Wyverns And Dragons Aren't The Same
On The Chase tonight the question was asked, 'The flag of Wessex depicts which winged creature?'
The team gave the incorrect answer, 'Dragon'. This was accepted as correct by Bradley Walsh who added that it was also known as a 'Wyvern'.
As a man of Wessex I know that a Wyvern is definitely not a Dragon!
I credit Google for the folllowing explanation:
The term "wyvern" descends from the Latin word for "viper", "adder" or "asp," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, while "dragon" descends from the Latin term for "huge serpent."
Though similar, these are intended to be distinguished as separate types of creatures, and aren't synonymous with one another.
Since the sixteenth century, in English, Scottish, and Irish heraldry, heraldic wyverns are defined as distinct entities from heraldic dragons. The key difference has been that a wyvern has two legs, whereas a dragon has four.
Oh, this is AnswerBank, isn't it? So I've got to ask a question. Here it is, does anyone disagreee? Sorry it's not a political question.