QUINOTAUR
Name: Quinotaur, Quinotaurus
Features: Sea creature with the head of a bull and five horns
Source: Frankish Mythology
Habitat: Western Europe
The Quinotaur was a large fish-like sea creature with the head of a bull. It had five horns, two of them were as the horns of a regular, land roaming bull and three of horns formed a large trident.
These large and pointed horns could very easily impale anyone or thing that would attempt to challenge this majestic monster of the sea.
This mythical beast was also not afraid of humans. It could swim at great speeds and hold its breath under water for a quite long time.
Its front hooves were as tough as that of a land bull and its lower fish-like half was as strong as the lower body of any medium sized aquatic mammal.
The Quinotaur is said to have fathered Frankish Chieftain – Meroveus. It all happened one day, during the summertime when Frankish King Chlodio and his wife were sitting by the seashore. The Quinotaur surprise attacked King Chlodio’s wife while she ventured into the sea to bathe.
She is said to have become impregnated right away which would mean that this sea dwelling mythical hybrid would have been father to the line of Merovingian Kings. Some placed doubt on whether Meroveus was the true son of Chlodio or an actual product of the Quinotaur’s beach attack.
The Quinotaurus sea monster is somewhat like the hybrid creatures from Greek Mythology known as the Hippocamp – mythical fish-tailed horses that occupied the sea and answered to Poseidon. Large land mammal top halves with powerful fish-like lower halves.
Another more widely known creature which also has the head of a bull is the mythical hybrid known as the Minotaur – half bull & half man. Though from Greek Mythology, the Minotaur is yet another mythical hybrid creature born of the unnatural union between a beast and a human.
It is very interesting that in history, a people’s quest to legitimize the right to rule and their military success was attempted by including the possible union of a sea beast with a great ancestor’s wife.
The idea of such a hybrid mythical beast is fascinating and several artworks have been created to allow visualization of what if may have looked like. We found more images than any history or facts written about this mystic sea monster.
The most elaborated fact concerning this magnificent mythical creature is that of it’s union with Frankish King Chodio’s wife and its possible involvement in the creation of the Merovingian dynasty.
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