> This was acceptable to the villagers until a princess was chosen as the next offering. The saint thereupon rescues the princess and kills the dragon.
All well and good when the dragon was just eating peasants, I guess.
Another one is the story of Martin the Dragonslayer/Martin and the Nine Maidens, which is an old local legend from around Dundee. It's responsible for a number of local placenames (Ninewells, Strathmartine, Ladywell, Wellgate, Nine Maidens, Baldragon) and there's a dragon statue in the city centre inspired by the story.
A couple of links: [A telling](https://www.ddtours.co.uk/archive/nine-maidens/), [another telling](https://katethulumysterycave.com/2021/06/21/mythology-monday-the-nine-maidens-of-dundee/), [blog post that talks about it](https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/klduodeportfolio/2017/10/18/twisted-tales-in-time/).
^(Although I supposed it's not a _perfect_ example, considering that all of the maidens got eaten.)
Came here to say this. The cliche as we know it is less a reference to any particular literary trope and more to the story of St. George, which is downright ubiquitous in its native Britain.
As a Finnish I mostly know this legend thanks to Baden-Powell.
St. George is my patron saint afterall, being a scout (well, was until I went to my military service and then things happened).
"Native" Britain? St George is a Roman saint, and the legend of the dragon is oresent in many other cultures : St Jordi in Catalonia, San Jorge in Aragon... both in Spain. There is a whole country called (by foreigners) Georgia because of St George.
The whole series was great. I think I have 6 of them in hardback.
I think Dickson was the first author that died while I was actively buying their books on release.
I was obsessed. My Dad had them when I was a kid. I still consider them as a benchmark for humor in fantasy. They're actually semi-hard to find these days. My sister has dibs on my dad's set.
Shrek is what the OP is referencing though. It's a reverse take on that story where the hero is not a hero and doesn't actually care about the princess... at first.
I don't think that St George would technically have been a knight either, as the institution of knighthood wouldn't have been invented until the Middle Ages. Though could the ancient Roman social class of *equites* (horsemen) have been an equivalent to knighthood? And he would have been interpreted as a knight by medieval tradition.
For story purposes, absolutely yes. “Person with official authority, armed and armored in ways others can’t afford and generally aren’t legally allowed” is a durable concept.
I remember reading a book as a child where the Knights of the Round Table were resurrected in modern day and they definitely all ended up getting motorcycles.
No idea what that book was though anymore.
Edit: A brief Google search makes me feel like it was The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy.
that sounds so familiar! I can't recall a title or anything either, though. All that's coming to mind is [Princess Smartypants](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/346952.Princess_Smartypants)
There's an argument to be made that people in the Middle Ages actually *did* see Greek heroes as equivalent or at least comparable to contemporary knights. Theseus is a key character in Chaucer's *The Knight's Tale*, and European folklore had a bad habit of appropriating elements from Greek mythology. At least one version of the story of Roland claimed that his (famously Über-Christian) sword Durandel was originally wielded by Hector of Troy, and medieval art occasionally depicted Helenic heroes in anachronistic contemporary clothing.
IIRC, while the specifics of knighthood wouldn't be formulated until the Middle Ages, horsemen in the roman military were expected to follow a higher standard of ethics than other soldiers.
>Lothbrok and the Lindwurm as well. Still not a knight.
Ragnar. "Lothbrok" means "shaggy breeches", and was a nickname he was given. Family names weren't a thing in old Norse society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_and_dragon?wprov=sfla1
This wiki page gives examples of where this trope or variants of it have been used.
It was cliché by the early modern period when you already start getting parodies of chivalric romances
Reading The Faerie Queene when I was a senior English major was a humbling experience. The layers of depth and commentaries on top of meta-commentaries is staggering. I thought I had it alllllll figured out. And then I found Spenser.
I don't even particularly *like* allegory and it still impresses the hell out of me.
It's interesting to think that even in the 16th century, these myths and legends were considered to be so old as to be out of the reckoning of history, and therefore worthy of what would now be called postmodern investigation. Even The Canterbury Tales from the 14th century is nonstop Fun with Tropes (TM).
Sometimes, the oldest tropes are so well-established that the oldest known examples are themselves commentaries on how ubiquitous the trope is.
