medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
"I can understand the context in which he uses this quotation but I am wondering about the origin of the connection between a donkey (or onager) and an anchorite. Has anyone come across this elsewhere or suggest any explanation for a donkey signifying an anchorite?"
Chevalier and Gheerbrant's _Dictionnaire des symboles_ has this to say:
"The reason for this is, probably, that the horn of the onager signifies [désigne] a horn that cannot be attacked by any poisoned/poisonous water [eau vénéneuse]."
My first reaction was "Huh??" But then I realized the play on words:
"o" = "eau" and "agre" = "âcre." The "n" negates the "âcre." So: water not acrid = onagre. This, of course, works as a "jeu de mots" only in French. And why just the horn? Why not the whole animal? And what effect would poison have on a horn? Am I missing something? Now, don't ask me why pure water signifies or points out an anchorite. Someone else will either have a response or land all over C&G's explanation.
MG
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