Moldavian Folklore: Balaur

A balaur is a creature in Moldavian andRomanian folklore, similar to a European dragon. This creature is quite large, has fins, feet, and it usually has three, sometimes seven, or even twelve serpent heads. As a traditional character which is found in most Romanian fairy tales, it represents Evil and must be defeated by Făt-Frumos in order to release the princess. It is also believed, in some Wallachian tales that the saliva of a balaur can form precious stones.

The term Balaur (Macedo-Romanian bul’ar) is of unknown etymology. It has been linked with Albanian boljë (“snake”) buljar (“water snake”), the traces of which can also be found in the name of the Greek mythological hero Bellerophon (“the beast killer”). The Transylvanian Saxon balaur “dragon”, and balaura, an insult term in Serbia, are borrowed from Romanian.