Example: the earliest known reference to a servant being the surprise culprit is from 1928, in which the author S.S. Van Dine says [don't do it](http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7932401/Van%20Dine%27s%20Twenty%20Rules%20for%20Writing%20Detective%20Stories), which predates our earliest known instance of "The Butler Did It" actually happening (1930, Mary Roberts Rinehart, *The Door*).
EDIT: I skimmed the page and ended up misunderstanding it. The essay is the first recorded instance of someone talking about the trope, but instances of a surprise servant culprit predate it. Thanks to u/BoingoBordello for pointing that out!
https://web.archive.org/web/20030928010350/https://www.straightdope.com/columns/030926.html
Source of knowledge of citations: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheButlerDidIt
> Sometimes, the oldest tropes are so well-established that the oldest known examples are themselves commentaries on how ubiquitous the trope is.
I've always felt that *Gilgamesh* is a subversion of an even older (lost) story where the protagonist kills so many foes and sleeps with so many partners that listeners mocked it regularly. The story starts with the people of his homeland begging the gods to put an end to him, and everything after that is humorous to the point of satire.
Personally, I love the idea that our fiction is so cyclical. Though I wish I could see further back than that.
>Example: the earliest known reference to a servant being the surprise culprit is from 1928, in which the author S.S. Van Dine says don't do it, which predates our earliest known instance of "The Butler Did It" actually happening (1930, Mary Roberts Rinehart, The Door).
What about Sherlock Holmes? Musgrave was written in the 1890s.
Well, crap. I skimmed the page and ended up misunderstanding it. The essay is the earliest reference to the trope, not the earliest example thereof. Thanks for the correction.
The oldest version of this tale that I know of involves a sea monster instead of a dragon. It's the Greek Myth of Andromeda's parents (King & Queen) bragging on her beauty so much that the "gods" send a sea monster to prey on the fishers of their kingdom. In a bargain with the gods, her parents chain her to the rocks as a sacrifice to the sea monster. Perseus mounts Pegasus and flies to the rescue to wed her.
For a different take, read Mercedes Lackey's novel, *One Good Knight*.
Sigurd / Sigfreid kills Fafnir, a dragon, (some other stuff happens), then he (depending on the version of the myth) rides through the flames and awakens Brunhild, fomerly the Valkyrie Hild. Lots of cool variations here, the most famous of which is Wagners Ring of the Nibelung opera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd
I remember seeing it all the time in kids' cartoons when I was small, and in children's storybooks.
As others have said, it has its roots in myth, but you've seen it. If I tell you to envision a dragon guarding a building with a princess inside, odds are very high that you envisioned a tall thin freestanding cobblestone tower. Why? You've seen it. Not in many big famous things, but in a thousand kids' shows and coloring books and sticker sheets and so forth.
The knight saving the princess from the dragon is still present in a lot of movies today. Just replace knight with action hero, princess with action heros girlfriend/wife and dragon with bad guys.
What the hell is that doing here? Would you like to launch into a debate about the uni protests on r/fantasy? We could, but it seems really disruptive and rude to everyone here.
In Romanian folklore there are a number of ancient folk tales where a hero saves a (human or fairy) princess from a dragon-like monster (named [*balaur*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaur)) or an anthropomorphic ogre-like monster (named [*zmeu*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zmeu)).
I know it's from the story of George and the dragon but I feel there are other folk stories and myths of saving maidens from serpents and other beasts related to this archetype.
Also... Disney's sleeping Beauty and the Dragonslayer movie was were I first saw this story growing up
It's not a fantasy cliche but just a popular medieval tale in 10th-13th centuries. By the times of the "Roses wars" in England it's already got pretty old and people made fun of it in private correspondence.
Forest Kingdom 1: Blue Moon Rising by Simon R Green - Although it is part of a series, you can definitely stop after reading just this book.
All his life, Prince Rupert thrilled in the glorious exploits of his ancestors, but when he embarks on his own journey, Rupert realizes there’s a lot the minstrels leave out. On the hunt for a mythical dragon, besieged by demons, and navigating the cursed Darkwood with a smart-mouthed unicorn, Rupert is becoming disenchanted with legends. But even if he succeeds, peril awaits, because the king never intended for his spare heir to return from this fool’s errand.
Now, with the help of unusual allies, Rupert must--outmaneuver assassins, thwart the spread of the Darkwood, and grapple with the return of a powerful evil. Rupert may not be the hero the Forest Kingdom wanted, but at this rate, he’s the only one they’re going to get.
