Black Saladin
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Warwick's famous horse, which was coal-black. Its sire was Malech, and according to tradition, when the race of Malech failed, the race of Warwick would fail also. And it was so.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Black Saladin” mean?
Warwick's famous horse, which was coal-black. Its sire was Malech, and according to tradition, when the race of Malech failed, the race of Warwick would fail also. And it was so.
Is “Black Saladin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.