Asterix and the Banquet

Asterix and the Banquet

Original French title	Le Tour de Gaule d'Astérix
Story	René Goscinny
Illustrations	Albert Uderzo
French edition	1965
English translation	1979
Preceded by	Asterix the Gladiator
Followed by	Asterix and Cleopatra

Asterix and the Banquet is the fifth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in the magazine Pilote, issues 172-213, in 1963.

Plot

The arrival of a Roman official in the camp of Compendium prompts another attack on the village from the Romans, but the attack is easily repelled. The prelate attempts a new strategy by erecting a wall around the village to keep them contained and prevent them spreading their rebellious ideas to the rest of Gaul, but Asterix makes a bet with the prelate that he and Obelix will get out of the village and go on a tour of Gaul, collecting the various specialities of the towns they visit and inviting him to a banquet at the conclusion. Despite repeated Roman attempts at interference, Asterix and Obelix complete their journey with the aid of their fellow Gauls, the locals helping them by distracting the Romans long enough for them to move on to the next town. At the end Asterix shows the food to the Official, then says they forgot the speciality of this village. He shows the special cut of the village to the Prefect, 'The uppercut,' which knocks him out.

List of items

• Lutetia (Paris): ham
• Camaracum (Cambrai): humbugs (in the English translation; in the original a similar sweet called "Bêtises de Cambrai")
• Durocortorum (Reims): Champagne (not named as such)
• Lugdunum (Lyons) sausages and quenelles
• Nicæ (Nice): Niçoise salad (named "Nicæoise" salad)
• Massilia (Marseilles) fish stew (i.e. bouillabaisse)
• Tolosa (Toulouse): sausages
• Aginum (Agen): prunes
• Burdigala (Bordeaux): oysters and white wine

References

• The idea of the story (and its French title) was inspired by the famous Tour de France bicycle race. The sack carried by Obelix reflects the race leader's jersey colour (yellow — with a patch for the number).
• The Latin phrase "Exegi monumentum aere perennius" is uttered by a legionnaire during the construction of a wall (page 7). This is a reference to the same quote made by the Roman poet Horace. Translated, it means: "I have erected a monument more lasting than bronze."
• Fun is poked at various French regional stereotypes:
  • The inhabitants of Normandy are shown as being unable to give a direct answer and smothering their food in creamy sauce.
  • The traffic jams in Paris (Lutetia in the comic strip) are spoofed.
  • The phrase: "Je vous promets qu'on n'a pas fini d'en parler de l'affaire du courrier de Lugdunum !" is a reference to the trial "le courrier de Lyon", where an innocent one was sentenced for the murder of postmen and the theft of their mail in 1796.
  • The inhabitants of Lutetia (Paris) are shown going to Nicæ (Nice) for their summer holiday. (Obelix refers to Nicae as the "Gaulish Riviera".) Like modern Parisian travelers, the visitors from Lutetia cause huge traffic jams with their carts on the road into Nicæ, and huge crowds on the beach.
  • The inhabitants of Massilia (Marseille) are hot-blooded and shown to exaggerate enormously.
• The idea of using pebbles to find one's way back is a reference to Hansel and Gretel or the French fairy tale Hop o' My Thumb. However a 'helpful' Roman Soldier picks up the pebbles for the Roman Official, trapping him in the maze also.
• The scenes in the tavern in Massilia on page 36 are references to the films Marius (1931), Fanny (1932) and César (1936) by Marcel Pagnol, which all take place in Marseille. The characters are caricatures of the actors in the film, including Raimu. (http://www.mage.fst.uha.fr/asterix/allusion/pagnol.html). The card game scene is a reference to "Marius" and the pétanque scène to "Fanny". (http://www.asterix.com/encyclopedia/characters/cesar-drinklikafix.html)
• After Asterix and Obelix sink the pirates ship, an elderly pirate quotes Lucan in The Pharsalia: "Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa catoni." ("The victorious cause was pleasing to the gods, but the lost cause was pleasing to Cato.")

Notes

• On the cover of the album, the sack is coloured incorrectly (green with a yellow patch).
• In the original French version, the camp centurion in this story (Gracchus Nenjetépus) is the same as that of the previous volume, Asterix the Gladiator — the only time a centurion appears in more than one album. However, in all major translations, he is given a different name in this volume (in the English version, he is named Gracchus Armisurplus in Asterix the Gladiator, and Lotuseatus in this album).
• Dogmatix is introduced in this book. He is first seen outside the pork butcher's shop in Lutetia. He follows Asterix and Obelix (who do not notice him during the entire journey) all across Gaul back to their village. Obelix notices him before the victory feast because he barks for the very first time and is rewarded with a bone.
• Dogmatix was originally supposed to be a literally running gag in this story alone. However, the authors decided that he should stay in the series as a mascot, violating Goscinny's original no-pets rule.
• In the first version, the tour was supposed to go the other way around.
• In another initial version, other towns were considered but eliminated for lack of space:
  • Cæsarodunum (Tours): rillettes
  • Vesunna (Périgueux): foie gras
  • Bæterræ (Béziers): wine
  • Arelate (Arles): sausage
  • Cabello (Cavaillon): melons
  • Cularo (Grenoble): walnuts (in French, "Grenoble nuts")
  • Genabum (Orléans): aromatic vinegar
  • Suindinum (Le Mans): chicken.
• This marks the introduction of the running gag of Obelix vehemently protesting the implication that he is fat; while he had referred to himself as 'medium' in size in Asterix and the Goths, in Asterix the Gladiator Asterix informed him that he was too fat to pose as a lion to infiltrate the Circus and Obelix merely commented that he wished he had known that, while here he shows evident anger at anyone who calls him fat or even indirectly refers to him as 'the fat man', claiming that he is 'just not skinny'.