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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 6722820" data-attributes="member: 221">Your definition of an old book and mine are pretty different. Jack and the Beanstalk is from the early 19th century, and Dracula is 1897. The account of David and Goliath is from about 1000 BC and significantly predates old Jack. Vampires, as we know them, are a fairly recent development, from the 18th and 19th centuries (though tales of blood-drinkers are much older than that). To your actual question, Dragons are endemic to just about every continent and ancient culture, in one form or another. For stories well known to the English speaking world, I would point you to  Beowulf (c. 8th to 11th century AD), the story of Sigurd (c. 10th - 11th century AD), and the story of St. George (3rd century AD). The Leviathan of the Book of Job might well qualify as a dragonish creature (c. 1500 BC or earlier) and John used the dragon symbolically of the devil c. AD 95 in the Book of Revelation. Many more could be added, but those are the ones just off the top of my head.   Goblins, in their present form, are of a more recent origin. Goblins were evil and malicious fey, unseelie if you will, as shown in Christina Rossetti's 19th century poem Goblin Market. George Macdonald with his 1872 Princess and the Goblin likely helped cement their shape and nature somewhat and of course then you have Tolkien's Lord of the Rings tying them in with orcs. Contrarily, hobgoblins originally referred in the main to kindly fey, as the "hob" moniker implied a more affectionate tone. Brownies, for instance, were a type of Hob. Though the Puritans also used Hobgoblin of evil fey. Shakespeare calls Puck a hobgoblin in Midsummer's Night Dream.</blockquote>

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