The
Cerne Abbas Giant or the 'Rude Man' is one of the largest hillfigures
in Britain, he (the figure's gender is beyond doubt) is one of
two representations of the human form, the other being the Long
Man of Wilmington in East Sussex. The giant, carved in solid lines
from the chalk bedrock measures in at 180 feet high, and carries
a huge knobbled club, which measures 120 feet in length.
The first written record of the giant appears in 1751 in a letter
by Dorset historian John Hutchins, he suggested that the figure
was cut in the mid 1600's. Another slightly later reference to
the figure can be found in the Gentleman's magazine of 1764, where
the figure is described and depicted with a navel, that has long
since disappeared. The lack of earlier references is frustrating
but does not mean that the figure dates to the 17th century, and
its style and proximity to an Iron Age earthwork suggests a much
earlier origin.
There
are numerous theories as to when and why the giant was created,
one of the more popular is that he is the Greek-Roman god Hercules,
who is often represented with a club and an animal fur. It has
been suggested that the figure was once depicted carrying and
animal fur in his left hand. It is possible that worship of Hercules
arrived in the early part of the Roman invasion, which was then
became amalgamated with a god of a local Celtic tribe. The theory
given the most weight by historians is that it was created during
the reign of the Emperor Commodus between 180 - 193 AD, he believed
himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and allowed the cult
to revive.
Other
stories suggest that the monks at the nearby monastery cut the
giant as a joke on an Abbott called Thomas Corton, who was expelled
from the area for malpractice. This is unlikely but its close
proximity to a ecclesiastical house is strange, how could such
an obviously pagan symbol have survived for so long? especially
through puritanical times and the reformation. It may be that
the religious buildings were built close to the giant as a form
of amalgamation of the pagan site. This was common practice, and
many churches are built on, or near to, sites that were once Pagan
religious centres.
Folklore
According to one tradition, recorded from a farm labourer in the
Gentleman's Magazine, the figure is the representation of a Danish
giant who had led an invasion of England from the coast. He had
fallen asleep on the side of the hill, and the local villagers
had taken advantage of his slumber and cut off his head. They
had then drawn around his prone body in the manner of a gigantic
police chalk line, to show where he met his doom. However, the
chalk figure sometimes rose from the dead on dark nights, to quench
his thirst in the local stream, a habit also common to certain
standing stones.
The
giant's obvious sexuality and virility was put to use in fertility
folk magic. Local women who wanted to conceive would spend a night
alone on the hillside – most productively within the confines
of his giant phallus, and young couples would make love on the
giant to ensure conception.
Sleeping
on the giant was also thought to be a good way to ensure a future
wedding for unmarried women. Just above the giant's head is a
small Iron Age earthwork that encloses a roughly square piece
of land, this is known as the 'Frying Pan' or the 'Trendle', and
it was within this enclosure that the Mayday Maypole was erected
during the festival celebrations. Like many traditional village
Maypole ceremonies, this practice died out in the 19th century.
Directions:
Half a mile North of Cerne Abbas, Dorset, the best viewpoint is
beside the A352.
Rechalking
Source:
http://tinyurl.com/d463um
