Arabic in the text... or not!

In the first two stories – mentioned above – its presence is largely anecdotal. In fact, Hergé uses it sparingly to punctuate his story – here and there – and make it more authentic. It's not uncommon, therefore, to come across arabesque writing at the turn of a phylactery or a decorative element.

In Land of Black Gold, on the other hand, Arabic plays a more prominent role, not only as the title on the cover, but also at the heart of the story when, on illustration plate 37, the Emir hands Tintin the letter in which kidnappers claim responsibility for his son's abduction. Obviously, the young man can't help but be puzzled by this document, for two reasons...

Firstly, because he has no command of the language. Not even rudimentary knowledge. And secondly, even if he had some, he wouldn't have been able to decipher what was written anyway, because the calligraphic text here is pure fantasy. Graphic gibberish created by Hergé himself!

In 1971, at the request of Methuen, the English publisher, the adventure underwent radical changes to bring it more in line with current events. The result was a partially redrawn version.

Hergé took the opportunity to ask a calligrapher to compose the texts in literary Arabic, so that they finally meant what they were supposed to in the story. Thanks to this, the missive addressed to the Emir became much more "understandable"... but only for the initiated!