Tarvos Trigaranos
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In Gaul, Tarvos Trigaranos was a bull god. An alternative spelling is Taruos Trigaranus since Latin script does not distinguish U and V. The words are Gaulish: Tarvos means a bull (Delmarre 2003 pp.291-292) - similar words in Old Irish tarb, a bull, Welsh tarw, a bull, and in other Indo-European languages such as Latin taurus or Lithuanian taŭras. Garanus means crane, similar to Welsh, Old Cornish and Breton garan. In Germanic languages this became *krana(n) from which is derived the English word "crane" (Delmarre 2003 p. 175). Tri- or Treis is the number three, as seen in Tricorii (the three troups), Trinox (three nights, on the Gaulish calendar of Coligny) (Delmarre 2003 pp.301-302).
The representation of Tarvos Trigaranos on the Pillar of the Boatmen shows the bull with three craness perched on his back, standing under a tree. On an adjacent panel, Esus is shown cutting down a tree (possibly a willow) with an axe (Green 1992 pp. 93-94). A similar representation, this time with no inscription, is found on a pillar from Trier where a man with an axe cuts down a tree in which are sitting three birds and a bull's head (MacCulloch 1996 pp.157-158).
It is possible that staues of a bull with three horns, such as the one from Autun (Bourgogne, France) are related to this deity (Green 1992 pp. 93-94).
References
- Delmare, Xavier (2003) Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (2nd ed.) Paris: Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6
- Green, Miranda J. (1992) Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27975-6
- MacCulloch, John A. (1996) Celtic Mythology. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publications. ISBN 0-4864-3656-X
External Links
- http://www.monde.de/tarvos.html The three-horned bull
- http://www.chronarchy.com/mjournal/patrons/aboutesus.html Discussion of Tarvos Trigaranus and Esus, with photos