Layout of the giant as seen from directly above

The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant ("rude" meaning "naked"), is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The 180 feet (55 metres) high, 167 ft (51 m) wide^[1] figure is carved into the side of a steep hill, and is best viewed from the opposite side of the valley or from the air. The carving is formed by a trench 12 inches (30 centimetres) wide,^[1] and about the same depth, which has been cut through grass and earth into the underlying chalk. In his right hand the giant holds a knobbed club 120 ft (37 m) in length.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Chalk figure A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. ... The manor house The Cerne Abbas Giant (detail): infertile couples used to spend the night on his phallus in the hope of conceiving a child Cerne Abbas is an old village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in the middle of Dorset, England. ... The main road through Dorchester Dorchester is a market town in south west Dorset, England, situated on the River Frome and A35 road 20 miles west of Poole and five miles north of Weymouth. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... ‹ The template below (Unit of length) is being considered for deletion. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ... The Needles,situated on the Isle Of Wight, are part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ... It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Club (law enforcement). ...

History

Detail of the phallus and legs

Like several other chalk figures carved into the English countryside, the Cerne Abbas giant is often thought of as an ancient creation. However, like many of the other figures, its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century, making an origin during the Celtic or Roman periods difficult to prove. Above and to the right of the Giant's head is an earthwork known as the "Trendle", or "Frying Pan". Medieval writings refer to this location as "Trendle Hill", but make no mention of the giant, leading to the conclusion that it was probably only carved about 400 years ago. In contrast, the Uffington White Horse — an unquestionably prehistoric hill figure on the Berkshire Downs — was noticed and recorded by medieval authors. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (431x647, 316 KB) Summary This is a scan from a 35mm transparency which I took in the mid 1970s at Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (431x647, 316 KB) Summary This is a scan from a 35mm transparency which I took in the mid 1970s at Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... In the British Isles, the Iron Age lasted from about the 7th century BC until the Roman conquest and until the 5th century in non-Romanised parts. ... Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. ... In archaeology, Earthworks are artificial changes in land level often known as lumps and bumps. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... As seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised hillfigure, 374 feet (110m) long, cut out of the turf on the upper slopes of Uffington Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near The Ridgeway, in southern England. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ... The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. ...

The Cerne Abbas Giant seen from a distance

The earliest written reference to the Giant was made in 1694, in a record for payment in the Cerne Abbas churchwarden's accounts of three shillings toward the re-cutting of the giant. This was followed by other references in 1742; and in 1751, John Hutchins wrote in his Guide to Dorset that the carving had only been done the previous century. It is now believed that it was probably made by servants of the Lord of the Manor, Denzil Holles, during the English Civil War. There has been speculation that the figure is a parody of Oliver Cromwell, who was sometimes mockingly referred to as "England's Hercules" by his enemies; the Hercules connection is strengthened by the recent discovery of an obliterated line perhaps representing an animal skin (see below). A local legend says that a real giant was killed on the hill, and that the people from Cerne Abbas drew round the figure and marked him out on the hillside. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... A Churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church of the Anglican Communion. ... This article is about coinage. ... The title of Lord of the Manor arose in the English medieval system of Manorialism following the Norman Conquest. ... Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles (October 31, 1599 - February 17, 1680) was an English statesman and writer, best known as one of the five members of parliament whom King Charles I of England attempted to arrest in 1642. ... For other uses, see English Civil War (disambiguation). ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England, Scotland and Ireland into a republican Commonwealth and for the brutal war exercised in his conquest of Ireland. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) For other uses, see Heracles (disambiguation). ... Jack the Giant-Killer by Arthur Rackham. ...

In 1920 the giant and the 1 acre (4,047 m²) on which he sits was acquired by the National Trust and is listed as a Scheduled Monument.^[2] During World War II the giant was disguised in order to prevent his use as a landmark for enemy aircraft.^[3] An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

According to the National Trust the grass is kept trimmed on a regular basis and the giant is re-chalked every 25 years.^[3]

Appearance

Layout of the giant with the obliterated line (in yellow) reconstructed

Very much a phallic symbol on account of the figure's distinct erect penis and testicles, for hundreds of years it was local custom to erect a maypole upon the earthwork about which childless couples would dance to promote fertility, and even today childless couples are known to visit the site in order to copulate in the hope that they might conceive a child.^[4] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... The erection of the penis, clitoris or a nipple is its enlarged and firm state. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... The testicle (from Latin testis, meaning witness [1], plural testes) or ballock is the male generative gland in animals. ... Dancing around the maypole, in Åmmeberg, Sweden The maypole is a tall wooden pole (traditionally of hawthorn or birch), sometimes erected with several long coloured ribbons suspended from the top, festooned with flowers, draped in greenery and strapped with large circular wreaths, depending on local and regional variances. ... Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes. ... Sevenspotted Lady Beetles mating In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic internal fertilization animals for copulation and, in social animals, also to raise their offspring. ...

Recently, a group of archaeologists using special equipment found that part of the carving had been allowed to be obliterated. According to these findings, the free arm should have held a depiction of an animal's skin, giving credence to the theory that the giant was a depiction of a hunter, or alternatively, Heracles with the skin of the Nemean Lion over his arm. It has also been suggested that his large erection is, in fact, the result of merging a circle representing his navel with a smaller penis during a Victorian re-cut.^[5] Because the phallus is 15% the height of the drawing (excluding the club), the penis length would equal roughly 26 centimeters (10.2 in) on the average male frame. This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ... The Nemean Lion (Latin: Leo Nemaeus) was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived in Nemea. ... The erection of the penis, clitoris or a nipple is its enlarged and firm state. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ...

Publicity stunts

In modern times the Giant has been used for several publicity stunts and as an advertisement for "...condoms, jeans and bicycles."^[3] A low-key example was the sponsorship of the 1983 scouring by the brewers Heineken. As a publicity stunt for the opening of The Simpsons Movie on the 16 July 2007, a giant Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was outlined in water-based biodegradable paint to the left of the Cerne Abbas giant. This act angered local neopagans, who pledged to perform rain magic to wash the figure away.^[6][7] The Pagan Federation subsequently distanced themselves from a misquote by an unnamed tabloid concerning the supposed rain dance, whilst at the same time confirming that they cannot condone such commercial usage.^[8] The media itself often stage stunts for movies and television shows. ... Advertiser redirects here. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... The entrance of a brewery. ... Heineken International is an Australian beer, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Bunbury. ... The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons, directed by David Silverman, and scheduled to be released worldwide by July 27, 2007. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ... Doughnuts being glazed at a Krispy Kreme store in Sydney, Australia. ... Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down by living organisms. ... Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. ... The Pagan Federation is a voluntary organisation, formed in 1971, which campaigns for the rights of pagans and to educate the public about paganism. ...

In August 2007 a report in the Dorset Echo said that a man claiming to be the "Purple Phantom" had painted the Cerne Abbas Giant penis purple. It was reported that the man was from Fathers 4 Justice but the group said that they did not know who it was.^[9] The Dorset Echo is a newspaper published in Dorset, England. ... Fathers 4 Justice Logo Fathers 4 Justice (or F4J) began as a fathers’ rights organization in the United Kingdom. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Long Man of Wilmington

The Long Man of Wilmington. ...

External links

• Cerne Abbas Giant at the Nationl Trust
• Cerne Abbas village website
• Cerne Abbas giant at Mysterious Britain
• Pictures of Cerne Abbas Giant
• Arial view of Cerne Abbas Giant on Google Maps

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cerne Abbas giant

Coordinates: 50°48′49″N 2°28′29″W / 50.81361, -2.47472 Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...