loved the wise and brave king siegmund and the gentle and fair but since the day when they both sat upon the royal throne in honour and splendour on the banks of the rhine many generations have descended to that silent and narrow house whence none return nor in any of the lands where german songs are sung does there stand any oak so old that it might say when i was young and in my early vigor many hundred years ago the noble king siegmund and his faithful train of followers rode past me to the chase and the battle for in the time of king siegmund there still stood in the old primeval forests broad and high the ancient thunder oaks of heathen times which at a much later period were cut down by bonifacius that highly favoured man of god and his holy companions when they brought to our forefathers in the dark forests the light of the christian faith and suffered for this with joyful courage the death of martyrs dark and fearful were those ancient forests as tradition tells where stood the oaks and the blood-stained altars of the pagan gods in the days of king siegmund

none dared wander there without his

sword

I should wish for a good sharp sword like thine, exclaimed Siegfried, brandish it like a king upon this high rock and if foes and giants and dragons should come i would smite them with the sword that not one should return home and so many brave and noble heroes should stand by me that all your granaries and herds should not suffice us when we partook our meal together and i would go forth with them and free every country from east to west of monsters and oppressors of every kind thus spoke siegfried and the old man smiled approvingly for he bethought him that the boy had spoken well when he returned home the young king's son could not sleep for thinking how he should one day be a renowned hero like his forefathers who had worn the crown with honour and had done mighty and valiant deeds so that their fame was extolled throughout all lands from the rising to the setting of the sun siegfried's masters in warlike exercises took increasing pleasure in the lad whose eye was keen as his arm was strong and his feelings noble none could shoot the eagle as he soared high in the air like him nor spear the mighty boar with so sure a stroke yet all were fond of him for he excelled them all no less in magnanimity and gentleness than in strength of arm if in their exercises he overthrew one of his companions he was himself the first to help him up again and comfort him so that no one envied him for none was so generous and noble-hearted as he thus the young hero grew up and prospered and could soon wield his falchion better even than his instructors no wild beast was there in the woods around that he would have shrunk from attacking and no hero drank from the cup of king siegmund to whom he would have yielded in fight although he was as yet but a mere stripling now it happened that he was one evening amusing himself in a meadow on the banks of the rhine in front of his father's castle with some of his young companions in wrestling racing throwing the spear and other martial games there was not however one who could throw his spear so swiftly but that siegfried could run after it catch it in its flight and bring it back to its owner there was one alone among them who at all approached him in speed to him he said hark ye my friend i will dart my spear into yonder oak and before thy hand has touched the spear either in the air or in the tree i will have drained my drinking-horn to thy health if i succeed thy noble falcon shall be mine if thou winnest thy prize shall be my drinking horn all who heard this deemed it a foolish offer for the drinking horn was of ivory richly adorned with gold and silver and with ancient stories skilfully depicted on it ten noble falcons would not have matched its worth surely thought they all he has quaffed his last draught out of that drinking horn the oaks in yon meadow are not far off and the other lad will have brought the spear ere he shall have put the horn to his lips the other lad thought so likewise and gladly prepared for the trial siegfried now filled his horn while all around stood anxiously watching him with one hand he swept the fair curls from his brow with the other he poised his spear as if aiming at the nearest oak in the meadow near him stood the runner while around him his companions watched his motions as he bent backwards and forwards to balance the spear all full of curiosity to see how the affair would end siegfried now drew back and with a mighty effort hurled the spear smiling as he threw it the spear flew whistling across the broad rhine and pierced deep into a distant oak on the opposite side his competitor had already set off running towards the oaks on the meadow he thought he was in advance of the spear but turning round he saw all his companions laughing and pointing to the distant oak instantly he sprang into the river and swam straight as an arrow to where the spear had flown siegfried smiling emptied his richly ornamented horn to the success of the swimmer and bade his comrades do the like they drank and exclaimed hail to young siegfried since the days of the heroes of old no spear has been better thrown in the lands of germany and long will it be remembered from north to south presently the swimmer returned with a spear took his falcon and offered it to siegfried as his prize but siegfried presented to him the full drinking horn saying scarcely along the whole course of the rhine could a swimmer be found to excel thee but thou hast tasted water enough so refresh thee from the horn after he had drank siegfried placed the falcon on his own arm playfully put the gold band of his horn in its beak took the hood from his eyes and let him loose the falcon flew with the horn into the blue sky wheeling round and round as if seeking his prey he floated with outstretched and almost motionless wings over the knigsberg then said siegfried smiling call thy falcon off or he will pounce upon my mother's white doves on the castle roof and then he will never dare come into her sight again his companion did so and at his whistle the falcon descended straight down and settled on the shoulder of his former master but siegfried said see the faithful creature will not acknowledge me as his rightful master he thinks i have won the wager wrongfully and he has therefore brought the drinking-horn as the prize which of right belongs to thee his decision shall prevail keep the horn and when in the social banquet that thou drinkest from it, thou and thy race to all futurity shall think of me and of my casting the spear.

