Scheusslischer Lindwurm
of 1531 A.D.
(Note thee well, young reader, that some stories in this profile are from a more mature-themed magazine,
and thus may not be appropriate for everyone)

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Terrestrial fauna, a monstrous reptilian of unrevealed origin;
    16^th century

Occupation: Predator

Group Membership: None known

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Annemarie, Georg von Frankenstein, Hans von Frankenstein, people of Nieder-Beerbach

Known Relatives: Presumably the Katzenborn dragon of the 1550s (see comments) and unhatched relatives (all deceased)

Aliases: Scheusslicher Lindwurm (which translates as "Horrible Dragon")

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    perished in the crevice/valley surrounding the Katzenborn brook/spring, near the village of Nieder-Beerbach in the county of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany

First Appearance: Unknown by me (some source written by August Nodnagel  in the first half of the 19^th century)
    (Marvel) Savage Sword of Conan#22/5 "The Dragon at Castle Frankenstein" (September, 1977);
    (as Scheusslischer Lindwurm) Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 (January, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: The immense dragon had vast superhuman strength and durability, able to grasp and contain an adult male in one hand, it could fit a person within its mouth. 

    It had clawed talons on its hands, which had four fingers and an opposing thumb, enabling it to grasp, contain, and lift a human while standing on its hind limbs.

    Its mouth contained numerous sharp teeth, and it could fit an entire human within its maw.

    At the tip of its tail was a stinger containing a poison that could rapidly slay an adult male.

    Its tails, limbs, dorsum, and head were covered with dense armor, including various plate-like projections.

    It had a vulnerable spot on its ventrum, either centrally in its thorax or slightly below, and a sword stabbed through this region could apparently either pierce its heart or otherwise fatally injure it. 

    As some sort of reptilian, it was presumably weakened/slowed by cold and more active in heat.

    Its species was oviparous, laying a clutch of eggs from which the young were subsequently born.

History:

Comments: Created by August Nodnagel;
    adapted to Solomon Kane mythos by Don Glut and Sonny Trinidad;
    confirmed as Marvel/Reality-616 and identified as the "Scheusslischer Lindwurm" by Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roy & Dan Thomas, and Geof Isherwood.

    What are the origin of the dragons arising from the Katzenborn?

Obviously, there are numerous dragons of Earth-616 with varying origins, and so we can only speculate until/unless another story provides further information:

Are they some sort of magical dragon?

Are they some sort of genetically-engineered creatures, created by the Deviants or others?

Solomon Kane speculated/considered: "I've heard tales about huge and marvelous beasts that perished in the waters of the Great Food! It's possible that these dragons are such Antediluvian creatures, having survived in these haunts for...thousands of years!"
    But Solomon Kane is notoriously closed-minded to whatever did not fit within his religious views, so, who knows?

    Lindwurm is one of the German words for "dragon," as is drache.
    According to Danny Wind, Scheusslicher (correct spelling) means "horrible."?
    Katzenborn is the historical name for the place where the brook near Frankenstein Castle lies.

    Solomon Kane was born in 1530 A.D. (according to, at least, The Trail of Solomon Kane, Kane... the Avenger), and most of his young stories occurred circa the 1550s. Fellow Appendix writer Wolfram Bane, whose Robert E. Howard knowledge significantly exceeds mine, placed the encounter with Kane and the Scheusslischer Lindwurm as occurring around 1555 A.D. 

    Given the above and the established death of Georg von Frankenstein circa 1531, there were over 20 years between the rampages of the two dragons, depending on how long between the second dragon's emergence and Hans' sacrifices of women Solomon Kane arrived there. Perhaps the dragon only emerged once a year, and Hans sacrificed a woman to it each time, for 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years?

    I'll discuss St. George more when I get to the Georg von Frankenstein profile, but I can tell you that Jean-Marc Lofficier, co-writer of Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #37 with Roy and Dann Thomas, confirms that Georg was not the historical/legendary/true St. George, but merely associated/amalgamated/conflated with that figure.   
    I can also tell you that "In Search of Frankenstein" by Radu Florescu, et. al., (January, 1975) was a resource for Jean-Marc Lofficier, and presumably for Don Glut, who wrote the Solomon Kane story that Jean-Marc and Roy covered in their von Frankenstein review. 

