THE UTHER [PEN]DRAGON TITLE OF SAWYL, FATHER OF ARTHUR

The Chester Draco

My readers will be aware that I've only recently made a case for Uther Pendragon being Sawyl Benisel of  Ribchester/Bremetennacum Veteranorum. As the genealogy found preserved in 'The Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle' does seem to identify Arthur's father with this man, we might once again take a look at the epithet 'uther pendragon.'

While the Terrible Chief-Dragon could be of native Welsh origin (with dragon meaning simply 'warrior' or the like), it could also be a folk memory of the late Roman rank of Magister Draconum (a perfect Latin translation of Pendragon), the title used for the chief officer of the draco-standard bearing corps.   The Sarmatian veteran settlement at Ribchester appears to have been substantial, and the draco is believed to have been introduced into the Roman army by this group.  

Unfortunately, we don't know much about the rank of M. Draconum.  The following excerpts are from "The Master of the Dragon Standards and the Golden Torc: An Inscription from Prusias and Prudentius' Peristephanon" by M. P. Speidel, Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-2014), Vol. 115 (1985), pp. 283-287:

It is also conceivable that as a Dark Age descendant of the Sarmatian veterans at Ribchester and as the king of the region, Sawyl was simply called the 'chief dragon' in the sense of being the head of the warriors.  But this may still have been a metaphorical reference to the draco standard, carried in battle before his cavalry.  In other words, he was the human manifestation of the Sarmatian dragon, which by its very nature rode - or, rather, flew - before the host.

For an excellent article on the history of the draco standard itself, I would refer my readers once again to Robert Vermaat's excellent essay "The Draco, the Late Roman military standard" (http://www.fectio.org.uk/articles/draco.htm).

To briefly quote from this article:

"The Draco was adopted first into the Roman cavalry during the 2nd century AD, possibly with the introduction of Sarmatian cavalry into the Roman army."

Whether this is true or not (and which "Scythian" group was actually responsible for this introduction has been seriously contended), we can say with absolute certainty that the cavalry unit serving at Bremetennacum, the "n(umeri) eq(uitum) Sar-[m(atarum)] Bremetenn(acensium) [G]ordiani" or 'Gordian's Own Unit of Sarmatian Cavalry' possessed their own draco or dracos.  There is some evidence that a Sarmatian ala was at Ribchester (see RIB 594 and 595), although in the late period the numerus had become a cuneus (see Notitia Dignitatum).

Thus the 'dragon's head' was known at Ribchester from the advent there of the Sarmatian troops.