Saint Germain l'Auxerrois statue |
At the time
of this mission, there lived in Powys a wicked and tyrannical king, named
Benlli; - Benlli Gawr, the giant, he was more frequently called. The saint found himself one evening at the
gate of this giant’s city, and sent a mild and respectful message to him,
hoping to carry on his good work where it was so greatly needed. But the churl sent word back, that if he
stayed at the gate a twelvemonth, he should not enter the city. The saint was distressed at this, for it was
becoming dark, and he knew not where to get a night’s lodging; when the keeper
of the gate, who had been the unwilling bearer of his lord’s reply, courteously
invited him to his own humble abode; and thither St. Germain joyfully
went. Next day he took his place at the
gate again, hoping for admission. Whilst
occupied in prayer, a man covered with sweat hastily came out, and prostrated
himself before the saint. ‘Dost thou
believe in the Holy Trinity?’ asks St. Germain.
‘I do,’ replied the man.
Whereupon the saint baptized him, and told him that within an hour he
should die; and so it happened; for Benlli above all things abominated want of
punctuality in the men he employed, and this man coming to his work after
sun-rising, was straightway beheaded.
No entrance
could the saint gain; so at night he bade his host call all his friends out of
the wicked city; and when he had so done, he told them to watch and pray, and
whatever might happen to the tyrant’s stronghold, by no means even to look
towards it. Thus they did, and early in
the night fire Gold Cape, found 1833, Bryn yr Ellyllon, around 1900-1600BC |
Our next tale
comes from the folklore of Shropshire and concerns the Giant of Wales, who bore
a grudge against the Mayor and people of Shrewsbury and sought to drown them
all.
The Wrekin Giant - artist unknown |
Once upon a
time there was a wicked old giant in Wales who, for some reason or other, had a
very great spite against the Mayor of Shrewsbury and all his people, and he
made up his mind to dam up the Severn, and by that means cause such a flood
that the town would be drowned.
So off he
set, carrying a spadeful of earth, and tramped along mile after mile trying to
find the way to Shrewsbury. And how he
missed it I cannot tell, but he must have gone wrong somewhere, for at last he
got close to Wellington, and by that time he was puffing and blowing under his
heavy load, and wishing he was at the end of his journey. By-and-by there came a cobbler along the road
with a sack of old boots and shoes on his back, for he lived at Wellington, and
went once a fortnight to Shrewsbury to collect his customers old boots and
shoes, and take them home with him to mend.
And the giant called out to him. ‘I
say,’ he said, ‘how far is it to Shrewsbury?’
‘Shrewsbury,’ said the cobbler, ‘what do you want at Shrewsbury?’ ‘Why,’ said the giant, ‘to fill up the Severn
with this lump of earth I’ve got here. I’ve
an old grudge against the Mayor and the folks at Shrewsbury, and now I mean to
drown The Wrekin, Telford |
The Slender Man - artist unknown |
Of gigantic
ghosts there are many examples which are very grotesque indeed. Such an apparition which met Edward Frank, a
young man who lived in the parish of Llantarnam. As he was coming home one night he heard
something walking towards him, but at first could see nothing. Suddenly his way was barred by a tall dismal
object which stood in the path before him.
It was the ghost of a marvellous thin man, whose head was so high above
the observer’s line of vision that he nearly fell over backward in his efforts
to gaze at it. His knees knocked
together and his heart sank. With great
difficulty he gasped forth, ‘In the name of God what is here? Turn out of my way or I will strike thee!’ The giant ghost then disappeared, and the
frightened Edward, seeing a cow not far off, went towards her to lean on her,
which the cow stood still and permitted him to do. The naiveté of this conclusion is convincing.
Another
folktale tells of a giant black man who terrified Anne Jenkins, the daughter of
the Reverend Mr. Herbert Jenkins.
