JACK THE GIANT-KILLER

A hero of nursery tales, who was thought to have flourished in Arthur's time.

He began his career by killing the giant Cormoran whom he trapped in a pit and then hacked to pieces. He was then captured by the giant Blunderboar, but killed him and his brothers. He also tricked a Welsh giant into killing himself. He first appears in the Arthurian legends as a servant of Arthur's son and, in the course of his service, obtained a cap of knowledge, a wonderful sword, shoes of swiftness and a cap of invisibility. He continued to rid the land of giants and eventually married a duke's daughter. He was given a noble dwelling by Arthur.

There is no evidence that Jack was a genuine hero of early tales, but he may be a composite of several, being invented around 1700. Classical influences may have played some part in his creation, for there are marked similarities between his character and that of Perseus, who killed the Gorgon Medusa and married Andrometa. Even his attributes are similar.