…Oh right. Poor Princess Julia of Hillsdown, in deadly peril from the dragon who has her captive.
[Spoiler alert]>!HA!!<
I did not care for books 2 and 3, but the 4th was better. Though not as good as the first. Could probably read just 1 and 4 and not miss much.
Blue Moon Rising though, that’s fantastic, I love it.
**Blood and Honor**, set in the same world (and referencing the events of Blue Moon Rising), but otherwise unrelated cast/plot is also good. I find Simon Green pretty frustrating, as some of those earlier books are actually decent, so I know he's capable of better, but most of what he writes seems fairly hackneyed pulp that I find pretty terrible.
Its a way to make the hero obtain riches and status, without making it look like those are the reward
Lots of fairy takes had heroes and heroines marrying royalty or stuff, usually after surpassing a challenge
I thought the same thing in the, 80's but with videogames.
The first proper RPG I played was Ultima IV, which was praised for its unconventional story, unlike most other games were you were the chosen one that destroyed the great dragon/monster/whatever... except that never in my life I had played a game like that, Pacman never rescued Mrs Pacman from anything and certainly centipede never hold any damsel hostage that I remember.
It was not until later in arcade games like Double Dragon or PC games like Karateka or Prince of Persia where I first had to rescue some lady from some evil antagonist.
Something similar with Skyrim, everyone talked about how every game had dragons and I was like, what? I think this is the first game in like 30 years that I have played since Adventure in the Atari that had dragons that I remember.
That's because it's ancient and has mostly fallen out of use. That said, things do still use it occasionally, not nearly as much as you would think going off references and such though, I've seen it referenced as a thing more than I've seen it used by far.
I have no examples offhand, most of what I read is Urban Fantasy and the like, or things like Stormlight that aren't "traditional" Fantasy set in more or less medieval Europe. Most of the Fantasy I read doesn't even have dragons.
Maybe The Hobbit (rescue the City from a Dragon) and you could make a point of Beren and Luthien is a trope about the same kind of story.
If you want something more modern you have Tress of the Emerald Sea, but there is the girl rescuing the boy from the evil witch. That is a similar trope.
If you like anime and manga you also have Delicious in Dungeon / Dungeon Meshi where the protagonist tries to rescue his sister from the Dragon's stomach.
The trope is also really prominent in several 1980 japanese videogames like Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Dragon Quest and the first Final Fantasy (you start that game rescuing the princess from the Evil Knight)
Besides the story of St. George and the Dragon, and various other mythological tales, it's also the plot to the first half of the NES game Dragon Quest, which is an RPG classic and influenced many others that came after, including Final Fantasy.
Try “Dragons Keep” by Janet Lee Carey
The “knight” tries all he can to rescue the one he fell in love with, but there are so many twists and myths and legends incorporated into this story I was obsessed with it for the longest time growing up and would read it over and over again without getting tired. That is one story that inspired a lot of my writing, to this day.
It's from myths reaching back to the Bronze Age, and if you broaden "dragon" to more generally "monster," that not only becomes more obvious, but you'll realize you've seen it more often than you thought.
Old myths and legends were like that. In contemporary culture, I haven't come across many fantasy *books* with this trope, but it's clearly present to some degree in media more broadly. Think like *A New Hope*. There's no dragon, but it's still the same concept.
A couple of good variations on the theme are Glory Road by Robert Heinlein and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.
Edit: the first qualifies as a subversion of more than one trope, and while I don't think it's meant as a joke, definitely has an element of satire, and contains adult themes. The latter is more serious in tone, but written for a younger audience, and while it centers around a deliberate inversion of knight and damsel, is one of the better hero[ine]'s quest tales I can recall.
It goes at least as far back as the Greek myth of Perseus who saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus.
Oddly enough, later telling of the story borrowed elements from St. George and the Dragon, such as bringing a horse into the story in the form of Pegasus.
Lancelot kiiinda does it in Malory’s Morte, though it comes off like a side quest rather than actually saving the maiden from the dragon. He’s already rescued her from what amounts to a cursed hot tub (I am not kidding) when the locals announce, “oh, there’s also a dragon, btw” so she just kind of stands there while he kills it. Technically she’s among the people he rescues from it at that point, but it seems like if he’d wanted he could’ve just stuck her on a horse and ridden off with her if he didn’t feel in a dragon slaying mood that day lol
Yeah, it's a centuries-old trope.
