A wyvern is a mythological creature, similar to a dragon, but distinctive in various ways: wyverns have two legs (rather than four), full wings, a barbed tail, scales, and they tend not to breathe fire. The wyvern has been widely used as a symbol in heraldry and has associations with King Arthur, King Alfred, King Harold, Wessex, and modern Somerset.
Wessex Wyverns is a piece about wyverns commissioned by Vince Smith for WAGO, the Wyvern Afinado Guitar Orchestra. It begins with a jousting fanfare; Arthur is said to have worn the symbol of a wyvern during a joust with Lancelot – the prize? The hand of Guinevere. An ouroboros is a circular symbol depicting a snake, dragon, or wyvern, swallowing its tail. It is an emblem of wholeness or infinity. Here the music is calm and reflective.
In Wells Cathedral, wyverns are represented in some of the misericords (small wooden structures formed on the underside of folding seats to support standing worshipers during long periods of prayer). I selected three of them for The Wells Misericords. They depict a wyvern preening itself, a wyvern fighting a horse, and a man trying to kill a wyvern.
King Alfred the Great (of burnt cakes notoriety) used the wyvern as the heraldic symbol for Wessex. Here the music uses a melody purportedly composed by Alfred himself ahead of the Battle of Edington in 878 AD. The Norton Fitzwilliam Rood Screen dates from around 1500 and depicts a detailed dragon/wyvern story across nine different scenes.
In the 13th Century, a wyvern appeared from Worminster Sleight (near Dinder in Somerset) and began eating the local sheep and cattle, and some say children too. The locals begged Bishop Jocelin to slay the dragon which he did. Before it died the dragon warned that it would return every 50 years and if it had not been honoured it would come back to life. So, every 50 years, the locals hold a feast for the wyvern of Worminster Sleight.
The final movement celebrates the new flag of Somerset which depicts a wyvern. The flag was adopted following a competition in July 2013.
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