French folklore French folklore encompasses the fables, folklore, fairy tales and legends of the French people. In the Middle Ages Occitan literature - were songs, poetry and literature in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France that originated in the poe ...

, the Graoully (spelled as Graouli, Graouilly, Graouille or Graully) is a creature with the appearance of a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. According to legend, it lived in the arena of the Roman amphitheater in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Legends state that Saint Clement of Metz fought against Graoully and vanquished the beast.

Etymology

It is believed that the word Graoully derives from the French word "grouiller" meaning "swarm". This has been attributed to the myth that the dragon and the large serpents were like a swarm in the

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

. Other origins suggested for the name include the German word "gräulich", which can mean "grayish" or "horrible". The closest English synonym it has is "gruesome" or "macabre". It has been proposed that the word "graula" may have been the origin of the name. It was commonly used in fourteenth century French as a synonym for

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

, especially when used to describe ravens as a bad omen.

Cultural representation

The legend of St. Clement inspired several other legends of dragonslayer Saints. Meanwhile Graoully became a symbol of Metz and remains one of the major symbols used by a number of major establishments in the city. Graoully was also used in the local Oscan Games from the twelfth century till the start of the French Revolution.

Procession of Graoully

A procession with an

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

of the dragon was held in the city till the nineteenth century. It started in the eleventh century when three banners were carried in the procession of

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark ( Koinē Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' Aramaic'': ܝܘܚܢܢ, romanized: Yōḥannān'') or Saint Ma ...

during

Rogation days Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity. They are observed with processions and the Litany of the Saints. The so-called ''major'' rogation is held on 25 April; the ''minor'' rogations are held on Monday to Wednesday ...

. One of these depicted a dragon's head. During the following century, an effigy of the dragon was constructed and paraded along with the

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

. Later on a huge Graoully effigy was used instead of the banners. The

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...

writer

François Rabelais François Rabelais ( , ; ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A Renaissance humanism, humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholars in the Renaissance, Gr ...

described the Graoully's effigy during a procession of the sixteenth century: The construction of the effigy continued to evolve and in the 18th century, it was constructed as a canvas figure filled with hay and twelve feet high. The jaws did not move, and the forked tongue ended with points of iron. Every baker in front of whom the procession passed, picked up a half-pound white bun and gave it to the bearer of the dragon.

Symbolic representation

A number of writers have stated that the legend of the Graoully is a symbol of Christianity's victory over paganism, with Saint Clement representing religion and paganism represented by the harmful dragon. The oldest known sculpture to date is located at 10 rue Chêvremont, on the maison du serpent. There is also a representation of Graoully on a house in the rue de la Marne in

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older ) is a commune of northeastern France. In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains. Geography Sarrebourg is located in the ...

and in a room in the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. A depiction of Graoully from the 16th century is in the crypt in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Saint-Etienne. Another sculpture is suspended in mid-air on Taison street, near the cathedral. The name of the Rue Taison is traced back to a warning from the Graoully: ''"Taisons, taisons nous, voilà le Graoully qui passe"'' (Be silent, here is the Graoully passing by). Supposedly Saint Clement had uttered spoken the words "taisons-nous" on his entry into the city. The Groully is also featured on the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

. File:Graoully1850.jpg, The "Graoully" of Metz, poster of 1850, now exhibited at the Museum of Metz File:Graoully cathédrale de Metz.jpg, Effigy of Graoully preserved in the crypt of Saint-Etienne cathedral in Metz File:Haut-Koenigsbourg21(Tobias Klaus).JPG, Copy of the effigy of the Graoully in the Lorraine room in the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg (Bas-Rhin, France) File:Migette - Procession du Graoully.JPG, Graoully, procession of Saint Marc, 1631, Auguste Migette, 1846, kept in Cour d'Or museums File:GraoullyAugusteMigette.jpg, Printing by Auguste Migette. Representation of Saint Clement fighting the Graoully dragon in Metz's Roman amphitheater File:St-Clément, premier évêque de Metz, conduit le « Graouilly » sur les bords de la Seille..jpg, Saint Clément, first bishop of Metz, leads the Graoully on the banks of the Seille File:Meuble héraldique dragon (Graoully).svg File:Blason Sablon (Quartier de Metz).svg, On the coat of arms of Sablon (neighborhood on which the amphitheater was located and where the dragon is said to have been slain), appears the heraldic representation of Graoully, pierced with the cross of Saint Clement

References

{{reflist, 30em French folklore European dragons French legendary creatures