So spake Siegfried, and all who heard him were well pleased with his speech, and said to one another, He has thrown the spear like a hero, and spoken as became a king's son.

End of the Second Adventure The Third Adventure of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

This is kind of rough because number one and number two probably make a perfect double feature unto themselves.

The second movie that the Random Movie Generator has given us is Dragon Slayer from 1981, directed by Matthew Robbins, starring Peter McNichol, of all people, Janos himself.

Janos himself.

In a very different role.

Whereas you might just go on feel and potentially could just find something quickly.

Yeah.

I think you can probably guess what I'm going to do with Dragon Slayer.

I feel like we should talk about Dragon Slayer first.

When all was ready, the smith took a hammer in his hand, and struck three times upon an iron shield, and instantly all the smiths ran, each to his block of stone, and quickly had his piece of meat in his mouth.

One of them, however, cried out, "'Hallo, Eckhart, thou old glutton! What hast thou done with my meat?' eckhart looked right and left and nowhere seeing it he said in a muttering tone if ye steal the meat among you while i get ready the drink ye may look yourselves where it is gone thou knowest full well where it is gone said the hungry smith nor is this the first time thou hast taken the meat and given us the bones and if thou canst not say where it is i'll hammer that skull of thine until thou shalt recollect so saying he sprang upon eckhart but another held him back and a violent quarrel arose among the smiths some cried out that eckhart had stolen the meat others said that some one else must have slipped away from the anvil and taken it while eckhart swore hard and fast that he had not touched it they grew more and more furious and were about to come to blows with their hammers when siegfried suddenly appeared above the cave and called on them to desist the noise however was so great that they heeded his presence no more than they did that of the moon which was silently beaming on them then siegfried the young hero put his horn to his lips and blew with all his might so loud a blast that the whole cavern resounded and the shields were shaken on the walls all were silent as if struck by lightning but siegfried said to them listen ye rude and savage fellows i tell you that ye are fools and madmen to wrangle thus with each other for tis i that have eaten the meat and now i pray you to welcome and entertain me becomingly as your guest at these bold words the smith stood even more aghast than at the sound of the horn but they soon gave way to their rage at his presumption and every one seized and hurled at siegfried whatever came to hand but quickly snatching a heavy mass of stone from the rocky wall he cast it with such force upon the iron table that the table broke in two and he cried let none raise a hand more or ye are all doomed to death unless your skulls are harder than your iron then their leader commanded them to desist from the strife fearing indeed that there might be some mighty giant above their cave who in his wrath would forthwith bury them within its walls and he ordered one of the smiths to admit the stranger the smith took a hammer pushed away the rock from the entrance and exclaimed when he beheld siegfried truly i thought to see a giant and i find a dwarf art thou the frog that has croaked so loud what is thy name and calling and whence comest thou siegfried answered him proudly thou hast asked me three questions but hast forgotten the fourth whether it pleases me to answer thee one of them if however a better one than thou inquire tell him that my calling is to carry a sharp sword to silence insolent fellows of whom thou seemest to be one a name i have not yet gotten but i come to win one and if thou wouldst know the road to my sire's castle the wild beasts and birds of prey i have hung upon the trees and fixed to the rocks in my way hither will show it thee ha dost thou blow again so stoutly thy horn answered the smith i fain would try if thy sword is really better than my hammer so saying he swung his hammer round and aimed a deadly blow at siegfried's head but the young hero met it with his trusty sword whose edge cleft the handle in twain so that the iron mass fell to the earth the smith now hurried into the cavern followed by siegfried and his dogs but here siegfried was attacked by the furious eckhardt who rushed upon the undaunted hero and aimed a blow at his cheek with the massy tongs ere the blow reached him however siegfried seized him with his left hand by his bristly hair and threw him on the ground all the smiths now fell upon the intrepid youth to rescue their companion but siegfried held him firmly by the hair and ran with him round the cavern followed by the smiths but his sword which he wielded with his right hand kept them off while his trusty dogs sprang barking at their throats and dragged them down the whole mountain trembled with the sounds of fury and it seemed as if the savage host within the cavern were engaged in some wild marriage dance at length the leader of the smiths commanded peace and then turning angrily to siegfried exclaimed hear me thou art in truth a most ill-mannered guest first thou stealest our meat and then drawest thy sword upon one of our comrades siegfried answered him proudly truly it does thee little honour to make such war upon a guest about the bone of an ox for in faith i give thee leave to throw me into yonder fire and burn me to ashes if by to-morrow's dawn i bring thee not in its stead an entire and if thou wilt teach me the art of forging weapons i will serve thee truly and thy spit shall never want supplies from the forest this offer seemed to please the master better and he bade siegfried welcome then they all sat down together and were soon as good friends as if nothing happened End of the Fourth Adventure The Fifth Adventure of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Recording by Phil Schempf.

