In the folklore of

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

, the Sockburn Worm was a ferocious

wyvern The wyvern ( ), sometimes spelled wivern ( ), is a type of mythical dragon with bipedalism, two legs, two wings, and often a pointed tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools an ...

that laid waste to the village of Sockburn in Durham. It was said that the beast was finally slain by John Conyers. The tale is said to be the inspiration for

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's poem ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...

'' which he wrote while in Croft-on-Tees and Whitburn.

Possible origins

The tale of the worm may be inspired by the

longship Longships, a type of specialised Viking ship, Scandinavian warships, have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by th ...

s of marauding Vikings, who carved the heads of Worms (''Ormr'') on the bow;The Conyers Falchion
/ref> however, this does not take into account the commonness of dragons in Germanic folklore including that of

(see the Laidly and

Lambton Worm The Lambton Worm is a legend from County Durham in North East England, North-East England in the United Kingdom. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from writ ...

s as well as the Worm of Linton).

Traditions

Each newly consecrated Bishop-Prince of Durham, while entering the Bishopric for the first time at the local Ford or over the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the

River Tees The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...

at Croft-on-Tees, was presented with the

falchion A falchion (; Old French: ''fauchon''; Latin: ''falx'', "sickle") is a one-handed, backsword, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In so ...

that John Conyers used on the worm. The Lord of Sockburn traditionally reads a speech while presenting the blade: ''"My Lord Bishop. I hereby present you with the falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery flying serpent which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by this tenure, that upon the first entrance of every bishop into the county the falchion should be presented."'' The bishop would then take the falchion, and immediately return it, wishing the holder health and long enjoyment of the manor. The Sockburn Worm, with the falchion embedded in it, appears on the district badge of the local Darlington & District Scout Association.

References

{{Reflist

External links

District badge of the Darlington & District Scout Association
Northumbrian folklore County Durham folklore Northumbrian folkloric beings European dragons

Possible origins

Traditions

See also

References

External links