TANNfiAUSER 



5698 



TANTALUS 



a surrounding district (140 square miles in all) 

 have been constituted, an international district 

 (see MOROCCO). Population, estimated to be 

 from 35,000 to 46,000. There are about 6,000 

 Christians and as many Jews. The latter con- 

 trol most of the trade. 



TANNHAUSER, tahn'hoizer, the hero of a 

 German folk tale of the Middle Ages, a knight 

 who was lured into the Venusberg, a hill in 

 the Thuringian Forest, where Venus held her 

 court. Under her spell, so runs the story, he 

 remained given up to lustful pleasures till 

 roused by the voice of the Virgin Mary. He 

 then sought absolution from Pope Urban IV 

 at Rome, but was told that the wand in the 

 Pope's hand would sooner bud and bring forth 

 leaves than that he should receive pardon; and 

 so he returned, hopeless, to the Venusberg. 

 After he had disappeared the Pope found that 

 his wand had sprouted, but though he sought 

 in all lands, the young knight could never be 

 found. 



This legend is the basis of Wagner's opera, 

 Tannhduser. In this version the knight, after 

 he has escaped from the Venusberg, is saved 

 from being put to death for singing unholy 

 songs by the intercession of Elizabeth, who 

 loves him. She herself dies of grief when he 

 is refused absolution. Saved from reentering 

 the Venusberg by hearing Elizabeth's name, 

 Tannhauser returns, only to meet her funeral 

 cortege. Thereupon he throws himself upon 

 her bier and dies, but the blossoming of his 

 pilgrim's staff indicates that he has received 

 forgiveness. 



The opera has many beautiful melodies, 

 among the best known of which are the stately 

 Pilgrims' Chorus and Address to the Evening 

 Star. The latter, created for the leading tenor 

 role, is one of the most exquisite songs ever 

 composed. Tannhduser was first produced at 

 Dresden in 1845. It has always been one of the 

 most popular in the Wagnerian series. 



Consult Baring-Gould's Curious Myths of the 

 Middle Ages. 



TANNIN, tan' in, or TANNIC ACID, tan'ik 

 as 'id, a general name for several vegetable 

 compounds, especially those from oak, hem- 

 lock, sumac and valonia, which are used in 

 tanning hides. They occur naturally in tea and 

 coffee and in galls on plants produced by the 

 larvae of insects (see GALLS). The tannin of 

 commerce is an almost colorless, odorless pow- 

 der, soluble in water, with a bitter, puckery 

 taste. With iron salts it gives a blue-black 

 coloration, the basis of many inks. It is a 



mordant in calico printing, and a medicine for 

 eruptions, hemorrhage and diarrhoea. 



TANNING, tan' ing, the process of making 

 from the skins of animals the useful substance 

 known as leather. The name is taken from that 

 of the principal substance used in the process- 

 tannin a vegetable compound obtained from 

 the bark of the oak, hemlock and other trees. 

 Raw hides, soaked in tannin solutions, undergo 

 a complete transformation, for the solution 

 brings about certain chemical changes in the 

 skins that render them soft and pliable. (For 

 details of the process, see the article LEATHER.) 



Chrome tanning is the name of a more recent 

 process involving the use of chromium com- 

 pounds. Its advantage lies in the fact that by 

 this method but a few hours, instead of weeks 

 or months, are required to convert the skin 

 into leather. About two-thirds of the glazed 

 kid used by American manufacturers is chrome 

 tanned, but the operation is not successful in 

 the case of sole leather. Chrome-tanned leather 

 is extremely resistant to water, so much so that 

 it cannot be dyed after it has once dried. 



Consult references at the end of the article 

 LEATHER. 



TANSY, tan' ' zi, an herb of the composite 

 family, whose leaves and flowers have a bitter 

 taste and a powerful aromatic odor. At one time 

 young tansy leaves were used by the house- 

 wife as a flavoring for omelets, pastry and other 

 foods, but this custom is no longer common. 

 Oil of tansy, yielded by the leaves, is poison- 

 ous, but is used in medicines to a limited ex- 

 tent. The plant grows commonly along road- 

 sides, and is also cultivated in gardens. It bears 

 dark green, featherlike leaves, and flat-topped, 

 yellow flowers, which appear at the top of the 

 stem. Tansy is a native of Europe, and was 

 introduced into North America probably as a 

 medicinal plant. Herb doctors formerly pre- 

 scribed tansy tea for colds. The yarrow is 

 sometimes wrongly called tansy. 



TAN ' TALUS , in mythology, a Grecian king 

 who was said to be the son of Jupiter and the 

 father of Pelops and Niobe. According to the 

 legend he killed his son Pelops and served him 

 as a dish to the gods, who in punishment con- 

 demned Tantalus to terrible sufferings in Hades. 

 Plagued by an unquenchable thirst, he was 

 made to stand immersed to the chin in water, 

 which always receded when he tried to drink; 

 and gnawed by never-ceasing hunger, he saw 

 hanging above him fruit-laden branches which 

 always swung away when he tried to reach them. 

 From this legend the word tantalize is derived. 



