Editing Lindworm (section)

{{Short description|Dragon or serpent monster in Nordic mythology}}
{{for|the popular motif found on runestones in 11th-century Sweden|Runic animal}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name             = Lindworm
|AKA              = Lindwurm, lindwyrm, lindorm
|image            = John Bauer, 1911 (cropped, no signature).jpg
|image_size       = 250px
|caption          = [[Sweden|Swedish]] lindworm drawn by Swedish illustrator [[John Bauer (illustrator)|John Bauer]], 1911. The Swedish lindworm lacks wings and limbs. 
|Folklore         = [[Mythical creature]], [[legendary creature]]
|Grouping         = [[Monster]]
|Sub_Grouping     = [[Dragon]]
|Family           = [[Germanic dragon|Worm (dragon)]], {{ILL|Whiteworm (mythology)|sv|Vitorm}}, [[Basilisk]], [[Guivre]], [[Vouivre]], [[Wyvern]], [[Sea serpent]]s, [[Jörmungandr]]
|Region           = [[Northern Europe]], [[Western Europe]], [[Central Europe]]
|First_Attested   = [[Viking Age]]<ref name="ungafakta.se"/>
}}
The '''lindworm''' (''worm'' meaning [[snake]], see [[germanic dragon]]), also spelled '''lindwyrm''' or '''lindwurm''', is a [[mythical creature]] in [[Northern Europe|Northern]], [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]]an [[folklore]] that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives deep in the forest. It can be seen as a sort of [[dragon]].

In [[Central Europe]] and beyond, it is often depicted as a serpent with forelimbs, often also with wings and sometimes even hindlimbs, but in some traditions, especially [[Swedish folklore]], it is foremost limbless; however, the various traits are generally just considered variation within the "species", and a lindworm is not defined by limbs or lack thereof. A broad definition is any [[western dragon]] with heavy serpentine features.

According to legend, everything that lies under a lindworm will increase as the lindworm grows. This belief gave rise to tales of dragons that [[Broodiness|brood]] over treasures to become richer. Legend tells of two kinds of lindworm: a good one, associated with luck, often a cursed prince who has been transformed into the beast (compare to "[[The Frog Prince]]" and "[[Beauty and the Beast]]" stories), and a bad one, a dangerous [[Man-eating animal|man-eater]] that will attack humans on sight. A lindworm may swallow its own tail, turning itself into a rolling wheel, to pursue fleeing humans (compare [[ouroboros]] and [[hoop snake]]).<ref name="ungafakta.se"/>

The head of the 16th-century lindworm statue at Lindwurm Fountain ({{ill|Lindwurmbrunnen|de|Lindwurmbrunnen (Klagenfurt)}}) in [[Klagenfurt]], Austria, is modeled on the skull of a [[woolly rhinoceros]] found in a nearby quarry in 1335. It has been cited as the earliest reconstruction of an extinct animal.<ref name="Mayor2000">{{cite book |author=Mayor, Adrienne |title=The first fossil hunters: paleontology in Greek and Roman times |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |location=Princeton, N.J |year=2000 |isbn=0-691-08977-9 }}</ref><ref>''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London''. [[Academic Press]]. 147-148. 1887.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitklagenfurt.at/en/discover-and-experience/worth-seeing/290-lindwurmbrunnen.html |title=Lindwurm Fountain |publisher=Tourism Information Klagenfurt am Wörthersee |access-date=June 1, 2019 }}</ref>