As Christianity spread, Anglo-Saxon clerics began to reinterpret giant myths through a Christian lens. Giants were seen as remnants of a pre-Flood world, descended from the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis. This allowed Christian scribes to preserve old tales without rejecting their faith—giants became symbols of the sinful past, destroyed by God’s justice.

In some sermons, giants were described as allegories for pride, gluttony, or paganism itself. Monks may have written of the “giants of old” to contrast their brutality with the supposed moral clarity of Christian rulers. Giants were monstrous, wild, and uncivilized—the antithesis of the ideal Anglo-Saxon king or saint.

Legacy and Cultural Echoes

Though the Anglo-Saxon era ended with the Norman Conquest in 1066, the fascination with giants lived on. Medieval romances, such as the tale of Jack the Giant Killer, clearly reflect older Anglo-Saxon and Celtic traditions. Many of the fairy tales and folklore of England owe their giant-related content to this era of blending myth and reality.

Moreover, the idea of ancient, vanished races of giants continues to appear in pseudoarchaeology and fringe theories about Britain's ancient past. Even today, some enthusiasts claim that Anglo-Saxon legends point to lost civilizations and hidden truths buried beneath the land.

Conclusion

The bizarre history of Anglo-Saxon giants reveals more than just a fascination with the supernatural. It speaks to how people in the early medieval period interpreted their world—its ruins, its mysteries, and its dangers. Through poetry, legend, and landscape, the giants of the Anglo-Saxon imagination loomed large over the birth of England, standing as both fearsome relics and symbolic guardians of a mythic past. shutdown123