This article is about the French word. For the municipality in Prince Edward Island, see Crapaud, Prince Edward Island.
Vignette de Les Cygnes sauvages par Bertall représentant la princesse Élisa et les trois crapauds. (Thumbnail of The Wild Swans by Bertall representing the Princess Eliza and three toads.)
The word crapaud ultimately is rooted from Frankish*krappō, *krappa, meaning "hook", likely in reference to the toad's hooked feet.
Heraldry
Crapaud is sometimes used as an incorrect reference to the Fleur-de-lys on the ancient heraldic flag of the kings of France. The three fleurs-de-lys were sometimes misinterpreted as "three toads erect, saltant", instead of "three lily flowers".[1]
Jean Crapaud, also Johnny Crappeau or Johnny Crappo, as defined by Webster's Online Dictionary, "is a jocose name given to a Frenchman. It is intended as a national personification of the French people as a whole in much the same sense as John Bull is to the English. It is sometimes used as a literary device to refer to a typical Frenchman, usually in the form of Monsieur Jean Crapaud."[3] The usage of the word "crapaud" in this case is similar to the derogative use of the word "frog", referencing the supposed French affinity for frog legs as a delicacy.
Jersey Crapaud
The name Crapaud is used in the Channel Islands to describe a person from Jersey, the name meaning toad in the local Patois languages, including Jèrriais and Guernésiais. Toads live in Jersey but not on the other islands.[4]
Gallery
La Femme aux crapauds par Paul Berthon
The "tempter" (he holds the forbidden fruit; hidden in his back are toads and reptiles, symbolising corruption) and the foolish virgins (their lamps are overturned, symbolising their emptiness; they hold the scrolls of the law closed, thus remaining ignorant of the Lord's will). A mediaeval interpretation of the Parable of the Ten Virgins from the Gospel of Matthew25:1–13.
Cartoon showing France in the guise of Johnny Crappeau
References
^Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (2001). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Wordsworth Editions. pp. 438–439. ISBN1840223103. Fleur-de-lis, -lys, or -luce (Fr. lily-flower), which is the name of several varieties of iris, and also of the heractic lily, which is here shown and which was borne as a charge on the old French royal coat-of-arms. In the reign of Louis VII (1137–80) the national standard was thickly charged with flowers. In 1365 the number was reduced by Charles VI to three (the mystical church number). Guillim, in his Display of Heraldrie, 1611, says the device is "Three toads erect, saltant".
