Tarvos Trigaranus

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The relief of Tarvos Trigaranus on the Pillar of the Boatmen.

In ancient Gaul, Tarvos Trigaranus was a bull god. An alternative spelling is Taruos Trigaranos since the Latin script did not distinguish U and V. The words are Gaulish: Tarvos means 'bull' (Delmarre 2003 pp.291-292) - similar to 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' (the bird), similar to Welsh, Old Cornish and Breton garan. In the 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 troops), Trinox (three nights, in 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 cranes 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).

[edit] 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 0-486-43656-X