The Tarasque is a creature from French mythology, described as a beast with a lion’s head, a turtle-like carapace, bear claws, and a serpent tail. This legend arose in Provence, France in the early 12th century. The most influential legend comes from the Legenda aurea, along with St. Martha.

The monster allegedly inhabited the forested banks of the Rhône, around the town of Tarascon. It lurked in the river, attacking men and sinking boats. The creature was said to have come from what is now Turkey.

People sought Saint Martha (described in the Gospels of Luke and John) for help. She found the creature devouring a man. By sprinkling holy water and holding up a cross, she caused the creature to become submissive and obedient. She tied her girdle to its neck and led the beast to the villagers to speared it until it died.

So what inspired this strange creature?

Glyptodon is an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos that lived around 3.2 million years ago until around 11,000 years ago. Fossils of Glyptodon have been recorded from as early as 1814 and were originally thought to be giant ground sloths.

Glyptodon were large, quadrupedal armadillos with armored carapaces made of hundreds of osteoderms. Other pieces of armor covered the tail and skull. These animals reached up to 2 m long and weighed 400 kg.

These animals lived in dense forests and open grasslands in the southern United States and South America. They most likely went extinct due to climate change as well as predation by humans.

It is likely that this story was inspired by a creature similar to Glyptodon found along the banks of the Rhône. The villagers did not recognize the fossil for what it was and sent people to fight the beast. The villagers destroyed the bones, defeating the beast.

Sources:

AMNH (Ed.). (2016, February 22). Glyptodonts: Armadillo ancestors: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History. https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/study-finds-relationship-between-glyptodonts-modern-armadillos

Medium. (2022, November 27). The myth of tarasque. Medium. https://medium.com/@mythoftarasque/the-myth-of-tarasque-dce4a8c55e0a

Simpson, J. (2013). Tarasque. The Folklore Society. https://folklore-society.com/resources/tarasque/