''Asterix and the Cauldron'' is the thirteenth volume of the
Asterix
''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book book series, series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight th ...
comic book series
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, by
René Goscinny
René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...
(stories) and
Albert Uderzo
Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration with ...
(illustrations). It was first serialized in the magazine''
Pilote
Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0
''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...
'', issues 469–491, in 1968, and translated into English in 1976.
Plot summary
The story introduces Chief Whosemoralsarelastix, the chief of a neighboring
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
ish village: a
miser
A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...
who often does business with the Romans. When the Romans levy new
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
es, Whosemoralsarelastix asks the people of Asterix's village to guard a
cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
full of
sestertii
The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin.
The n ...
, ostensibly to keep the money away from the imminent visit of the Roman tax collectors. Despite Asterix keeping watch, the cauldron is stolen during the night, whereupon the strict laws of the Gauls demand that Asterix be banished until he has atoned for his negligence.
Obelix
Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...
immediately "banishes" himself to accompany Asterix, until they find money to refill the cauldron and repay Whosemoralsarelastix.
Asterix and Obelix engage in many futile attempts to earn back the money: questioning the Romans at Compendium (only to start a riot when the Romans know nothing about the theft), attacking the
pirates in the belief that they stole the money (after the pirates have converted their
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
into a restaurant), selling
boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
s (at a ridiculously low price), prize fighting (only to win worthless statuettes), acting (foiled when Obelix insults the audience and ruins the company),
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
on a
chariot race (only to lose their money on false information), and even trying to rob a bank (which is empty of money after the recent tax increases). With little else to gain or lose, they take the cauldron back to Whosemoralsarelastix's village, Asterix hoping to save the village's
honour
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
by clarifying that he alone is responsible for the loss. ''En route'' they rob a Roman tax collector of sufficient money to fill the cauldron; and Asterix catches
an onion-like scent on the coins, recalling that the cauldron had previously been used for cooking onion soup, and thus proving that these are the very coins seized from Asterix's care.
At Whosemoralsarelastix's village, on a high
cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...
at the coast, Asterix confronts Whosemoralsarelastix with the onion-smelling money, having correctly guessed that Whosemoralsarelastix stole back his own money in the hope that Asterix, to repay the supposed debt, would reimburse him. Here, Asterix and Whosemoralsarelastix
duel with their
swords (Asterix having exhausted the magic potion granting him superior strength), while Obelix repels Whosemoralsarelastix's followers. When Whosemoralsarelastix wins the duel and prepares to kill Asterix, a section of the cliff beneath his feet suddenly gives way, and the cauldron falls toward the
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
while Whosemoralsarelastix hangs above. Asterix then rescues Whosemoralsarelastix and re-unites with Obelix, with whom he returns home.
The money itself falls into the ship and possession of the pirates. At Asterix's village, a celebration is held for the return of the two heroes and the recovery of their honour.
Notes
*When Obelix suggests they get paid by telling people their adventures, Asterix rejects the idea as unlikely to raise any money. The joke is that, by this time, the series had made
Goscinny and
Uderzo
Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...
very wealthy.
*When Roman dignitaries assemble at the
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, Uderzo (in Roman costume) is shown talking to the Prefect, while Goscinny, on the right, amuses his neighbours with jokes.
*The tax collector in the book appears to be a caricature of
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
, then the French minister of finance, who later became President. Two of the actors in the theatre are named
Laurensolivius and
Alecginus.
*This is the first and only volume in which the pirates enjoy a happy ending, and the first of the few rare stories where their ship is not sunk (though they have already taken a beating earlier in this episode).
*The fight at the end of the story is one of the rare times Asterix is seen using his sword, although he always carries it with him.
*Asterix's unraveling of the plot is a reference to the Roman proverb
Pecunia non olet
is a Latin saying that means "money does not stink". The phrase is ascribed to the Roman emperor Vespasian (ruled AD 69–79).
History
A tax on the disposal of urine was first imposed by Emperor Nero under the name of in the 1st century AD. ...
("money does not stink").
*In earlier editions, the colour of the breeches of the Roman legionaries changed from white to red.
In other languages
*Arabic: ''أستريكس و القدر المعدنية''
*Catalan: ''Astèrix i el calderó''
*Croatian: ''Asterix i kotlić''
*Czech: ''Asterix a kotlík''
*Dutch: ''Asterix en de koperen ketel'' ("Asterix and the Copper Cauldron")
*Finnish: ''Asterix ja rahapata'' ("Asterix and the Cauldron of Money")
*German: ''Asterix und der Kupferkessel''
*Greek: ''Ο Αστερίξ και η χύτρα''
*Hebrew: ''אסטריקס והקלחת''
*Icelandic: ''Ástríkur og grautarpotturinn''
*Indonesian: "Asterix dan Panci Sup Bawang" ("Asterix and the Cauldron of Onion Soup")
*Italian: ''Asterix e il Paiolo''
*Norwegian: ''Asterix på skattejakt'' ("Asterix on a Treasure Hunt")
*Persian: ''Asterix va deeg-che''
*Polish: ''Asteriks i kociołek''
*Portuguese: ''Astérix e o Caldeirão''
*Serbian: ''Asteriks i ukradeno kazanče'' (''Asterix and the Stolen Cauldron'')
*Slovenian: ''Asterix in kotliček''
*Spanish: ''Astérix y el caldero''
*Swedish: ''Asterix och skatten'' ("Asterix and the Treasure" or "Asterix and the Tax", skatt meaning both ''treasure'' and ''tax'')
*Turkish: ''Asteriks ve Kazan''
Reception
On
Goodreads
Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...
, it has a score of 4.1 out of 5.
References
External links
Official English website
{{Asterix, Cauldron, Asterix and the, type=book
1969 graphic novels
Cauldron, Asterix and the
Works originally published in Pilote
Literature first published in serial form
Works by René Goscinny
Comics by Albert Uderzo