User:SJB1995/Gargouille

The Gargouille (also Garguiem, as gargoyle from a word for "throat") is a dragon from the legend of Saint Romanus of Rouen. The monster does not figure in the older account of the saint's life, being recorded for the first time in 1394.

Myths & Legends
On the left bank of the Seine at Rouen were wild swamps through which rampaged a huge serpent or dragon who "devoured and destroyed people and beasts of the field".

Romanus decided to hunt in this area but could only find one man to help him, a man condemned to death who had nothing to lose. They arrived in the serpent's land and Romanus drew the sign of the cross on the beast. It then lay down at his feet and let Romanus put his stole on him as a leash, in which manner he led it into the town to be condemned to death and burned on the parvis of the cathedral (or thrown into the Seine according to other authors).

Variations
There are multiple versions of the story, either that St. Romanus subdued the creature with a crucifix, or he captured the creature with the help of the only volunteer, a condemned man. In each, the monster is led back to Rouen and burned, but its head and neck would not burn due to being tempered by its own fire breath. The head was then mounted on the walls of the newly built church to scare off evil spirits, and used for protection, similar to the Gargoyle found on architecture throughout Europe.