The Names of the Malebranche
The demons of Inferno 21 and 22: their Italian names, where the names come from, and how three translators render them.
| Italian* | Origin of Name | Esolen Translation | Durling Translation | Palma Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malacoda (76) | Evil Tail | Eviltail | Evil Tail | Wickedtail |
| Scarmiglione (105) | >scarmigliare, “to ruffle someone’s hair” | Crumplehead | Tangle Head | Tangletop |
| Alichino (118) | >Hellequin, the leader of a troop of demons | Harlequin | Harlequin | Droopwing |
| Calcabrina (118) | >calcare, “to trample,” + brina, “frost” | Tramplefrost | Trample Frost | Tramplefrost |
| Cagnazzo (119) | Grotesque intensification of cane, “dog” | Larddog | Evil Dog | Baddog |
| Barbariccia (120) | Curlybeard (direct translation) | Curlybeard | Curly Beard | Spikebeard |
| Libicocco (121) | Libeccio, “southwest wind or Libya (legendary habitation of demons; albicocca, “female genitalia” → “fool, rash person” | Stormbreath | Love Notch | Lusthoney |
| Draghignazzo (121) | Grotesque intensification of drago, “dragon” | Dragonsnout | Little Big Dragon | Dragonsnout |
| Ciriatto (122) | >Greek κάπρος, “boar” | Swinetooth | Big Pig | Pigface |
| Graffiacane (122) | Scratch-Dog (direct translation) | Dogscratcher | Scratching Dog | Scratchbitch |
| Farfarello (123) | >folletto?, “sprite, goblin” | Goblin | Butterfly | Littlehoof |
| Rubicante (123) | >Latin ruber, “red” | Redfroth | Ruby Face | Rubicant |
*Longfellow, Mandelbaum, Hollander, Pinsky and others have chosen to simply use the Italian names in their translations.