Herensuge

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Herensuge is the name for a mythical dragon in the Basque language. In Basque mythology, dragons appear sparingly, sometimes with seven heads. Herensuge often also appear in the form of a serpent.^[1] The seven heads were believed to be the offspring of the Herensuge dragon. When the little dragons were fully grown, they would fall off their mother's head. Only the god Sugaar is associated with this creature but more often with a serpent.

A legend describes a Navarrese knight, Teodosio de Goñi, who while making penance for double parricide in the Aralar Range rescues a woman that had been given as ransom to the dragon. When the chains that tie his ankles are bitten by the dragon and he sees no way of defeating it, the knight prays to Saint Michael to save him. In Heaven, the archangel is notified, but refuses to enter the fight without God. The archangel arrives with God over his head and decapitates the dragon, liberating Teodosio from his chains and ending his penance.

This legend is associated to the monastery of San Miguel de Aralar. It has been interpreted as a way of justifying the break from the religion and customs of pagan Basques and the adoption of Christianity and, specifically, the veneration for St. Michael. Otherwise, it is very similar to other European legends of knights and dragons, which likely had a significant influence on it.^[2]