Panurge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Panurge is one of the principal characters in the Pantagruel (especially the third and fourth books) of Rabelais, an exceedingly crafty knave, a libertine, and a coward.

At some point, he shows he can speak many languages (German, Italian, Scottish, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Latin and French), including some of the first examples of a constructed language.

In French, he appears in the set phrase mouton de Panurge, after a story in which he buys a sheep from the merchant Dindenault and then, for revenge, makes the sheep jump off a cliff. The rest of the sheep in the herd stupidly jump after it in spite of the shepherd.

[edit] Other uses

• Panurge is also the title of an opera by Jules Massenet.
• Panurge is the name of a Canadian pop band.
• The Advent of Panurge is a song by Gentle Giant.

[edit] References

• Project Gutenberg: This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence/provence-tourism/sheep-herds.htm

http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence/provence-tourism/sheep-herds.htm