The meeting continued looking at how giants connect to the natural world and feature in the landscape in British folklore.
The Role of the Giants in Folklore:-
1/. So far in the topic the giants we have looked at have been relatively benign and involved in engineering type projects, providing an explanation for the landscape and large buildings or structures.
We recapped Wade’s Causeway, North Yorkshire:- constructed by Wade and his wife Bel.
Churches at Putney & Fulham, London, were built by two giantess sisters who only had one hammer so threw it across the river which according to vulgar tradition was the source of the place names, they called out instructions to each other ‘put it nigh’ and heave it ‘full home’ when they wanted the hammer.
The Wrekin, Shropshire:-
(a) created by two quarrelling giants
(b) created by a Welsh giant who intended to destroy Shrewsbury but was outsmarted by a cobbler who met him on his way to do the deed. The cobbler had with him a large number of worn out shoes in need of repair and told the giant he had worn them out walking from Shrewsbury and it was too far for the giant to get to. The Wrekin is the large shovelful of earth the giant was carrying to dump on Shrewsbury and left behind when he abandoned his trip. There a lot of tales of cobblers and tailors outsmarting giants.
2/. Some tales of giants have origins in real people and the tales grew over time, they were larger than life characters
Llowes, Powys:- the castle at Hay-on-Wye was built by a giantess called Moll Walbee. Matilda/Maud de St Valery:- the real life counterpart of Moll Walbee; married to William de Braose who built Colwyn Castle and Painscastle in the time of King John. She was a very shrewd woman who successfully defended Painscastle against the Welsh. She features in Welsh folktales as a giantess and her husband a giant.
Piers Shonks:- in real life the Lord of the Manors of Brent Pelham & Barkway in Hertfordshire; according to folktales (a) he was a giant (b) he killed a dragon.
Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke:- possibly the real life counterpart of Jack o’Legs , a giant who was said to live at Weston, Hertfordshire.
3/. Some giants were not so well respected or benign
St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall:- a giant stole the people’s cattle, sheep & hogs, the giant would wade across the causeway and seize them and tie them round his waist.
Portreath & Godrevy Point, Cornwall:- a giant called Wrath captured and ate fisherman and sank ships. He lived in the sea.
Blackgang Chine, Isle of Wight:- a giant named Chale captured, roasted children over a charcoal fire and ate them. This continued until both he and the Chine were cursed by a holy man. There is no giant there now but it remains a forbidding place.
Nether Stowey & Stogursey, Somerset:- giants who lived under a huge mound of earth terrorised the local people, grabbed cows and the like and then developed a taste for human flesh. They were eventually overcome but people were always wary of the area, a dangerous place to be around. It is suggested that these sort of tales were harking back to creation mythology; chaos and destruction being overcome.
3/. Heroes and Giants
These tales go all the way back to Babylonian myths, Odysseus and the cyclops etc. It can be traced into folktales but on a more modest scale.
Jack:- killed the giant who lived on St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall by digging a pit, a stone was put over the hole. The giant stood on the stone and fell into the pit. There are a lot of stories of Jack the giant killer.
Sir Bevis of Hamtoun (Southampton):- according to a C13th romance killed a dragon and fought a giant. He spared the giant’s life and accepted him as his servant. In some accounts, Sir Bevis was a giant himself. This tale includes a horse called Arundel, which may have originally been Hirondelle which was a popular name for heroes horses.
Tom Hickathrift:- an enormous man who killed the giant who lived on the Smeeth at Tilney, Norfolk. There is an enormous stone in the church yard reputed to be his grave. He was dull and lazy at school, grew to a great height, he was 6ft tall when he was 10 years old and ate five normal children’s food. When he grew up, he took a job in a local brewery transporting barrels of beer. There was a giant in Smeeth who robbed and killed all who trespassed on the area. Tom had to take a long detour to avoid him. Being lazy he decided to take the direct route, ended up fighting and killing the giant. The giant had lots of gold and silver so Tom was rich for the rest of his life. This tale may have had its origins in the rights to land disputes.
Sir Guy of Warwick:- according to a C13th French romance, in Saxon times Sir Guy fought a giant called Colbrand who was the champion of a Danish force encamped at Winchester. Guy killed the giant and saved the people from the Danish threat. He went to the Holy Land and was so affected by his experience when he returned home he lived as a hermit and begged for food from his wife who did not recognise him. She died not long after he did and they were buried in the same grave.
Next Session. We shall complete the topic of giants and then move on to the Devil in Folktales
Last Updated on July 11, 2021