Cacofonix

Brief History

Cacofonix is the bard in the village inhabited by Asterix. He is a talented musician and also serves as a teacher to the village’s children. He is relatively well-liked by the villagers and sought out for music intervals. However his downfall is his own belief in his great singing voice. His singing talents are actually very poor. His attempts to sing are always met with disdain by his fellow villagers who at first simply sought excuses for a hasty exit. Later it became a running gag for them to tie up Cacofonix in order to prevent him from singing. He is usually excluded from their victory feasts, forced to witness the revelry of the others while tied to a tree. In addition Fulliautomatix, the village blacksmith, has taken to physically knocking him out or threatening him to keep Cacofonix silent.

The effects of his voice were soon exaggerated to causing terror to anyone in the vicinity but his fellow villagers. Roman soldiers and civilians, Viking raiders and forest animals have all fled in panic rather than continue listening to his singing. Later his voice gained another effect, it causes rain and thunderstorms. He has been sought out from territories in India suffering from drought and managed to bring them rain. The Gauls suspect it is a result of his voice annoying the Gods. Justforkix, a Gaul from Lutetia, actually enjoys Cacofonix’s singing and has suggested it would be a success with his crowd back home. Since Justforkix is a parody of a young rocker, this suggests Cacofonix’s singing might be a precursor to rock musix.

Cacofonix is one of the few Gauls who refuses to drink the magic potion which grants Gauls superstrength. He complains of it negatively affecting his singing voice. As such, he rarely takes part in battle. He has done so however when he is suitably enraged or his personal honour is at stake.