Tarvos Trigaranus or Taruos TrigaranosThe Latin alphabet did not distinguish between U and V. is a divine figure who appears on a relief panel of the Pillar of the Boatmen as a bull with three cranes perched on his back. He stands under a tree, and on an adjacent panel, the god Esus is chopping down a tree, possibly a willow, with an axe.Green 1992 pp. 93-94.
In the Gaulish language, taruos means "bull,"Delmarre 2003 pp.291-292. found in Old Irish as tarb (/tarβ/), in Modern Irish/Gaelic as tarbh and in Welsh as tarw (compare "bull" in other Indo-European languages such as Latin taurus from Greek "ταύρος" or Lithuanian taŭras). Garanus is the crane (garan in Welsh, Old Cornish and Breton; see also geranos, the ritual "crane dance" of ancient Greece).The English word "crane" derives from the Germanic *krana(n); Delmarre 2003 p. 175). Treis, or tri- in compound words, is the number three (cf. Irish trí, Welsh tri).Compare Tricorii ("the three troops"), and Trinox ("three nights") in the Gaulish calendar of Coligny; Delmarre 2003 pp.301-302.
A pillar from Trier shows a man with an axe cutting down a tree in which sit three birds and a bull's head. The juxtaposition of images has been compared to the Tarvos Trigaranus and Esus panels on the Boatmen monument.MacCulloch 1996 pp.157-158. It is possible that statues of a bull with three horns, such as the one from Autun (Burgundy, France, anciently Augustodunum) are related to this deity.Green 1992 pp. 93-94.
The Saturnian moon Tarvos is named after Tarvos Trigaranus, following a convention of naming members of its moon group after Gallic mythological figures.
See also Celtic mythology Triple deities Twrch Trwyth
Notes
References Delmare, Xavier (2003) Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (2nd ed.) Paris: Editions Errance. Green, Miranda J. (1992) Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. London: Thames & Hudson. MacCulloch, John A. (1996) Celtic Mythology. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publications.
External links
The three-horned bull Discussion of Tarvos Trigaranus and Esus, with photos Dutch language site telling the story about the battle between Esus and Tarvos Trigaranus