- Sockburn Worm
In the folklore of
Northumbria , the "SockburnWorm " was a ferociouswyvern that laid waste to the village ofSockburn inDurham . It was said that the beast was finally slain by John Conyers.Each year the newly consecrated Bishop-Prince of Durham, while entering the Bishopric for the first time was presented with the
falchion that John Conyers used on the worm. The Lord of Sockburn traditionally reads a speech while presenting the blade:"My Lord Bishop. I hereby present you with the falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery flying serpent which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by this tenure, that upon the first entrance of every bishop into the county the falchion should be presented."
The tale is said by many to be the inspiration for
Lewis Carroll 's poem "Jabberwocky " which he wrote while inCroft on Tees andWhitburn [ [http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/Darlington%20and%20the%20Tees%20Vale.htm#JABBERWOCKY%20-%20THE%20SOCKBURN%20WORM Darlington History ] ] .The tale of the worm may be inspired the
longship s of marauding Vikings, who carved the heads of Worms ("Ormr") on thebow [ [http://bjorn.foxtail.nu/h_conyers_eng.htm The Conyers Falchion ] ] however this does not take into account the commonness of dragons in Germanic folklore including that of Northumbria (see the Laidly andLambton Worm s as well as theWorm of Linton ).References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.