According to Anglo-Saxon chronicles and later medieval tales that drew on earlier traditions, Britain itself was once inhabited by giants. One of the most bizarre stories involves the giant Gogmagog, a monstrous inhabitant of ancient Albion. According to the 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth, which heavily borrowed from earlier traditions, Gogmagog was one of the last of a race of giants thrown off a cliff by the Trojan warrior Corineus.

While Geoffrey’s text is post-Anglo-Saxon, it reflects and likely expands upon older oral legends that circulated during the Anglo-Saxon era. Many Anglo-Saxon writers believed that the megaliths of Stonehenge and other ancient sites were the work of giants. These mysterious and awe-inspiring constructions were too massive to be attributed to mere mortals, so the ancients conjured stories of giant builders—possibly the same ones mentioned in Beowulf.

Archaeology and Misinterpreted Bones

One reason giant legends persisted is due to the frequent discovery of massive bones across England. Anglo-Saxons, like many peoples in antiquity, lacked the means to identify fossilized remains accurately. The bones of mammoths, whales, or dinosaurs were often assumed to be the remains of giants.

In some Anglo-Saxon burial mounds, skeletons of particularly tall individuals (who may have suffered from gigantism or just been above average height for the time) were revered or feared. These bodies sometimes became linked to local legends of giants guarding treasure, sacred sites, or punishing sinners.

Giants and the Landscape

Giants were closely associated with the land itself. Hills, valleys, and strange geological features were frequently explained as the remnants of their battles or their enormous footprints. Place names across Britain contain references to giants: “Giant’s Causeway” in Northern Ireland, “Giant’s Grave” in Cumbria, and “Gog and Magog” hills near Cambridge.

One odd tale from Anglo-Saxon England involves a giant who hurled great stones from one hilltop to another, shaping the landscape. In other versions, giants created valleys by dragging their massive clubs along the ground or gouging the earth with their fingers. shutdown123