The Creature of the Month series explores the folktales that inspired Tales from Little Lucilinburhuc.
Only a few dragons appear in Luxembourgish folklore, but I wouldn’t want to mess with any of them. One of the dragons guards a widow's daughter who annoyed her mother so much that she was cursed to sink into the ground with her entire village. You can help free the girl from her curse, but you’ll have to remove a key from the dragon’s mouth first. Good luck with that!
Another dragon in Luxembourgish folklore guards a treasure in Larochette Castle, but the dragon wasn’t always a fire-breathing beast. Read the full story below to learn the dragon’s true identity.
The Castle Well in Larochette
In the 1300s, it is said that a knight from Larochette was in a feud with the Templars of Heringen. The moment he was gone, they took advantage of his absence and, with the help of a traitor, seized the castle by night. In order to escape their cruel enemies, the lady of the castle threw herself into the castle well along with her child and the golden cradle in which it lay. Their bodies were retrieved, and the traitor was then thrown in. The golden cradle is still in the well.
Down in the well there is a spacious cave carved into the rock where the Lords of Larochette would hide their treasures during the sieges they had to endure from time to time. Anyone who attempted to penetrate the cave did so in vain. The treasures there were guarded by the traitor, who had been transformed into a dragon, and with his breath he extinguished the light they used to illuminate the darkness. All who dared grope their way through this subterranean labyrinth were devoured by the dragon.