Somerset and Somerset North
|
A dragon rampant gules langues and armed azure, hold erect a mace of the second (azure). Inscribed beneath on a scroll azure SUMORSAETE EALLE or.
The dragon is that of the ancient kingdom of the West Saxons. Commonly called the Golden Dragon of Wessex, this monster was sometimes described as of red gold. According to Henry of Huntingdon, writing in the twelfth century, the dragon was already the emblem of the West Saxons in the eighth century, and it seems to be likely that they had adopted it in token of their conquest of the Britons. While Somerset bears the dragon in token of the Kingdom ofWessex, the emblem also aptly recalls that the county claims to contact King Arthur's capital Camelot (Queen Camel) and his place of burial Avalon (Glastonbury).