Anne, the
daughter of Mr. Herbert Jenkins, a young woman, well disposed to what is good,
gave me the following relation:-
That as she
was going one evening to milk the Cows by Rhiw-neweth to seek them, she saw
something like a black man, standing by a holly-tree. She had a Bitch with her which saw it also,
and ran towards him to bark at him, upon which it stretched out its black
tongue, and the Bitch was frightened and ran back to the young woman turning
about her feet for fear; upon which the young woman was so terrified that she
could scarcely speak: she found the Cows and brought them back to their own
field, from whence they had strayed. And
passing by the holly-tree back again, feared to look at it, lest she should see
the same sight again; but being past it, saw it again, very big in the middle
and narrow at both ends, going before, treading very heavily, so that the
ground seemed to tremble under it. It
went towards a spring in that field which is under it. It went towards a spring in that field which
is under Rhiw-newith, called Ffynnon yr Yspryd – (the Fountain of the Spirit);
because of an Apparition formerly seen by it.
About which it fetched a turn, and went over the stile from that field
into the Rhiw-newith, the common way so called, and there he whistled so
exceedingly strong, that the narrow Valley echoed it back, and then departed;
she then felt herself well.
The
Mabinogion is ‘full of black men, usually giants, always terrible to encounter.’ One of these appears in ‘Peredur the Son of
Evrawc’.
Peredur Illustration by Alan Lee |
Arthur was
in Caerllion upon Usk; and he went to hunt, and Peredur went with him. And Peredur let loose his dog upon a hart,
and the dog killed the hart in a desert place.
And a short space from him he saw signs of a dwelling, and towards the
dwelling he went, and he beheld a hall, and at the door of the hall he found
bald swarthy youths playing at chess.
And when he entered, he beheld three maidens sitting on a bench, and
they were all clothed alike, as became persons of high rank. And he came, and sat by them upon the bench;
and one of the maidens looked steadfastly upon Peredur, and wept. And Peredur asked her wherefore she was
weeping. ‘Through grief, that I should
see so fair a youth as thou art, slain.’
‘Who will slay me?’ inquired Peredur.
‘If thou art so daring as to remain here tonight, I will tell thee.’ ‘How great soever my danger may be from
remaining here, I will listen unto thee.’
‘This Palace is owned by him who is my father,’ said the maiden, ‘and he
slays everyone who comes hither without his leave.’ ‘What sort of man is thy father, that he is
able to slay everyone thus?’ ‘A man who
does violence and wrong unto his neighbours, and who renders justice unto none.’ And hereupon he saw the youths arise and
clear the chessmen from the board. And
he heard a great tumult; and after the tumult there came in a huge black
one-eyed man, and the maidens arose to meet him. And they disarrayed him, and he went and sat
down; and after he had rested and pondered awhile, he looked
at Peredur, and
asked who the knight was. ‘Lord,’ said
one of the maidens, ‘he is the fairest and gentlest youth that ever thou didst
see. And for the sake of Heaven, and of
thine own dignity, have patience with him.’
‘For thy sake I will have patience, and I will grant him his life this
night.’ Then Peredur came towards them
to the fire, and partook of food and liquor, and entered into discourse with
the ladies. And being elated with the
liquor, he said to the black man, ‘It is a marvel to me, so mighty as thou
sayest thou art, who could have put out thine eye.’ ‘It is one of my habits,’ said the black man,
‘that whosoever puts me to question which thou hast asked, shall not escape
with his life, either as a free gift or for a price.’ ‘Lord,’ said the maiden, ‘whatsoever he may
say to thee in jest, and through the excitement of liquor, make good that which
thou saidst and didst promise me just now.’
‘I will do so, gladly, for thy sake,’ said he. ‘Willingly will I grant him his life this
night.’ And that night thus they
remained.
And the next
day the black man got up, and put on his armour, and said to Peredur,
"Arise, man, and suffer death." And Peredur said unto him, "Do
one of two things, black man; if thou wilt fight with me, either throw off thy
own armour, or give arms to me, that I may encounter thee." "Ha,
man," said he, "couldst thou fight, if thou hadst arms? Take, then,
what arms thou dost choose." And thereupon the maiden came to Peredur with
such arms as pleased him; and he fought with the black man, and forced him to
crave his mercy. "Black man, thou shalt have mercy, provided thou tell me
who thou Peredur Illustration by Alan Lee |
Peredur Illustration by Alan Lee |
The last
giant black man of the Mabinogion I want to cover here appears in ‘The Lady of
the Fountain’ in a tale related by Kai to some of the Knights of the Round
Table.
