- Tarasque
The Tarasque or Tarrasque is a fearsome legendary
monster tamed in a story about SaintMartha .Legend
Legend has it that the creature inhabited the area of Nerluc in
Provence , and devastated the landscape far and wide. The Tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like abear 's, anox -like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scalytail that ended in ascorpion 's sting. It had alion 's head.The Tarasque was said to have come from
Galatia which was the home of the legendary Onachus, a scaly, bison-like beast which burned everything it touched. Some speculate that the story of the Onachus may be related to either that of theUnicorn or the Phoenix. The Tarasque was the offspring of the Onachus and theLeviathan of biblical account; basically—though disputably—a giant sea serpent.The king of Nerluc had attacked the Tarasque with
knight s andcatapult s to no avail. ButSaint Martha found the beast and charmed it with hymns and prayers, and led back the tamed Tarasque to the city. The people, terrified by the monster, attacked it when it drew nigh. The monster offered no resistance and died there. Martha then preached to the people and converted many of them toChristianity . Sorry for what they had done to the tamed monster, the newly-Christianized townspeople changed the town's name toTarascon .The story of the Tarasque is also very similar to the story of
Beauty and the Beast andKing Kong . The monster is beguiled and weakened by a woman and then killed when brought back to civilization. A similar idea is found in the myths ofEnkidu and theunicorn : both are calmed by sending them a woman.Cultural impact
The Tarasque is featured on the coat of arms of the city of
Tarascon .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. ["Ha Long Bay." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 Feb. 2007A festival is held every year on the last Sunday of June to remember the tarasque and Tartarin, the main character of
Alphonse Daudet 's "Tartarin de Tarascon ".The name Tarasque has been used by the French military as the common name for a towed 20 mm
anti-aircraft gun.On 25 November 2005 the
UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list ofMasterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . [ [http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/05eur_uk.htm United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Culture ] ]The Tarasque is one of the statues of the Corpus Christi
procession of many Spanish cities (Valencia [http://www.jdiezarnal.com/valenciafiestacorpuslatarasca01.jpg] ,Granada ...)The Tarrasque (spelled with two "r"s) is listed among the creatures in
Wizards of the Coast 's (formerlyTSR Hobbies )Dungeons & Dragons 1983Monster Manual II (aka 3rd Edition Monstrous Manual). [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eo/20051109a]The Tarasque is
Monster in My Pocket #57.Torrasque is a hero Zerg unit in the video game
Starcraft References
*
Karl Shuker (1995). "Dragons: A Natural History." Simon & Schuster, New York.Notes
External links
* [http://www.fairrosa.info/dragon/tarasque.html Webpage about the Tarasque]
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