Tervagant

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tervagant (also: Termagant ) was the name of an alleged Muslim deity in medieval European literature .

Origins

In medieval European literature, Muslims were depicted as pagans who worshiped Mohammed (" Mahomet "). In addition, they were said to worship various idols , from Apollyon to Lucifer , with Tervagant being usually named as the main deity. In English literature, the term termagant was more common.

The origin of the name Tervagant is unknown, but it does not appear to derive from actual (or misunderstood) Muslim beliefs. Walter W. Skeat speculated in the 19th century that the name was originally "Trivagante", meaning "triple wandering", an allusion to the use of the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The moon appears in three forms during its migration: in heaven, on earth (contact with the horizon) and in the underworld (after setting). An Old English origin has also been suggested, derived from tyr magan , "mighty Tyr ", which should refer to the Germanic god . Another possibility would be a confusion of Islam with the Zoroastrianism of the Persian lean by the European authors: tyr-magian ("Magical God").

Tervagant in literature

Tervagant established itself in medieval Europe as the name of the main Muslim deity and was often mentioned in courtly novels and the old French verse (e.g. Chanson de geste ). In " Guy of Warwick ", a Middle English novel from the 15th century, this oath of a sultan can be found:

So help me, Mahoune, of might,
And Termagant, my god so bright.

In Wolframs von Eschenbach's Willehalm, too, the Muslims worship not only their god Mohammed but also Tervagant before the battle against the Christian army takes place.

Mahmet and Tervagant
were written thickly,
ê daz came dirre strît.

In the song of Roland, after the defeat in the battle of Roncesvalles, the Muslims desecrate their “pagan idols”, which had not brought them any war luck (lines 2589-2590, translation by Max Wetter, Delfinverlag 1949):

E Tervagan tolent sun escarbuncle, / E Mahumet enz en un fosset butent,
[They] cut Tervagants carbuncle stone into pieces / And throw Mahomet into dark tombs

Tervagant eventually became the type in a number of medieval mystery plays . On the stage, Tervagant was mostly portrayed as a villain with a turban and long, oriental cloak, who ordered the lesser villains around.

"Termagant" as a quarrelsome woman

Due to its theatrical tradition, the term referred to a tyrannical person in William Shakespeare's lifetime, and is used in this meaning in Henry VI. and Hamlet mentioned.

Because of the portrayal in the long cape and the fact that in Shakespeare's time female roles were also played by men, the English audience got the impression that Termagant was a female figure, or at least resembled a very male woman. Therefore, Termagant became a term for quarrelsome women in the English language, but it can also be used for men. The Australian politician Kim Beazley described a male colleague as a termagant.

Other word meanings

  • HMS Termagant was a common name for ships in the British Royal Navy .
  • In the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop , termagants are dinosaur or insect-like creatures.
  • In the board game Chitin: 1 The Harvest Wars by Metagaming Concepts, termagants are a type of ground unit
  • In the book The Dragon Masters by Jack Vance Termagants are man-sized dragon.
  • In the book Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving Dame Van Winkle as "termagant wife" is called.

Web links

Sources and individual references

  1. ^ Wolfram von Eschenbach: Willehalm . Ed .: Joachim Heinzle. German classic publishing house, Frankfurt a. M. 2009, ISBN 978-3-618-68039-0 , pp. 28 (11: 16-18) .
  2. ↑ Stephanie Peatling Obama offers hope for the art of speechmaking , January 21, 2008
  • Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable , " Termagant "
  • Mohja Kahf, 1999. Western Representations of the Muslim Woman: From Termagant to Odalisque (Austin: University of Texas Press)