Yernagate

Yernagate is a legendary giant from English folklore, supposedly a guardian of the New Forest area of Hampshire.

Origins

The story of Yernagate is an example of one of "the fable[s] of ... gyants in the woods" near Southampton, mentioned by Daniel Defoe in 1724.[1] Though the etymology of Yernagate is unknown, the traditional link between the New Forest and giants may be connected with the Anglo-Saxon names for the area: "Ytene" and "Jettenwald" (as well as the later anglicisation of "Ettinwood"), which are interpreted by some as meaning "the wood of giants" or the "giant's weald".[2][3]

Topography

Though recent Ordnance Survey maps depict the site of Yernagate's Nap as being a small deciduous wood to the south of Little Linford Inclosure, according the maps of the 18th and 19th centuries it is actually a circular Bronze Age earthwork, and located on a small hill within Little Linford.[4]

References
  1. Defoe, Daniel. Defoe's Hampshire, "Southampton", 1724
  2. Yonge, Charlotte Mary. CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY: FROM ROLLO TO EDWARD II., "CAMEO X. THE CONQUEROR. (1066-1087.)", 1873
  3. Palgrave, Frances. The History of Normandy and of England, Volume IV. Cambridge University Press, 1921 (p. 705)
  4. Pasmore, Anthony. "Yernagates Nap", New Forest Notes, September 2000


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