Hircocervus
Encyclopedia
The hircocervus or tragelaph , also known as a goat-stag or horse-stag, was a legendary creature imagined to be half-goat
, half-stag
. Plato
utilized the idea of a fabulous goat-stag to express the philosophical concept of something that is knowable even though it does not really exist.
The word hircocervus first appears in the English language
in a medieval manuscript dating from 1398 (now at the Bodleian Library
).
A hircocervus is depicted in a wall-painting called The Trusty Servant, painted by John Hoskins
in 1579. dating from the 1580s. It hangs outside the kitchen of Winchester College
in Hampshire
, England
. The author Arthur Cleveland Coxe
described the painting as such: "I must not omit to mention the time-honoured Hircocervus, or picture of the 'trusty servant,' which hangs near the kitchen, and which emblematically sets forth those virtues in domestics, of which we Americans know nothing. It is a figure, part man, part porker, part deer, and part donkey; with a padlock on his mouth, and various other symbols in his hands and about his person, the whole signifying a most valuable character."
The painting had a didactic function: it is accompanied by allegorical verses that associate the hircocervus servant's various animal parts with distinctive virtues that the college's students were meant to follow.
The Latin
verses have been translated into English as:
Umberto Eco
refers to a hircocervus in his novel The Island of the Day Before
.
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
, half-stag
STAG
STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party...
. Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
utilized the idea of a fabulous goat-stag to express the philosophical concept of something that is knowable even though it does not really exist.
The word hircocervus first appears in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in a medieval manuscript dating from 1398 (now at the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
).
A hircocervus is depicted in a wall-painting called The Trusty Servant, painted by John Hoskins
John Hoskins (poet)
Serjeant John Hoskins was an English poet, scholar of Greek, and politician.-Life:He was the son of John and Margery Hoskins born in Mownton-upon-Wye, Llanwarne, Herefordshire. His father, impressed by his memory and mental abilities, arranged for him to be taught Greek at the age of ten. He...
in 1579. dating from the 1580s. It hangs outside the kitchen of Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The author Arthur Cleveland Coxe
Arthur Cleveland Coxe
Arthur Cleveland Coxe DD LLD was the second Episcopal bishop of New York. He used Cleveland as his given name and is often referred to as A. Cleveland Coxe.-Biography:...
described the painting as such: "I must not omit to mention the time-honoured Hircocervus, or picture of the 'trusty servant,' which hangs near the kitchen, and which emblematically sets forth those virtues in domestics, of which we Americans know nothing. It is a figure, part man, part porker, part deer, and part donkey; with a padlock on his mouth, and various other symbols in his hands and about his person, the whole signifying a most valuable character."
The painting had a didactic function: it is accompanied by allegorical verses that associate the hircocervus servant's various animal parts with distinctive virtues that the college's students were meant to follow.
The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
verses have been translated into English as:
A trusty servant's picture would you see,
This figure well survey, who'ever you be.
The porker's snout not nice in diet shows;
The padlock shut, no secret he'll disclose;
Patient, to angry lords the ass gives ear;
Swiftness on errand, the stag's feet declare;
Laden his left hand, apt to labour saith;
The coat his neatness; the open hand his faith;
Girt with his sword, his shield upon his arm,
Himself and master he'll protect from harm.
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
refers to a hircocervus in his novel The Island of the Day Before
The Island of the Day Before
The Island of the Day Before is a 1994 novel by Umberto Eco.It is the story of a 17th century Italian nobleman who is the only survivor of a shipwreck during a fierce storm. He finds himself washed up on an abandoned ship in a harbour through which, he convinces himself, runs the International...
.