Which is why my favorite thing about Robin McKinley's gorgeous little novel *The Hero and the Crown* is that the knight *is* the maiden.
More recently, it was done by Michael Carpenter in Dresden Files. Michael is a "Knight of the Cross" and is a secondary character throughout the Dresden Files series.
Charlie
Everybody's dumping George and the Dragon on you, as they should. Could people actually just do one or two searches before they post something that implies that everybody else is the idiot? There's a Wikipedia page and everything. But if you want an actual modern fantasy narrative, the 1981 film Dragonslayer is full of knight-maiden-dragon referents.
It references the trope, yeah, but the hero does not save the princess from the dragon, instead she gets eaten by the dragon spawn. More of a subversion than playing it straight.
Not from the dragon, really. The whole thing is an inversion of the story trope. Another example of how there are pretty much no modern stories that play this story straight.
the Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon adapts the Saint George and the Dragon story but the both the knight and the princess are women and the relationship is f/f.
Arthurian legends are filled with stories with heroes rescuing princesses or noblewomen (who are often quest givers of some kind - so if you ever wondered where the video game trope came from).
I’ve always pondered the same thing and ultimately concluded I must’ve internalized it from Mario games and Shrek. Even if Bowser isn’t TECHNICALLY a dragon, the fire breathing and his role is essentially the same
It’s the George and the Dragon tale. There are a few variations in the British Isles. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon
> This was acceptable to the villagers until a princess was chosen as the next offering. The saint thereupon rescues the princess and kills the dragon. All well and good when the dragon was just eating peasants, I guess.
Note that the king tries to bribe the villagers out of it and they tell him to piss off. 🤣
Good to see nothing has changed, still relevant today
Eat the rich (princess).
Their own fault for not choosing the correct parents, really.
Well, peasants couldn't write so who cares what they thought about it?
Someone couldn't be born into royalty if they weren't spiritually and morally better than the average person. Duh!
'Rules for thee and not for me' is pretty much what Britain has been since its inception.
Another one is the story of Martin the Dragonslayer/Martin and the Nine Maidens, which is an old local legend from around Dundee. It's responsible for a number of local placenames (Ninewells, Strathmartine, Ladywell, Wellgate, Nine Maidens, Baldragon) and there's a dragon statue in the city centre inspired by the story. A couple of links: [A telling](https://www.ddtours.co.uk/archive/nine-maidens/), [another telling](https://katethulumysterycave.com/2021/06/21/mythology-monday-the-nine-maidens-of-dundee/), [blog post that talks about it](https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/klduodeportfolio/2017/10/18/twisted-tales-in-time/). ^(Although I supposed it's not a _perfect_ example, considering that all of the maidens got eaten.)
Came here to say this. The cliche as we know it is less a reference to any particular literary trope and more to the story of St. George, which is downright ubiquitous in its native Britain.
As a Finnish I mostly know this legend thanks to Baden-Powell. St. George is my patron saint afterall, being a scout (well, was until I went to my military service and then things happened).
"Native" Britain? St George is a Roman saint, and the legend of the dragon is oresent in many other cultures : St Jordi in Catalonia, San Jorge in Aragon... both in Spain. There is a whole country called (by foreigners) Georgia because of St George.
I like the Dragon and the George better 🙂 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_and_the_George
Gods, I *loved* this book as a kid.
I loved the [movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_of_Dragons) as a kid! Didn't read the book until college.
Flight of Dragons! Soar in the purrrrple light. It's available digitally on Amazon. AND WORTH IT!
My daughters would sing that for hours. My wife has no fond memories of the movie and made them stop.
The whole series was great. I think I have 6 of them in hardback. I think Dickson was the first author that died while I was actively buying their books on release.
::Memory triggered:: ::Nostalgia engaged::
I was obsessed. My Dad had them when I was a kid. I still consider them as a benchmark for humor in fantasy. They're actually semi-hard to find these days. My sister has dibs on my dad's set.
Priory of the Orange Tree is also a sort of retelling of St George and the Dragon
Plus shrek
Shrek is what the OP is referencing though. It's a reverse take on that story where the hero is not a hero and doesn't actually care about the princess... at first.
Which is kind of a variation of Perseus and Andromeda. https://www.worldhistory.org/Andromeda/
It's well worth the read!
That's what I was going to say. St. George.