What were the dragons' relationship?

    There were giant eggs in the crevice presumed to be the offspring of the dragon, but it is unclear whether... 

• the first dragon was the male and the second the female...or vice versa...
• or perhaps the second dragon was the spawn of the first...
• maybe the first dragon was a female...
• and the second dragon was the first of the eggs to hatch...
• maybe the second dragon had its own eggs via parthenogenesis...
• maybe there were other dragons dwelling down there who have stories yet untold...

    The Savage Sword of Conan story noted Castle Frankenstein to have been built in 1250. The history of the Frankensteins in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme noted it to be before 948 A.D.

According to the Burg Frankenstein page on Great Castles, the local legend of Lord George and the dragon was first told by August Nodnagel (1803-1853).

Burg Frankenstein resides quietly in the mountains near Darmstadt, Germany. Initially, artifacts dated the castle back to 1252. However, recently discovered documents in Leipzig reference Burg Frankenstein in the year 948.

Knight George von Frankenstein was the son of Phillip von Frankenstein and Margarethe Boeckle from the Uttingen Valley. After his untimely death in 1531, Knight George was buried within a crypt in the nearby village of Nieder-Beerbach. Carvings within the crypt depict him slaying a dragon, which is underfoot with its tail wrapped around one of his legs. This image of Knight George caused confusion as people mistakenly associated him with Saint George who served as the legendary dragon slayer and patron Saint of the people in the middle ages.

Thus, a new legend was born ...

Near Nieder-Beerbach, a terrible dragon lived in a brook in the Katzenborn. It would frequently terrorize villagers in the region. They would pacify the dragon and persuade him to return to the brook by sacrificing a beautiful maiden. Accordingly, Annemarie, known as the ”Rose of the Valley”, was destined for sacrifice. Knight George, who secretly loved Annemarie, arrived at dawn dressed in shining armor after just returning from a military expedition. George decided to fight the dragon as he could not permit the sacrifice of his secret love.

After a lengthy battle, George finally inflicted a deadly wound to the dragon and saved Annemarie. However, as the dragon was writhing in pain, it curled its spiked tail around George's leg and pierced his skin with a venomous poison.

Both George and the dragon died from injuries sustained in the combat. According to legend, the rapidly flowing river is blackened by blood of the dragon.

Courtesy of Dimadick (according to Wikipedia):

*It was built by Lord Conrad II Reiz of Breuberg in the 13^th century, and is first mentioned in a document from 1252. Conrad started styling himself ''von und zu' Frankenstein". He was the first baron of the free imperial Barony of Frankenstein. Meaning that his feudal overlord was the Holy Roman Emperor himself, with no intermediaries.

*Close to the Frankenstein Castle are located the ruins of an older castle, thought to date to the 11^th century. It fell into disrepair by the time the new castle was built.

*Local folklore claims that there was an even older castle on the same hill as Castle Frankenstein, but there is no archeological evidence.

*The castle is located in proximity to a large ''felsenmeer'' ("sea of rocks"), where Siegfrid the Dragonslayer was supposedly murdered. A ''Siegfriedsquelle'' ("Siegfried's wellspring") is also located in this area.

*The castle is located in the mountain range Odenwald, which has several supernatural legends. The mountain range is thought to be named after the pagan god Odin, and its name means  "The Woods of Odin". 

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Scheusslischer Lindwurm of 1531 A.D. should be distinguished from:

• The Katzenborn dragon of the 1550s - perhaps the mate of the Scheusslischer Lindwurm, attacked Nieder-Beerbach in the 1550s, slain by Solomon Kane--Savage Sword of Conan#22/5
• other "Scheusslischer," "Scheusslicher," "Lindwurm," or dragons characters, groups, events, items, races, or places...

Appearances:
Savage Sword of Conan#22/5 "The Dragon at Castle Frankenstein" (September, 1977) - Don Glut (writer), Sonny Trinidad (art), Archie Goodwin and Roger Slifer (consulting editors), Roy Thomas (editor)
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 (January, 1992) - Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roy & Dan Thomas (writers), Geof Isherwood (artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

First posted: 01/31/2023
Last updated: 02/02/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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