And thou mayest hang up all the precious stones and crowns in the world on the trees before thy smithy, and no one on earth shall dare to stretch out his hand to take them.

that we will see to-morrow replied mimer we shall then try whether you can use your hammer as well as you can your tongue but now you must go to rest for it is midnight and early in the morning we shall be strong and fresh for work Thereupon they all lay down to rest upon their skins of wild beasts, but Siegfried reposed upon his shield between his two dogs, whom he bound to the handle of his spear, and he slept as soundly and tranquilly as if he had been at home in his father's castle.

End of the Fifth Adventure The Sixth Adventure of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

So spake Siegfried, and all who heard him were well pleased with his speech, and said to one another, He has thrown the spear like a hero, and spoken as became a king's son.

End of the Second Adventure The Third Adventure of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Recording by Phil Schampf.

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the sweat stood upon siegfried's forehead in great drops but still he was unable to master his tiny opponent and the contest lasted till in the struggle the ring fell from the dwarf's finger then siegfried seized the mannikin by his right foot threw him from the saddle and held him head downwards against a stone saying on this stone i will dash out thy obstinate brains if thou lead me not to the dragon but the dwarf cried out piteously and said calm thy anger thou proud hero i will advise thee as well as i am able if thou wilt only spare my life with this siegfried was satisfied and set the dwarf upon his legs again end of the tenth adventure The Eleventh Adventure of Siegfried the Dragonslayer by Anonymous.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Mm-hmm.

Dragonslayer.

It was awesome.

Shelly sang the seventh inning stretch.

And everything you're saying regarding these masculine figures and their true power or the source of their power is from woman obviously lines up with so much of what we've been talking about today.

And lastly, you bringing up dragon slaying and a dragon slayer is so potent and important and really connected to a lot of what we've discussed.

Because as I mentioned earlier, whether you're talking about felines, serpents, or dragons, they're nearly synonymous.

So when I see the strength card and a woman is taming a lion, this is no different than someone slaying a dragon.

So of course there's actual differences there.

I wouldn't say they're exactly the same, but they're speaking to a very similar principle, which is slaying evil, taming evil, something along these lines.

Dragon slaying in general is such a huge topic as well.

In fact, one of our friends let me borrow a dragon slaying book and it was just talking about all of the myths that relate to dragon slaying and what that's really all about.