Tradition: French Mythology
Alternative Names: Guivre, Givre, Vouivre
Category: Dragon
The Myth
The Guivre is a long, serpentine dragon with a dragon’s head and, in some descriptions, horns upon its forehead. Its hind legs are barely visible or may be absent altogether, giving the creature the appearance of an enormous serpent. Guivres were said to possess venomous breath and were notoriously aggressive, sometimes attacking people without provocation. They dwelled in pools and lakes, forests, and other damp places throughout the French countryside.
Yet the Guivre had a strange weakness: it was said to fear naked human beings. When confronted with one, the fierce creature would blush and turn its head away.
One of the most unusual tales surrounding the creature concerns Samson of Dol and Saint Suliao. Samson had come to visit Suliao with a group of followers. Suliao was poor and could offer his guests little food, but he did what he could to provide them with a meal.
One of the priests accompanying Samson was dissatisfied with the humble food. He secretly took a bread roll and hid it beneath his robe. Almost immediately, the man began to convulse. Suliao pulled open his robe to discover the terrible cause: a hideous little serpentine creature, the Guivre, had somehow emerged in connection with the stolen bread.
Suliao rebuked the priest and seized the creature. He exorcised it and then ordered another man to carry it to the roof of a building in Garot and throw it down, casting the monstrous serpent away.
The Guivre is also closely associated with the name Vouivre, and the two names can describe the same creature. In other French traditions, however, the Vouivre takes on a more distinctive form. In the tales of Franche-Comté, it is described as an enormous serpentine dragon carrying a ruby upon its forehead, the precious stone serving as its eye.
Other traditions give the Vouivre a female form, with dazzling green scales that produce a sound as she flies. She is depicted as greedy and associated with precious treasures, wearing pearls upon her head and a golden ring around her tail. She spends most of her time hidden inside a cave, emerging only briefly to bathe.
Sources
“Guivre.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 26, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guivre