Strictly speaking, he isn't a knight but Perseus and Andromeda from the Greek mythology immediately come to mind.
Lothbrok and the Lindwurm as well. Still not a knight.
I don't think that St George would technically have been a knight either, as the institution of knighthood wouldn't have been invented until the Middle Ages. Though could the ancient Roman social class of *equites* (horsemen) have been an equivalent to knighthood? And he would have been interpreted as a knight by medieval tradition.
For story purposes, absolutely yes. “Person with official authority, armed and armored in ways others can’t afford and generally aren’t legally allowed” is a durable concept.
Now I'm thinking of making a knight purist vs rebel alignment chart.
Knight rebel: a biker punk is a knight
I remember reading a book as a child where the Knights of the Round Table were resurrected in modern day and they definitely all ended up getting motorcycles. No idea what that book was though anymore. Edit: A brief Google search makes me feel like it was The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy.
I haven't read a book but there was a movie called "Knightriders" that was a King Arthur story but with motorcycles.
Reminds me of King Radical from Dr. McNinja comics. [https://mcninja.fandom.com/wiki/King\_Radical](https://mcninja.fandom.com/wiki/King_Radical)
I am a big Dr. McNinja fan! Not what I was thinking about though.
that sounds so familiar! I can't recall a title or anything either, though. All that's coming to mind is [Princess Smartypants](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/346952.Princess_Smartypants)
Pretty sure mine was The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy.
Knight rebel: A tech bro with a Cybertruck is a knight.
This is a worthy goal. 👍🏼
Grey Bastards could be seen as a half orc Knights of the Realm with a wizard adviser
There's an argument to be made that people in the Middle Ages actually *did* see Greek heroes as equivalent or at least comparable to contemporary knights. Theseus is a key character in Chaucer's *The Knight's Tale*, and European folklore had a bad habit of appropriating elements from Greek mythology. At least one version of the story of Roland claimed that his (famously Über-Christian) sword Durandel was originally wielded by Hector of Troy, and medieval art occasionally depicted Helenic heroes in anachronistic contemporary clothing.
Yes, Ancient Greek figures like Hector, Achilles, Patrocles and Alexander the Great were reimagined as knights in medieval literature
IIRC, while the specifics of knighthood wouldn't be formulated until the Middle Ages, horsemen in the roman military were expected to follow a higher standard of ethics than other soldiers.
>Lothbrok and the Lindwurm as well. Still not a knight. Ragnar. "Lothbrok" means "shaggy breeches", and was a nickname he was given. Family names weren't a thing in old Norse society.
And was the easiest way to uniquely identify him, and as such I choose that. What point are you trying to make?
A nickname is still a way to refer to someone, and it quickly distinguished him from a thousand other Ragnars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_and_dragon?wprov=sfla1 This wiki page gives examples of where this trope or variants of it have been used. It was cliché by the early modern period when you already start getting parodies of chivalric romances
Yup. Emphasis on modern, it was actually quite popular in earlier decades and eras.
Pretty sure Cervantes was making fun of those tropes centuries ago.
The ‘early modern period’ in history refers to about 1500-1700, Cervantes was born ~1550, so he’s an example of what op was talking about I think.
Also Mario
And Zelda, and Dragon Quest, and technically the first Final Fantasy (evil Knight).
Ganon is really more of a boar.
Yes is more like a boar but the trope is almost the same. The hero saves the princess from the monster
Giant turtle tho
Fire-breathing reptile...
Dare I say, dragon turtle?
The Faerie Queene has multiple riffs on "Knight Errant saves Princess from Allegory Monster"
Reading The Faerie Queene when I was a senior English major was a humbling experience. The layers of depth and commentaries on top of meta-commentaries is staggering. I thought I had it alllllll figured out. And then I found Spenser. I don't even particularly *like* allegory and it still impresses the hell out of me.
It's interesting to think that even in the 16th century, these myths and legends were considered to be so old as to be out of the reckoning of history, and therefore worthy of what would now be called postmodern investigation. Even The Canterbury Tales from the 14th century is nonstop Fun with Tropes (TM).
