Rocinante: Difference between revisions
Dr. Johnny (talk | contribs) m →Etymology: The world "Quijote" was used in the article. It's just another spelling of "Quixote", but I changed it to "Quixote" because that is what it is traditionally spelled as in English. |
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The name is a complex pun. In [[Spanish Language|Spanish]], ''[[wiktionary:ante|ante]]'' has several meanings and can function as a standalone word as well as a suffix. One meaning is "before" or "previously |
The name is a complex pun. In [[Spanish Language|Spanish]], ''[[wiktionary:ante|ante]]'' has several meanings and can function as a standalone word as well as a suffix. One meaning is "before" or "previously". Another is "in front of". As a suffix, ''-ante'' in Spanish is adverbial; ''rocinante'' refers to functioning as, or being, a ''rocín''. "Rocinante", then, follows Cervantes' pattern using ambiguous, multivalent words, which is common throughout the novel.{{fact}} |
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Rocinante's name, then, signifies his change in status from the "old nag" of before to the "foremost" steed.<ref name=mancing /> As Cervantes describes Don Quixote's choice of name: ''nombre a su parecer alto, sonoro y significativo de lo que había sido cuando fue '''rocín, antes''' de lo que ahora era, que era antes y primero de todos los rocines del mundo''<ref>de Cervantes, Miguel. ''Don Quijote'', Editorial del Valle de México, 1st edition, p. 3, 1981.</ref>—"a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world".<ref name="ormsby">{{cite book |author=Ormsby, John |url=http://cervantes.tamu.edu/english/ctxt/DQ_Ormsby/part1_DQ_Ormsby.html |title=Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes |chapter=Chapter 1 |accessdate=2011-02-18}}</ref> |
Rocinante's name, then, signifies his change in status from the "old nag" of before to the "foremost" steed.<ref name=mancing /> As Cervantes describes Don Quixote's choice of name: ''nombre a su parecer alto, sonoro y significativo de lo que había sido cuando fue '''rocín, antes''' de lo que ahora era, que era antes y primero de todos los rocines del mundo''<ref>de Cervantes, Miguel. ''Don Quijote'', Editorial del Valle de México, 1st edition, p. 3, 1981.</ref>—"a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world".<ref name="ormsby">{{cite book |author=Ormsby, John |url=http://cervantes.tamu.edu/english/ctxt/DQ_Ormsby/part1_DQ_Ormsby.html |title=Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes |chapter=Chapter 1 |accessdate=2011-02-18}}</ref> |
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In chapter 1, Cervantes describes Don Quixote's careful naming of his steed: |
In chapter 1, Cervantes describes Don Quixote's careful naming of his steed: |
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<blockquote>Four days were spent in thinking what name to give him, because (as he said to himself) it was not right that a horse belonging to a knight so famous, and one with such merits of his own, should be without some distinctive name, and he strove to adapt it so as to indicate what he had been before belonging to a knight-errant, and what he then was.<ref name="ormsby" /></blockquote> |
<blockquote>"Four days were spent in thinking what name to give him, because (as he said to himself) it was not right that a horse belonging to a knight so famous, and one with such merits of his own, should be without some distinctive name, and he strove to adapt it so as to indicate what he had been before belonging to a knight-errant, and what he then was."<ref name="ormsby" /></blockquote> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 15:39, 31 October 2017
Rocinante (Spanish pronunciation: [roθiˈnante]) is Don Quixote's horse in the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In many ways, Rocinante is not only Don Quixote's horse, but also his double: like Don Quixote, he is awkward, past his prime, and engaged in a task beyond his capacities.[1][2]
Etymology
[Rocín] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) in Spanish means a work horse or low-quality horse, but can also mean an illiterate or rough man. There are similar words in French (roussin; rosse), Portuguese (rocim), and Italian (ronzino). The etymology is uncertain.
| Rocinante | |
|---|---|
| Don Quixote character | |
_10f.jpg) Rocinante. Detail of the Cervantes monument in Madrid (L. Coullaut, 1930) | |
| Created by | Miguel de Cervantes |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Horse |
| Gender | Male |
The name is a complex pun. In Spanish, ante has several meanings and can function as a standalone word as well as a suffix. One meaning is "before" or "previously". Another is "in front of". As a suffix, -ante in Spanish is adverbial; rocinante refers to functioning as, or being, a rocín. "Rocinante", then, follows Cervantes' pattern using ambiguous, multivalent words, which is common throughout the novel.[citation needed]
Rocinante's name, then, signifies his change in status from the "old nag" of before to the "foremost" steed.[1] As Cervantes describes Don Quixote's choice of name: nombre a su parecer alto, sonoro y significativo de lo que había sido cuando fue rocín, antes de lo que ahora era, que era antes y primero de todos los rocines del mundo[3]—"a name, to his thinking, lofty, sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became what he now was, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the world".[4]
In chapter 1, Cervantes describes Don Quixote's careful naming of his steed:
"Four days were spent in thinking what name to give him, because (as he said to himself) it was not right that a horse belonging to a knight so famous, and one with such merits of his own, should be without some distinctive name, and he strove to adapt it so as to indicate what he had been before belonging to a knight-errant, and what he then was."[4]
References
- ^ a b Mancing, Howard (2004). "Rocinante". The Cervantes Encyclopedia: L–Z. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 618.
- ^ Cull, John T. (1990). "The 'Knight of the Broken Lance' and his 'Trusty Steed': On Don Quixote and Rocinante". Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America. 10 (2): 37–53.
- ^ de Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quijote, Editorial del Valle de México, 1st edition, p. 3, 1981.
- ^ a b Ormsby, John. "Chapter 1". Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Retrieved 2011-02-18.