Tarasque

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Photo of a fibreglass model of the Tarasque, taken in Tarascon during the June celebrations.
This article is about the legendary creature. For other uses, see tarasque (disambiguation).

The Tarasque is a fearsome legendary dragon-like mythological hybrid from Provence, in southern France, tamed in a story about Saint Martha.

Legend[edit]

St. Martha and tarasque
St. Martha and the tarasque. Illumination from a 15c. manuscript.
St. Martha and tarasque
Painting of St. Martha and the Tarasque, attributed to André Abellon, in the Basilica of Mary Magdalene at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

The legend of the Tarasque is reported in several sources, but especially in the story of St. Martha in the Golden Legend. In Provence, France, the creature inhabited the forested banks of the Rhône between Arles and Avignon, around what is now the town Tarascon (then called Nerluc or 'black place'), but lurked in the river and attacked the men trying to cross it, sinking boats. The creature was described a dragon, half animal, half fish, thicker than an ox, longer than an horse, with "sword-like teeth as sharp as horns".[1]

The Tarasque was said to have come from Galatia, a cross-breed between the biblical Leviathan and the legendary Onachus of Galatia, a creature that retaliated against pursuers by flinging its dung like an arrow, causing burns.[1][a] The people besought Saint Martha for help, and she found the creature in the act of devouring a man.[b] Merely by sprinkling holy water and holding up the cross, she caused the creature to become submissive and obedient. She then tied her girdle to it (like a leash[c]), leading the beast to the villagers who cast rocks and spears at it until it died.[1]

Other legends report it as living on the modern site of the Chateau Tarascon; i.e. on a rock in the midst of the Rhône.[citation needed] The description and legend of this creature is curiously similar to other dragons of French folklore such as Gargouille and Peluda.

Cultural impact[edit]

Medieval depictions[edit]

Carving of tarasque
A carving of a tarasque devouring a man, Montmajour Abbey near Arles.[5]
Another carving of tarasque on a 14c. column capital
A carved column capital in the cloister of the Church of St. Trophime in Arles, 14th century, depicting the Tarasque.[6][7]

In late medieval manuscripts the monster is often depicted devouring people, which is also the case in the coat of arms of Tarascon.[8] The heraldic device has been described as featuring "below [the castle with crenellated towers argent] a dragon of sinople devouring a man and coverd with scales of gold".[9]

An example is a carving found in the architecture of Montmajour Abbey near Arles.[5] Another is carved in the capital column of the Church of St. Trophime (Église Métropolitaine de Saint-Trophime) in Arles, dating to the mid-14th century,[10] though earlier commentators, such as Faillon who published detailed drawings of the capital in the 19th century, thought it an example of early Gothic art from the 11th century.[6]

At the old church of St. Martha the sculpture of the tarasque bore a human-like head, in the act of still eating a human.[2]

Elsewhere, the Tarasque was depicted as a creature with lion's head, and a turtle shell body six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with , and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting.[citation needed]

Festivities[edit]

Tarasque sculputre near King René's castle in Tarascon
The Tarasque, near King René's castle in Tarascon
Tarasque illustration in pen and ink, 16th century book by Pierre Sala
Tarasque. From Pierre Sala [fr]'s Antiquités de Lyon (16c.).[11]

The Tarasque is featured on the coat of arms of the city of Tarascon. A festival is held every year there on the last Sunday of June to tell the tale of the Tarasque, as well as Tartarin, the main character of Alphonse Daudet's Tartarin de Tarascon.

The festival around the tarasque started in April 14, 1474 at the behest of René of Anjou, in order to amuse his citizens with a reenactment of St. Martha's miracle.[12]

It took place on the second Sunday after Pentecost, and was meant to exorcise the evil that caused the flooding of the Camargue, for which the Tarasque was blamed, for breaking dykes and dams.[13] In the festival, a huge effigy of the Tarasque is carried through the streets, to traditional cries of:

"Lagadigadèu, la Tarasco, la Tarasco
Lagadigadèu, la Tarasco dóu castèu
Leissas-la passa la vièio masco,
Leissas-la passa que vai dansa."

While these festivals previously varied according to river conditions, happening in 1846, 1861, 1891 and 1946, they have since become a yearly event and tourist attraction, usually on July 29, the day of Saint Martha.

On 25 November 2005 the UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[14]

In Spain[edit]

Tarasque at a Corpus Christi procession in Valencia

The Tarasque is one of the statues of the Corpus Christi procession of many Spanish cities, including Valencia,[15] and Granada.

Related trivia[edit]

A legendary marine creature reported to live in Vietnam's Halong Bay was also called "Tarasque" by the French who ruled the area at the time.[16]

The Tarrasque is a legendary creature in Dungeons & Dragons that has persisted through many different iterations and versions.[citation needed]

Epynomous objects[edit]

See also[edit]

Explanatory notes[edit]

  1. ^ Onachus was similar to the Bonnacon.
  2. ^ Medieval sculptures and paintings depict the creature still gorging on a man.[2]
  3. ^ Tied the cord to the neck, according to a version purported to be by Raban Maur,[3] by falsely attribution.[4]

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^ a b c Stace, Christopher, ed. (1998). The Golden Legend: Selections. Penguin. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9780140446487.
  2. ^ a b Watson (1901), p. 238.
  3. ^ Watson (1901), p. 235.
  4. ^ Dumont (1951), p. 149.
  5. ^ a b Watson (1901), p. 234.
  6. ^ a b Faillon (1859), pp. 631–632.
  7. ^ Dumont (1951), p. 184.
  8. ^ Eschavannes, Jouffroy d' (1848). Armorial universel, précédé d'un traité complet de la science du blason et suivi d'un supplément (in French). 2. Paris: L. Curmer. p. 398.
  9. ^ Cali, François (1965). Land of Enchantment. Rand McNally. p. 109.
  10. ^ Dumont (1951), p. 184: "date du milieu du XIVe siècle".
  11. ^ Sala, Pierre (1501–1600). Antiquités de Lyon, etc.
  12. ^ Ingersoll (2005), pp. 171–172 (orig. pub. Ingersoll (1928), and illustrated edition appearing as Ingersoll (1995)
  13. ^ Les Fêtes de la Tarasque à Tarascon Archived 2012-06-04 at Archive.today
  14. ^ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Culture
  15. ^ JDiezarnal.com
  16. ^ "Ha Long Bay." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 February 2007 Ha Long Bay
Bibliography

Faillon

External links[edit]

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