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Appendix 1 the Name Ofthe Elephant APPENDIX 1 THE NAME OFTHE ELEPHANT stat elephantus prisco nomine ... The elephant arrived with an Arabic name that Charlemagne and his courtiers chose not to change. Nor did Einhard report that name, only the Royal Frankish annalist, who, in the entry for 802, named him as Abul Abaz or, rather, some man­ uscripts of the annals do. Others furnished such Latinate confusions as "ambulabat," "abulabat," and "ambulabaz."1 These scribes seem to have had some difficulty resolving the elephant's foreign name, but then so have we. Yet the elephant's name may not be without some importance, however thin the evidence, since it is one of the very few tantalizing indications of cross-cultural contact between Europe and Islam in Charlemagne's time. The elephant traveled with its name, so that both the beast and its name were foreign cultural products adopted by the Carolingians. But what did the name mean to Harun and his court or to Charlemagne and his, and why did the Carolingians retain it? Indeed was it customary for the Carolingians to give their animals personal names? The Arabic form of the name was most likely some form of Abu al-'Abbas or Abu '1-'Abbas. Abu is a patronymic meaning "father of."Though some have specu­ lated that Abul Abaz was a name derived from the name of the Prophet's unde, the experts I consulted thought that association extremely unlikely. My colleague Derryl MacLean observed that the common Arabic patronymic Abu is frequently used "to preface the proper names of animals and to describe attributes." He went on to say that "if the name should be read as Abu al-'Abbas (or some form of these roots), and there are doubts (simply consider the Sanskrit ibha for elephant or the Arabic Abraha, the Yamani famous for marching with elephants on Mecca in the year of Muhammad's birth or, even, al-Ahbash, Ethiopians), then there are two obvious explanations. First, the term is used for this royal elephant because it was associated with the 'Abbasids as gifters. In this case, it would simply mean 'the Abbasid elephant'. Second, it could be related to a different vocalization of the same root, 'abasa which is used in variant forms three times in the Qur'an to signifY frowning. If this is the case, then the kunya Abu al-'Abbas could be ren­ dered something like 'father of frowns' or 'wrinkles' and be applied to the elephant's overall wrinkled appearance or dour demeanor." 190 APPENDIX 1 In surah 105, called "The Elephant," Muhammad recorded that God had stopped the person of the elephant who had marched on the Ka' aba in Mecca in 570. And Paul Cobb of Notre Dame went on to point out to me that the famous elephant who refused to proceed against the holy site was thought to be named Mahmud and that the twelfth-century Arabic commentator Zamakhshari in his Rabi' al-abrar wa-nusus al-akhbar noted that the patronymic of this 'first' elephant was Abu '1-'Abbas. Whether a source dating from three centuries after the time of Hariin and Charlemagne can identifY the 'Abbasid meaning of the name I leave to Islamicists to resolve. 2 If the patronymic Abu '1-'Abbas traveled with the elephant and served effectively as its surname one might wonder if the elephant also had another name. The name Abul Abaz may simply have served as a generic, Arabic name for elephant. Charlemagne's elephant was a creature of wrinkles, but he may also have been named after that famous Islamic war elephant who had devoutly obeyed God at a critical moment in history. Whether Charlemagne or his court understood any of this or read significance into it is not known, but it would be fascinating to know more. Even old names may mean and transform into something strange in a new setting. APPENDIX 2 THE COLLECTION OF BIBLICAL CITATIONS SENT TO EMPEROR LOTHAR I DURINGTHE CIVIL WAR WITH HIS BROTHERS, CA. 842-431 1. (Gen. 6:5-6) In Genesis we read that: "And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, and it repented hirn that he had made man on the earth." 2. (Dan. 12:1-4) In the 78th chapter of Daniel we read that: "But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth far the children of thy people: and a time shall come such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found writ­ ten in the book. And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always. But they that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity. But thou, 0 Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time appointed: many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold." 3. (Amos 5:12-14) In Amos [we read that]: "Because I know your manifold crimes, and your griev­ ous sins: enemies of the just, taking bribes, and oppressing the poar in the gate. Therefare the prudent shall keep silence at that time; far it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that you may live: and the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you ..." 4. (An adaptation ofJob 12:24-25) In the 78th chapter of Daniel [we read] that: "He may let go the heart of the princes of the earth and deceiveth them that they walk in vain where there is no way. They shall grope as in the dark and not in the light, and he shall make them stagger like men that are drunk." 192 APPENDIX 2 5. (Eccles. 10:16-17) "Woe to thee, 0 land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the moming! Blessed is the land whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season ..." 6. (An adaptation of 1 Thess. 2:16) Whence now the present "anger of God" comes upon us and the future anger of God will be even greater: let us say it will be greater if we do not correct ourselves. 7. (Dan. 12:1) For Scripture says: "and a time shall come," that is now, "such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time." 8. (Jer. 9:4-5) "Let every man take heed" now "of his neighbor, and let hirn not trust in any brother ofhis: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully. And a man shall mock his brother, and they will not speak the truth: for they have taught their tongue to speak lies, they have labored to commit iniquity." 9. Ger. 9:8) "with his mouth one speaketh peace with his friend, and secretly he lieth in wait for hirn." 10. (Hos.4:1-3) "there is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery, have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood. Therefore shall the land moum, and every one that dwelleth in it shall lan­ guish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of air; yea, the fishes of the sea shall also be gathered together." 11. (see 6 earlier) "And" on account of this "the anger of God will" now "come upon us." Indeed we ought to beware not to receive from men the rewards of such an age. 12. (Ps. 126:2) And in the Psalm [we read that]: "It is vain for you to rise before light, to sit up late, you that eat the bread of sorrow." 13. (Exod.20:17) Where is it that divine Scripture speaks against this? "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's things." 14. (Eccles.l0:16-17) And in Ecclesiastes [we read that]: "Woe to thee, 0 land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the moming! Blessed is the land whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season ..." 15. (Isidore, Sententiae 3.52; PL 83:5B) "For when wicked judges judge they will weigh not issues, but gifts." APPENDIX 2 193 16. (Isidore, Sententiae 3.54; PL 83:6B) "He who judges rightly but expects a gift of money perpetrates a fraud against God because by accepting money he seils justice which he ought to bestow freely." 17. (Zach. 8:19) "The all-powerful Lord teils us to love peace and truth." 18. (Wisd.1:1) Wisdom says: "Love justice, you that are judges of the earth." 19. (Is.1:17) "Learn to do weil; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed ..." 20. (1 Cor. 4:5) "Therefore judge not before the time ..." 21. (Proverbia aliqua S. Patricii, PL 53:828B)2 "Do not judge hastily... " 22. (Ecclus. 20:7) Solomon said: "A wise man shall hold his peace tiil he see the opportunity." 23. (1 Thess. 5:21) The Apostle Paul says: "Investigate all things." 24. (Isidore, Synonyma, 2.85; PL 83:864B11-12)) "First investigate and then judge." APPENDIX 3 CAROLINGIAN ROYAL LIFE SPANS The dates for the Carolingian royal family are taken from Siegfried Rösch, Caroli Magni progenies 1, Genealogie und Landesgeschichte, 30 (Neustadt an der Aisch, 1977).
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