Then Arthur
spoke, "If I thought you would not disparage me," said he, "I
would sleep while I wait for my repast; and you can entertain one another with
relating tales, and can obtain a flagon of mead and some meat from Kai."
And the King went to sleep. And Kynon the son of Clydno asked Kai for that
which Arthur had promised them. "I, too, will have the good tale which he
promised to me," said Kai. "Nay," answered Kynon, "fairer will
it be for thee to fulfill Arthur's behest, in the first place, and then we will
tell thee the best tale that we know." So Kai went to the kitchen and to
the mead-cellar, and returned bearing a flagon of mead and a golden goblet, and
a handful of skewers, upon which were broiled collops of meat. Then they ate
the collops and began to drink the mead. "Now," said Kai, "it is
time for you to give me my story." "Kynon," said Owain, "do
thou pay to Kai the tale that is his due." "Truly," said Kynon,
"thou are older, and art a better teller of tales, and hast seen more
marvellous things than I; do thou therefore pay Kai his tale." "Begin
thyself," quoth Owain, "with the best that thou knowest."
"I will do so," answered Kynon.
The Lady of the Fountain Illustration by Alan Lee |
"And a little way from them I saw a man in the prime of life, with his beard newly shorn, clad in a robe and a mantle of yellow satin; and round the top of his mantle was a band of gold lace. On his feet were shoes of variegated leather, fastened by two bosses of gold. When I saw him, I went towards him and saluted him, and such was his courtesy that he no sooner received my greeting than he returned it. And he went with me towards the Castle. Now there were no dwellers in the Castle except those who were in one hall. And there I saw four-and-twenty damsels, embroidering satin at a window. And this I tell thee, Kai, that the least fair of them was fairer than the fairest maid thou hast ever beheld in the Island of Britain, and the least lovely of them was more lovely than Gwenhwyvar, the wife of Arthur, when she has appeared loveliest at the Offering, on the day of the Nativity, or at the feast of Easter. They rose up at my coming, and six of them took my horse, and divested me of my armour; and six others took my arms, and washed them in a vessel until they were perfectly bright. And the third six spread cloths upon the tables and prepared meat. And the fourth six took off my soiled garments, and placed others upon me; namely, an under-vest and a doublet of fine linen, and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin with a broad gold band upon the mantle. And they placed cushions both beneath and around me, with coverings of red linen; and I sat down. Now the six maidens who had taken my horse, unharnessed him, as well as if they had been the best squires in the Island of Britain. Then, behold, they brought bowls of silver wherein was water to wash, and towels of linen, some green and some white; and I washed. And in a little while the man sat down to the table. And I sat next to him, and below me sat all the maidens, except those who waited on us. And the table was of silver, and the cloths upon the table were of linen; and no vessel was served upon the table that was not either of gold or of silver, or of buffalo-horn. And our meat was brought to us. And verily, Kai, I saw there every sort of meat and every sort of liquor that I have ever seen elsewhere; but the meat and the liquor were better served there than I have ever seen them in any other place.
"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of the damsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived that it would be more agreeable to me to converse than to eat any more, he began to inquire of me who I was. I said I was glad to find that there was some one who would discourse with me, and that it was not considered so great a crime at that Court for people to hold converse together. 'Chieftain,' said the man, 'we would have talked to thee sooner, but we feared to disturb thee during thy repast; now, however, we will discourse.' Then I told the man who I was, and what was the cause of my journey; and said that I was seeking whether any one was superior to me, or whether I could gain the mastery over all. The man looked upon me, and he smiled and said, 'If I did not fear to distress thee too much, I would show thee that which thou seekest.' Upon this I became anxious and sorrowful, and when the man perceived it, he said, 'If thou wouldest rather that I should show thee thy disadvantage than thine advantage, I will do so. Sleep here to-night, and in the morning arise early, and take the road upwards through the valley until thou reachest the wood through which thou camest hither. A little way within the wood thou wilt meet with a road branching off to the right, by which thou must proceed, until thou comest to a large sheltered glade with a mound in the centre. And thou wilt see a black man of great stature on the top of the mound. He is not smaller in size than two of the men of this world. He has but one foot; and one eye in the middle of his forehead. And he has a club of iron, and it is certain that there are no two men in the world who would not find their burden in that club. And he is not a comely man, but on the contrary he is exceedingly ill-favoured; and he is the woodward of that wood. And thou wilt see a thousand wild animals grazing around him. Inquire of him the way out of the glade, and he will reply to thee briefly, and will point out the road by which thou shalt find that which thou art in quest of.'
