Tarasque
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The Tarasque is the dragon that, according to legend, the southern French city of Tarascon owes its name to. In the 12th century the tradition spread about the Tarasca , the monster conquered by Saint Martha (1187 discovery of Martha relics , rebuilding of the church of Sainte-Marthe consecrated in 1197 ). To this day, the taming of the dragon by the Virgin is celebrated with a procession every year at Pentecost.
Lore
Tarascon used to be a small village called Nerluc . A huge dragon with shimmering blue steel scales was up there. The dragon devoured cattle as well as wanderers and maidens. He destroyed the land and the farms of the peasants. The people of Nerluc were desperate and wanted to free themselves from the tyranny of the Tarasque , as the dragon was called. So sixteen of the bravest men marched to the banks of the river in which the Tarasque was, the Rhone , to fight it, but without success. Half of the men were burned by the dragon's ray of fire, the rest of them fled, happy to have survived the adventure .
The villagers of Nerluc decided to ask the king for help. But this one had other problems to deal with. The noble knights believed that the Tarasque would only eat stupid peasants and that all the effort was not worth it, as the dragon was not guarding any treasure and also not a maiden to be won. With this news, the ambassadors returned to Nerluc. The village seemed lost.
At the same time, a small ship docked at Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la Mer . A young woman in a white dress came ashore. It was Saint Martha. The residents of Nerluc asked the saint for help, and Martha agreed.
She protected herself with two branches that she held in front of her in the shape of a cross. So she went to the river, sat on a large stone on the bank and began to sing. The dragon loved music and singing. Charmed by Martha's tender voice, the Tarasque emerged from the river and lay down to listen to the song. Martha sang until the dragon fell asleep. Then she took a rope and tied it around the beast's neck.
The people of Nerluc were frightened to see St. Martha walking down the street with her old enemy, now tame as a puppy. But the fear turned into anger and vindictiveness. The residents of Nerluc punished the dragon for years of oppression and pelted him with stones. St. Martha wanted to stop the angry people when the Tarasque suddenly sank dead to the ground.
regional customs
As a reminder, Nerluc is now called Tarascon and every year at Whitsun the Tarasque Festival is held in the city on the Rhône. In addition, the dragon can be seen in the city's coat of arms.
In the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons you can fight the dragon-like monster "Tarrasque", which owes its name to this legend. In the American fantasy series Warrior Now , Tarasque is the opponent sent from hell.
The dinosaur genus Tarascosaurus was named after the mythical creature.
Martha with Tarasque, Chanteuges Abbey , Chapelle Sainte-Anne
Martha appeases the Tarasque.
Martha and the Dragon, Ste-Marie-Madeleine (Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume) , attributed to Andreas Abellon , around 1430
literature
- Ditte and Giovanni Bandini: The Dragon Book . DTV, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-24318-X , pp. 101-102.
