A Medieval Devotional, St. Martha, and Dungeons & Dragons Most Fierce Monster

Cover of Haggerty Book of Hours

On display in the Rare Book Room in The Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an untitled 559 year old book.  This beautifully preserved piece of medieval Christian history is an example of the middle ages most popular literary trend.  These medieval devotionals known as The Book of Hours were all the rage during the 14th and 15th centuries.  Hand crafted by monks using ink, tempera, and gold leaf on parchment, these small prayer books were produced all across Europe to be used by aristocrats and clergy alike. Each book of hours had between one and four Bible stories, Psalms, prayers, inspirational parables, or saintly tales that were daily reminders of the patronage of God and the rewards of devotion. The Haggerty Museum, Book of Hours, is one such treasure. Created in 1460 by an unknown author in Tarascon, France, this illuminated manuscript features a picture of St. Martha with a monstrous beast and the legend that made it famous. 

Picture of St. Martha with Tarasque

The tale told in this book begins with the story of Martha of Bethany.  Following the events of the Gospels of Luke and John in which her brother, Lazarus, is resurrected from the dead by Jesus of Nazarath, Martha leaves Judea to spread the news of this miracle.  According to the legend, Martha finds herself in southern France in the land between Arles and Avignon. There she is warned about a hideous creature from Galicia. This monster called the Tarasque is a dragon with the head of a lion, the body of a turtle, the tail of a serpent, and has been terrorizing all the nearby villages. The beast is so powerful that no knight or catapult can slay it.  Knowing that God is by her side, Martha set off to find the beast with a cross in hand. Once she finds the Tarasque, she is able to lull it into a sense of calm by singing hymns and praying aloud. She then put her sash around the beast’s neck taming it enough to walk beside her into the village square. It is there that the men are able to slay the beast with no resistance. Martha then preaches a sermon converting many of the local people and the town is named Tarascon after the ferocious monster. 

This story is widely disregarded by religious scholars but has become a folk legend in southern France.  Despite its relative obscurity, the tale of the Tarasque lives on. This beast has gained popularity and infamy within the pop culture sphere as a monster heavily featured in Dungeons and Dragons. Like its counterpart in the legend, the Tarasque is nearly impossible to slay and likely the end of any knight who encounters it in D&D.  Despite having become one of the most recognizable creatures in tabletop gaming, the legend behind this beast and the 15th Century devotional that holds its story is widely unknown.

Statue of Tarasque in Tarascion

Creatures, Dragons and Fantasy. “ST. MARTHA & the TARASQUE.” ST. MARTHA & the 

TARASQUE, 1 Jan. 1970, http://folklorestore.blogspot.com/2011/09/st-martha-tarasque.html.

Tory. “Book of Hours.” WDL RSS, Library of Congress, 1 Jan. 1970, 

https://www.wdl.org/en/item/354/.