By Rory McNelley, Education and Enrichment Coordinator

Last week, Xavier University celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the selection of our Musketeer mascot, D’Artagnan.

 In a post to Xavier’s Instagram account, the university shared that, “Xavier introduced the Musketeer as our mascot because their motto, ‘All For One and One For All,’ perfectly matched our students’ spirit and character.” 

Alexandre Dumas, author of the original “Three Musketeers,” released in 1844, used historical sources to base the characters off of real French Musketeers from the 17^th century. One source was the 1700s novel “Memories de M. D’Artagnan” by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras, a fictional biography of Gascon solider Charles de Batz de Castelmore D’Artagnan. 

D’Artagnan is also the main protagonist of Disney’s 1993 film “The Three Musketeers” which boosted the story’s popularity to mainstream media. His character is described as noble, brave and ambitious. Originally not one of the Three Musketeers, the story follows his friendship which led to his becoming their fourth. 

“As D’Art I get to represent the university in such a fun way. I get to embody the energy of our university and be goofy while doing it,” senior D’Artagnan mascot Jakob Moon said.

“The fans make it worth it. I get to see young people and old people get so excited to see a familiar face in D’Art. You don’t realize how important Xavier is to the community until you go out for an event and everyone comes up and asks for a picture and throws up the X,” Moon added.

The mascot appears alongside The Blob at most Xavier athletic events, important campus wide events and stands outside the Cintas Center as a popular photo op. 

“The community loves D’Art, and I’m so blessed to be a part of the Xavier community in a special way,” Moon said. 

Xavier students aren’t the only ones who love D’Art. He and The Blue Blob were selected as the No. 1 mascot of the March Madness tournament last year by Sports Illustrated Magazine. Their win meant they overtook Akron’s Zippy who previously held the No. 1 spot. Sports Illustrated cited the unique combination of the traditional D’Artagnan and the popular, child friendly Blue Blob as the reason for the win. 

Sophomore Philosophy, Politics, and the Public (PPP) and international studies double major Lilly Jarc is a big fan of the traditional mascot. 

“I appreciate how D’Art reflects the values of our school. Not only is he a fun mascot to have at the games, but he also reminds us of our All For One and One For All promise. Xavier is a tight knit community, and he is the perfect example of that,” she said. 

The phrase originated in the 1844 novel as a statement of encouragement for the French Musketeers during battle. The Three Musketeers who eventually became four with the edition of D’Art were loyal to each other and their cause just as Xavier students strive to be. 

“We need to appreciate the genius that D’Art really is. He is the perfect mascot the compliment the fun and playful Blue Blob. Together they reflect the fun and support Xavier offers students,” Jarc said.