[tied] Re: dracones

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alex_lycos" wrote:

>> The explanartion is simple: the Devil is depicted as a Red
>> Dragon in Apocalypsis, and the serpent and the dragon became
>> symbols of Christian Devil, helping to absorb pre-Christian
>> myths of dragon-slayings gods and heroes. That's why Saint
>> George is so popular, he was a synchretic character that
>> inherited the popularity of pagan gods and heroes like Thor,
>> Perseus, Horus, Herakles, etc. Analogously, in Brazilian
>> African cults, Saint George was equated to Ogum, the yoruba
>> god of war, smiths and fire
>
> I don't ask for the explanation. I ask for Latin text of the
> church where the word "draco,-nis" is used as "devil".

Hehe, of course you don't need explanation. What for?!

"He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." (Rev. XX.2)
Is that enough? or you still want the Latin translation?!

> The Rom. Word for dragon is "balaur" which is to corelate with
> the albanian word "bollë"

... and with Serbo-Croatian "blavor". The form which might
suggest Albanian link is not "balaur" but the regional "balã".

> The romanian word for snake is "Sarpe", the albanian one is
> "gjarpë".

To be precise, one should not forget the final -r: gjarpër".

> None of these 4 words is becoming "devil".

Do you know why the prince Vlad, son of Mircea, was nicknamed
"Dracul"? For the simple reason he received from Sigismund de
Luxembourg the Order of Dragon, and the actual representation
of this fabulous animal on his chest was considered by most
Wallachians as being a representation of a Devil.
But well, these are historical details, isn't it?!

> Devil is an another word and this is in Rom. "drac", in Alb
> "dreq"

Of course.

> Is there in Romance any "drac-" as componet part for something
> which means "devil"?

In Catalan, "drac" means a kind of fire spitting dragon (the
word competes with "dragó").
In Franco-provençal, the word "drac" (also the name of a river
which meets Isère in Grenoble, Le Drac) means simply "devil".
In southern France, "drak" means "evil spirit", "demon"; the
Occitanian word made also some career in standard Franch.

> Or should it happen there is nowhere in Romance and Church
> Texts any connection with the Latin word "draco,-nis" and
> the word "devil"?

Or someone should not build fantaisies prior to making a check.

Marius Iacomi