Ancient funerall monuments within the vnited monarchie of Great Britaine, Ireland, and the islands adiacent with the dissolued monasteries therein contained: their founders, and what eminent persons haue beene in the same interred. As also the death and buriall of certaine of the bloud royall; the nobilitie and gentrie of these kingdomes entombed in forraine nations. A worke reuiuing the dead memory of the royall progenie, the nobilitie, gentrie, and communaltie, of these his Maiesties dominions. Intermixed and illustrated with variety of historicall obseruations, annotations, and briefe notes, extracted out of approued authors ... Whereunto is prefixed a discourse of funerall monuments ... Composed by the studie and trauels of Iohn Weeuer.

Saint Mary Aldermanbury.

* 1.1In the Cloister about this Churchyard, hanged and fastened to a post is the shanke-bone of a man, wondrous great, and large, in length 28. inches and a halfe, of assise: with the pourtraiture of a Giant-like person, vpon a Table, with this Inscription.

In wise mens sight I seeme not strange, Although some friends of Pan will scorne; From time to time all shapes will change, Full well appeares since the first-borne.

Deride not that which nought offends, Let reason rule, strong men haue beene; As Sampson tall; loe death all ends: In Stories past may well be seene.

* 1.2If you trust our Stories, you must beleeue that Giants, or men of vaste bodily composture, inhabited this our Island in former times. Of whom one Hauillan a Poet, who flourished aboue foure hundred yeares since, wrote pleasantly in this wise, thus translated out of the Latine tongue.

* 1.3There Gyants whilome dwelt, whose clothes were skins of beasts, Whose drinke was bloud; whose cups, to serue for vse at feasts, Were made of hollow wood; whose beds were bushie thornes; And Lodgings rockie caues, to shelter them from stormes. Their chambers craggie rocks, their hunting found them meat. To rauish and to kill, to them was pleasure great. Their violence was rule, with rage and furie led, They rusht into the fight, and fought hand ouer head. Their bodies were interr'd behinde some bush or brake: To beare such monstrous wights, the earth did grone and quake. These pesterd most the Westerne tract: more feare made thee agast, O Cornwall, vtmost doore that art to let in Zephyrus blast.

And the vulgar receiued opinion is, that Brute vpon his first arriuall in Kent, was encountred with diuers strong and mightie Giants. Of which an Author of reuerend good antiquitie thus writeth: as also of the wrastling betwixt Corineus and Gogmagog.

* 1.4Ther was a Geant het Gogmagog, yat was gret and strong, For aboute ane twenty fet men * 1.5 seiy yat he was long: A good oke he wolde braye a doun as hit small yerde were; And bere hit forth in his hond ye folke all to a fere. * 1.6He com wiy xx Geants and assayllede Brute faste, Brut wiy his power hem slough echon atte laste, Alle but Gogmagog, for hym ne slough he nought, For he sholde wiy Corneus wrastle by hys thought.

In a word, my Author makes Corineus to get the vpper hand of Gog∣magog, and to cast him headlong from one of the rocks not farre from Do∣uer, which for a long time was called the fall or leape of Gogmagog,* 1.7 and af∣terwards the fall of Douer. And this Gogmagog, saith he, was the last of that monstrous generation.

Raph the Monke of Coggeshall who wrote aboue three hundred yeares ago, saith, that in king Richards time, on the sea shore at a Village in Essex, called Eadulphnesse, were found two teeth of a certaine Giant, of such an huge bignesse, that two hundred such teeth, as men haue now a dayes, might be cut out of them. These saw I at Goggeshall (quoth he) and not without wondring. And such another Giant-like thing, I wot not what, saith Camden,* 1.8 was in the beginning of Queene Elizabeths raigne, digged vp by R. Candish, a Gentleman neare to this place. Vpon which thus he doth further comment.

I do not denie (saith he) but that there haue beene men, that for their huge bodies, and firme strength, were wondrous to behold; whom God, as Saint Austin saith, would haue to liue vpon the earth: thereby to teach vs, that neither beauty of bodie, nor talenesse of stature, are to bee accounted simplie good things, seeing they be common, as well to Infidels, as to the godly. Yet may we very well thinke, that which Suetonius hath written, namely, that the huge limmes of monstrous Sea-creatures elsewhere, and in this kingdome also, were commonly said and taken to haue beene Giants bones.

Another iudicious Antiquarie of these times doth also thus illustrate this point.* 1.9 I could thinke, saith hee, that there now are some as great sta∣tures, as for the most part haue beene; and that Giants were but of a some∣what more then vulgar excellence in body, and martiall performance. If you obiect the finding of great bones, which measured by proportion large∣ly exceed our times. I first answer, that in some singulars, as Monsters ra∣ther then naturall, such proofe hath beene; but that now and of ancient time, the eyes iudgement in such like hath beene, and is, subiect to much imposture, mistaking bones of huge beasts for humane. Claudius brought ouer his Elephants hither, and perhaps Iulius Cesar some (for I haue read that he terriblie frighted the Britons, with sight of one at Coway Stakes, when he passed ouer Thames) and so may you bee deceiued. But more of Giants hereafter.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Shanke bone of 28. inches long.
• * 1.2

  Cam••en in Cornwall.
• * 1.3

  In Cornwall
• * 1.4

  R••b Glocest.
• * 1.5

  saith.
• * 1.6

  wi••h.
• * 1.7

  Gogmagog the last Giant.
• * 1.8

  Camd. in Essex.
• * 1.9

  Selden in his Illu••••r••tions, Polyol. Song 1.