The Truth About Dragons: Myths, Legends & Fantasy | Interview

In this special feature for Whispers of Ilire, I sit down with Oxford scholar Professor Carolyne Larrington to explore the mythic roots of dragons and how they continue to evolve through time, culture and imagination.

From the fire-breathing wyrms of medieval bestiaries to the wise, cloud-summoning dragons of East Asia, dragons have always been more than just monsters. They are symbols: of chaos, knowledge, fear, and transformation. But why have they endured? And what might they still mean to us today?

In this wide-ranging conversation, we trace the dragon’s cultural journey across illuminated manuscripts, Persian epics, Chinese scrolls, and fantasy novels. Drawing on Larrington’s most recent book, The Little Book of Dragons (British Library, 2025), we discuss:

• What makes dragons such a universal symbol
• Why dragons remain central to fantasy storytelling
• Whether they stem from real fears or pure invention
• The blurred boundaries between myth, memory, and belief
• And the ways dragons continue to shed old skins and take on new forms

Carolyne Larrington is Emeritus Professor of Medieval European Literature at the University of Oxford, and a world authority on Norse mythology, Arthurian literature and the cultural afterlives of the medieval. Her books, including The Norse Myths, The Land of the Green Man, and Winter Is Coming, have brought myth and folklore to wide audiences, bridging scholarship and wonder.

The Little Book of Dragons is a beautifully illustrated compendium of dragon lore across history and cultures. From chaos-serpents to sky spirits, sea monsters to comic companions, it charts how dragons continue to coil around our stories.

Learn more about The Little Book of Dragons here >