Termagant
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Termagant, in European fantasy, was the fictional name given to a supposed deity worshipped by Muslims.
Through ignorance or wilful disregard of Muslim monotheism for the sake of propaganda, European literature from the Middle Ages often referred to Muslims as "pagans", or by synonymous expressions such as the paynim foe. These false and deliberately offensive depictions represent Muslims worshipping the Prophet Muhammad as a god, and depict them worshipping various deities from Apollo to Lucifer.
The name "Termagant" was an original creation of European folklore. The name came from Old French Tervagan or Italian Trivigante, the original form of the names. As such, Termagant became a stock character in a number of medieval mystery plays, metrical romances. and chansons de geste.
In the English romance Syr Guy, a Sultan swears an oath:
- So helpe me, Mahoune, of might,
- And Termagaunt, my God so bright.
In the Chanson de Roland, the Muslims, having lost the battle of Roncesvalles, desecrate their "pagan idols":
- They strip the fire-red gem off Termagant
- And throw Mohammed down into a ditch. . . .
In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in Chaucer the character's parody tale of Sir Thopas, a giant knight named "Sir Oliphaunt" is made to swear an oath by Termagant. Shakespeare's Henry IV contains a reference to "that hot termagant Scot"; in Shakespeare's day a termagant could still be a male character.
On the stage, Termagant was usually depicted as a turbanned creature who wore a long, Eastern style gown; from this depiction, English audiences got the mistaken notion that the character was female. Termagant would rant at and threaten the villains who were his servants and worshippers. As a result, the name termagant came to be applied to a shrewish woman who was a common scold, and thus the name usually applies today to a noisily aggressive woman.
"Herod" was also a character from mediaeval drama that was famous for ranting, hence the disparaging referral to him and to Termagant in Hamlet's dramatic directions to the Player-King.
Virago and shrew are also pejorative names for noisily angry and verbally abusive women.
External links
- Termagant (http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000329): The Mavens' Word of the Day
Reference
- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, "Termagant (http://www.bartleby.com/81/16352.html)"