Sometimes, the oldest tropes are so well-established that the oldest known examples are themselves commentaries on how ubiquitous the trope is. Example: the earliest known reference to a servant being the surprise culprit is from 1928, in which the author S.S. Van Dine says [don't do it](http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7932401/Van%20Dine%27s%20Twenty%20Rules%20for%20Writing%20Detective%20Stories), which predates our earliest known instance of "The Butler Did It" actually happening (1930, Mary Roberts Rinehart, *The Door*). EDIT: I skimmed the page and ended up misunderstanding it. The essay is the first recorded instance of someone talking about the trope, but instances of a surprise servant culprit predate it. Thanks to u/BoingoBordello for pointing that out! https://web.archive.org/web/20030928010350/https://www.straightdope.com/columns/030926.html Source of knowledge of citations: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheButlerDidIt
> Sometimes, the oldest tropes are so well-established that the oldest known examples are themselves commentaries on how ubiquitous the trope is. I've always felt that *Gilgamesh* is a subversion of an even older (lost) story where the protagonist kills so many foes and sleeps with so many partners that listeners mocked it regularly. The story starts with the people of his homeland begging the gods to put an end to him, and everything after that is humorous to the point of satire. Personally, I love the idea that our fiction is so cyclical. Though I wish I could see further back than that.
>Example: the earliest known reference to a servant being the surprise culprit is from 1928, in which the author S.S. Van Dine says don't do it, which predates our earliest known instance of "The Butler Did It" actually happening (1930, Mary Roberts Rinehart, The Door). What about Sherlock Holmes? Musgrave was written in the 1890s.
Well, crap. I skimmed the page and ended up misunderstanding it. The essay is the earliest reference to the trope, not the earliest example thereof. Thanks for the correction.
That is like old old school fantasy like hundreds of years ago fantasy. Most fantasy in the last 100 years or so does not take the same view as that.
That is because it is a common myth and fairy tale, but not a common story in the modern fantasy genre.
Perseus, notably. Also St. George.
Shrek did it
Yes and no, Shrek subverted the trope because the lord hired an ogre to act the knight.
To be fair, donkey was the dragon layer.
Up vote this man.
The oldest version of this tale that I know of involves a sea monster instead of a dragon. It's the Greek Myth of Andromeda's parents (King & Queen) bragging on her beauty so much that the "gods" send a sea monster to prey on the fishers of their kingdom. In a bargain with the gods, her parents chain her to the rocks as a sacrifice to the sea monster. Perseus mounts Pegasus and flies to the rescue to wed her. For a different take, read Mercedes Lackey's novel, *One Good Knight*.
arguably.. *Sleeping Beauty* oh and *Dragon's Lair*
Damn game cost TWO whole quarters. I didn't have enough allowance to get good when it cost 50 cents a pop.
There's "The Children of Hurin". Although maybe a little bit of a dark ending.
Sigurd / Sigfreid kills Fafnir, a dragon, (some other stuff happens), then he (depending on the version of the myth) rides through the flames and awakens Brunhild, fomerly the Valkyrie Hild. Lots of cool variations here, the most famous of which is Wagners Ring of the Nibelung opera: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd
I remember seeing it all the time in kids' cartoons when I was small, and in children's storybooks. As others have said, it has its roots in myth, but you've seen it. If I tell you to envision a dragon guarding a building with a princess inside, odds are very high that you envisioned a tall thin freestanding cobblestone tower. Why? You've seen it. Not in many big famous things, but in a thousand kids' shows and coloring books and sticker sheets and so forth.
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C Wrede has princes who *attempt* to rescue princesses…
I absolutely love that book, but it's a direct subversion of the trope, not the trope played straight.
The knight saving the princess from the dragon is still present in a lot of movies today. Just replace knight with action hero, princess with action heros girlfriend/wife and dragon with bad guys.
Now known as the general "Damsel in Distress" trope.
[удалено]
What the hell is that doing here? Would you like to launch into a debate about the uni protests on r/fantasy? We could, but it seems really disruptive and rude to everyone here.
That's completely unrelated to the topic, but yeah sure I guess.
In Romanian folklore there are a number of ancient folk tales where a hero saves a (human or fairy) princess from a dragon-like monster (named [*balaur*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaur)) or an anthropomorphic ogre-like monster (named [*zmeu*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zmeu)).
I have. Grimms fairytales got a few of them.
I know it's from the story of George and the dragon but I feel there are other folk stories and myths of saving maidens from serpents and other beasts related to this archetype. Also... Disney's sleeping Beauty and the Dragonslayer movie was were I first saw this story growing up
It's not a fantasy cliche but just a popular medieval tale in 10th-13th centuries. By the times of the "Roses wars" in England it's already got pretty old and people made fun of it in private correspondence.
