Margherita, il drago, il regno dei Cieli. Passione e 'transito' di una santa sauroctona

Contrary to what one might think, the dragon appears rather frequently to characterise the figure ofChristian saints (non-exhaustive lists of such names are presented in Grant Loomis 1948: 65, 179; andRohner 1995: 147-157): most often as a simple biblical reference, devoid of a genuine physical consistencyand agency, in order to make of it a mere avatar of the devil, and seldom, with traits evocative of pre-Christian beliefs: a monster tout court, emblematic for a mythical dimension whose bearer it is, inside thehagiographical literature (Godding 2000: 150-153). In this maelstrom, the constant is that the dragon mustbe defeated, naturally, by means of a saint’s hand. Rare are the feminine presences, among which St.Margaret emerges, the only sauroctonos saint contemplated by medieval legends, and object of a widelyspread, deeply sincere, cult (note at least St. Martha, who, by prayer alone, knew to tie monstrous Tarasquewho was infesting the marshes around Tarascona). This cult would extract, precisely from this killing, withall the semiotics of the details which actuate it, its own origin, as well as the reasons for a vast, lasting,popularity. Because Margaret, precisely because emerging safe and triumphant from the stomach of thedragon having swallowed her, becomes the patron saint of women giving birth, who invoke her duringlabour, in order to give birth and bring to light healthy children, and live a secure life