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302 EELIGION OF THE NORTHMEN.
of a man, with large teeth, the body of an animal,
with a hnge tail, terrible claws and a sword in
every claw. But these descriptions seem rather to
be creations of the Saga-writer's imagination, guided
by the pictures of similar monsters in the myths of
more southern nations, than to rest upon any ancient
legend preserved from heathen times, although it is
true the heathens had imagined the existence of a
supernatural being of that name.
Dragons, according to the most ancient heathen
representations, were nothing more than monstrous
serpents, by which name—ormar, sing, ormr— ^they
are also mostly named in the older manuscripts.
The superstition was prevalent that the Orm, especially
the so-called lyngormr (doubtless the Dragon-^
Danish, Lindorm, Oemum, Lindwurm—of the Danish
and German legends and songs of the Middle Ages),
if laid upon gold, would grow as large as the gold.
It was thus with the serpent which, according to the
legend, surrounded Thoras Borg, the Gothic Bang's
daughter, and which Eagnar L68br6k slew.* These
imaginary monsters were often supposed to be the
transformations of avaricious men who had volun-
tarily clothed themselves in this enchanted form in
order to brood in safety over their gold. It was also
said of them that they bore the Helmet of Terror
(-(Egishjdimar), with which they frightened away all
living things. Thus Fafnir is described in the an-
cient legend which one of the Eddaic poems treats
of.f Thus also, a somewhat later legend speaks of
» Ragn. LdSbr. S. 1-2.
t The 0. Edda: Fafnism^l,