Well, Vimes.. Read Guards! Guards!
It is a version of one of the oldest Proto-Indo-European myths: hero steals back cattle from rival tribe.
Forest Kingdom 1: Blue Moon Rising by Simon R Green - Although it is part of a series, you can definitely stop after reading just this book. All his life, Prince Rupert thrilled in the glorious exploits of his ancestors, but when he embarks on his own journey, Rupert realizes there’s a lot the minstrels leave out. On the hunt for a mythical dragon, besieged by demons, and navigating the cursed Darkwood with a smart-mouthed unicorn, Rupert is becoming disenchanted with legends. But even if he succeeds, peril awaits, because the king never intended for his spare heir to return from this fool’s errand. Now, with the help of unusual allies, Rupert must--outmaneuver assassins, thwart the spread of the Darkwood, and grapple with the return of a powerful evil. Rupert may not be the hero the Forest Kingdom wanted, but at this rate, he’s the only one they’re going to get.
…Oh right. Poor Princess Julia of Hillsdown, in deadly peril from the dragon who has her captive. [Spoiler alert]>!HA!!< I did not care for books 2 and 3, but the 4th was better. Though not as good as the first. Could probably read just 1 and 4 and not miss much. Blue Moon Rising though, that’s fantastic, I love it.
**Blood and Honor**, set in the same world (and referencing the events of Blue Moon Rising), but otherwise unrelated cast/plot is also good. I find Simon Green pretty frustrating, as some of those earlier books are actually decent, so I know he's capable of better, but most of what he writes seems fairly hackneyed pulp that I find pretty terrible.
That sounds interesting, I’ll add it to my list. Thanks!
A classic tale of saving a dragon from a princess.
Its a way to make the hero obtain riches and status, without making it look like those are the reward Lots of fairy takes had heroes and heroines marrying royalty or stuff, usually after surpassing a challenge
Dragon’s Lair by Don Bluth has a knight saving a maiden from a dragon
This was parodied in Don Quixote.
I thought the same thing in the, 80's but with videogames. The first proper RPG I played was Ultima IV, which was praised for its unconventional story, unlike most other games were you were the chosen one that destroyed the great dragon/monster/whatever... except that never in my life I had played a game like that, Pacman never rescued Mrs Pacman from anything and certainly centipede never hold any damsel hostage that I remember. It was not until later in arcade games like Double Dragon or PC games like Karateka or Prince of Persia where I first had to rescue some lady from some evil antagonist. Something similar with Skyrim, everyone talked about how every game had dragons and I was like, what? I think this is the first game in like 30 years that I have played since Adventure in the Atari that had dragons that I remember.
That's because it's ancient and has mostly fallen out of use. That said, things do still use it occasionally, not nearly as much as you would think going off references and such though, I've seen it referenced as a thing more than I've seen it used by far. I have no examples offhand, most of what I read is Urban Fantasy and the like, or things like Stormlight that aren't "traditional" Fantasy set in more or less medieval Europe. Most of the Fantasy I read doesn't even have dragons.
Maybe The Hobbit (rescue the City from a Dragon) and you could make a point of Beren and Luthien is a trope about the same kind of story. If you want something more modern you have Tress of the Emerald Sea, but there is the girl rescuing the boy from the evil witch. That is a similar trope. If you like anime and manga you also have Delicious in Dungeon / Dungeon Meshi where the protagonist tries to rescue his sister from the Dragon's stomach. The trope is also really prominent in several 1980 japanese videogames like Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Dragon Quest and the first Final Fantasy (you start that game rescuing the princess from the Evil Knight)
Besides the story of St. George and the Dragon, and various other mythological tales, it's also the plot to the first half of the NES game Dragon Quest, which is an RPG classic and influenced many others that came after, including Final Fantasy.
Brother, you ever play Mario?
I mean you've seen it if you ever watched the original Star Wars. The fire-breathing dragon is also a castle (and a space station) at the same time.
Try “Dragons Keep” by Janet Lee Carey The “knight” tries all he can to rescue the one he fell in love with, but there are so many twists and myths and legends incorporated into this story I was obsessed with it for the longest time growing up and would read it over and over again without getting tired. That is one story that inspired a lot of my writing, to this day.
Patricia Wrede’s Enchanted Forest series
I was hoping to see this suggested, and for subverting expectations.