"And long seemed that night to me. And the next morning I arose and equipped myself, and mounted my horse, and proceeded straight through the valley to the wood; and I followed the cross-road which the man had pointed out to me, till at length I arrived at the glade. And there was I three times more astonished at the number of wild animals that I beheld, than the man had said I should be. And the black man was there, sitting upon the top of the mound. Huge of stature as the man had told me that he was, I found him to exceed by far the description he had given me of him. As for the iron club which the man had told me was a burden for two men, I am certain, Kai, that it would be a heavy weight for four warriors to lift; and this was in the black man's hand. And he only spoke to me in answer to my questions. Then I asked him what power he held over those animals. 'I will show thee, little man,' said he. And he took his club in his hand, and with it he struck a stag a great blow so that he brayed vehemently, and at his braying the animals came together, as numerous as the stars in the sky, so that it was difficult for me to find room in the glade to stand among them. There were serpents, and dragons, and divers sorts of animals. And he looked at them, and bade them go and feed; and they bowed their heads, and did him homage as vassals to their lord.
The Lady of the Fountain Illustration by Alan Lee |
"So I journeyed on, until I reached the summit of the steep, and there I found everything as the black man had described it to me. And I went up to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and by its side the marble slab, and the silver bowl fastened by the chain. Then I took the bowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the slab; and thereupon, behold, the thunder came, much more violent than the black man had led me to expect; and after the thunder came the shower; and of a truth I tell thee, Kai, that there is neither man nor beast that can endure that shower and live. For not one of those hailstones would be stopped, either by the flesh or by the skin, until it had reached the bone. I turned my horse's flank towards the shower, and placed the beak of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the upper part of it over my own head. And thus I withstood the shower. When I looked on the tree there was not a single leaf upon it, and then the sky became clear, and with that, behold the birds lighted upon the tree, and sang. And truly, Kai, I never heard any melody equal to that, either before or since. And when I was most charmed with listening to the birds, lo, a murmuring voice was heard through the valley, approaching me and saying, 'Oh, Knight, what has brought thee hither? What evil have I done to thee, that thou shouldst act towards me and my possessions as thou hast this day? Dost thou not know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man nor beast alive that was exposed to it?' And thereupon, behold, a Knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a tabard of black linen about him. And we charged each other, and, as the onset was furious, it was not long before I was overthrown. Then the Knight passed the shaft of his lance through the bridle rein of my horse, and rode off with the two horses, leaving me where I was. And he did not even bestow so much notice upon me as to imprison me, nor did he despoil me of my arms. So I returned along the road by which I had come. And when I reached the glade where the black man was, I confess to thee, Kai, it is a marvel that I did not melt down into a liquid pool, through the shame that I felt at the black man's derision. And that night I came to the same castle where I had spent the night preceding. And I was more agreeably entertained that night than I had been the night before; and I was better feasted, and I conversed freely with the inmates of the castle, and none of them alluded to my expedition to the fountain, neither did I mention it to any; and I remained there that night. When I arose on the morrow, I found, ready saddled, a dark bay palfrey, with nostrils as red as scarlet; and after putting on my armour, and leaving there my blessing, I returned to my own Court. And that horse I still possess, and he is in the stable yonder. And I declare that I would not part with him for the best palfrey in the Island of Britain.
Useful
Resources
English Fairy and Folktales by Edwin Sidney Hartland
A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits in the County of Monmouth and the Principality ofWales by Edmund Jones
The Mabinogion by Lady Charlotte Guest