Dieudonné de Gozon
Dieudonné de Gozon was the
Knights of Rhodes from 1346 to 1353. He was born to a noble family in Languedoc, France. He carried the nickname Extinctor Draconis which means "The Dragon Slayer" in Latin
.
In 1347 and 1348 the Grand Master led the Order in a march to aid King
Constantine V of Armenia, who was threatened by the army of the Sultan of Egypt
.
The Dragon of Rhodes
A story tells of a dragon in the island of
Grand Master not to disturb the beast, Gozon slew the dragon, and hung the head on one of the seven gates of the medieval town of Rhodes. The head was on display until around 1837, when it was disposed of by workers responsible for repairing the castle.[citation needed
]
However, the Museum of the
Rogation festival, in which a facsimile of a dragon was "slain" to represent defeat of a symbolic "Spirit of Evil," may have evolved over time into a story where Gozon slew an actual, living dragon.[2]
References
- ^ Ward, Alec (August 18, 2015). "Wednesday Talks – "Gozon The Dragon Slayer"". Museum of the Order of St. John. Museum of the Order of St. John. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
A head supposed to be that of the dragon slain by de Gozon was seen by the seventeenth century traveller, Thevenot, hung up in one of the gateways of Rhodes. However, there is no mention of this head being hung on a gate by Bosio or any earlier writer than Thevenot.
- ^ Hasluck, Frederick W. "Dieudonné de Gozon and the Dragon of Rhodes." Annual of the British School at Athens 20 (1914), 70-79.
- Pavlidis, Vangelis. Rhodes, A Story 1306 - 1522. Rhodes: Kasseris Publications. ISBN 960-90194-7-1
- Hasluck, Frederick W. "Dieudonné de Gozon and the Dragon of Rhodes." Annual of the British School at Athens 20 (1914), 70-79.
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