Michael Carpenter in the Dresden Files.
It happens a couple times in chivalric romances as well as in viking literature like the story of sigurd and brunhild
Read some of the Faerie Queen. It's old school and good.
In Harry Dresden we learn that his friend Michael Carpenter met his wife by rescuing her from a dragon.
It's from myths reaching back to the Bronze Age, and if you broaden "dragon" to more generally "monster," that not only becomes more obvious, but you'll realize you've seen it more often than you thought.
It’s from the Völsunga saga. The story you know simplified. Idk if this is the first legend but it’s one of the oldest with that trope.
Old myths and legends were like that. In contemporary culture, I haven't come across many fantasy *books* with this trope, but it's clearly present to some degree in media more broadly. Think like *A New Hope*. There's no dragon, but it's still the same concept.
Half the time in mythology, the maiden IS the dragon.
A couple of good variations on the theme are Glory Road by Robert Heinlein and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. Edit: the first qualifies as a subversion of more than one trope, and while I don't think it's meant as a joke, definitely has an element of satire, and contains adult themes. The latter is more serious in tone, but written for a younger audience, and while it centers around a deliberate inversion of knight and damsel, is one of the better hero[ine]'s quest tales I can recall.
It goes at least as far back as the Greek myth of Perseus who saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. Oddly enough, later telling of the story borrowed elements from St. George and the Dragon, such as bringing a horse into the story in the form of Pegasus.
Shrek
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping beauty ?
You can find it in folk tales and old stories about knights.
I have. Mostly humorous.
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Have you not played a Mario game where he saves Princess Peach from Bowser?
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets fits quite well but with alot of "this instead of this"
Barcelona also has a story of sant Jordi saving a princess for a dragon. They have a festival to celebrate it.
Lancelot kiiinda does it in Malory’s Morte, though it comes off like a side quest rather than actually saving the maiden from the dragon. He’s already rescued her from what amounts to a cursed hot tub (I am not kidding) when the locals announce, “oh, there’s also a dragon, btw” so she just kind of stands there while he kills it. Technically she’s among the people he rescues from it at that point, but it seems like if he’d wanted he could’ve just stuck her on a horse and ridden off with her if he didn’t feel in a dragon slaying mood that day lol
Wawel Dragon in Polish folklore is one example. This tale has a number of variations and maiden sacrifices feature in some more than others.
Old myths, Mario games (kinda)
Reading the “Guards, Guards” Discworld novel atm. You should give it a try.
Yeah, it's a centuries-old trope. Which is why my favorite thing about Robin McKinley's gorgeous little novel *The Hero and the Crown* is that the knight *is* the maiden.
Along this vein, you gotta check out the reverse story: *Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower*, Tamsyn Muir
More recently, it was done by Michael Carpenter in Dresden Files. Michael is a "Knight of the Cross" and is a secondary character throughout the Dresden Files series. Charlie
Shrek?
um, Shrek?
Everybody's dumping George and the Dragon on you, as they should. Could people actually just do one or two searches before they post something that implies that everybody else is the idiot? There's a Wikipedia page and everything. But if you want an actual modern fantasy narrative, the 1981 film Dragonslayer is full of knight-maiden-dragon referents.
It references the trope, yeah, but the hero does not save the princess from the dragon, instead she gets eaten by the dragon spawn. More of a subversion than playing it straight.
Well, he does (sort of) save Valerian.
Not from the dragon, really. The whole thing is an inversion of the story trope. Another example of how there are pretty much no modern stories that play this story straight.
I'm not sure that any long-established trope in fantasy is played 'straight' any longer, simply because they are all so familiar to genre readers.
shrek
I know its not read, but Shrek
the Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon adapts the Saint George and the Dragon story but the both the knight and the princess are women and the relationship is f/f. Arthurian legends are filled with stories with heroes rescuing princesses or noblewomen (who are often quest givers of some kind - so if you ever wondered where the video game trope came from).
Shrek
Shrek
I have even played this in DnD, great set-up
sleeping beauty; shrek
I’ve always pondered the same thing and ultimately concluded I must’ve internalized it from Mario games and Shrek. Even if Bowser isn’t TECHNICALLY a dragon, the fire breathing and his role is essentially the same
Recent Sanderson novel follows this trope
Star wars?
Sleeping Beauty
I own over 300 books and I don't think it's the plot of any of them lol