It has not been seen for centuries, and may never have even existed, but the shadow, or perhaps ghost, of the Giant White Horse of Kent looms large over the Garden of England. It is said, in fact, that its manure helped the county gain its sobriquet.
The legend begins in the supposed time of giants, of Gog and Magog, when the pair came across a horse upon the banks of the River Thames. Each desired to have this thoroughbred as their own and, thus, an argument and then a fight took place. Before the contest was decided, however, Gog noticed that the horse had fled.
Later, when Kent was known as Cantium, the horse was sometimes referred to as the Cantium Beast. Having grown popular as a source of rich manure (and possibly featured on many Iron Age coins), it is thought the horse had eventually become a bane as it trampled and destroyed fields and houses while roaming its lands. Some say the horse was driven away, into the sea, or perhaps Sussex or Essex (many arguing it spent time roaming the country and was recorded on various hills).
There are stories that the soldiers of Caeser and Claudius caught sight of the horse as they invaded through Kent. That the Dark Ages saw its rampant return as destroyer. That the Norman writers of the Domesday Book hid its existence through not recording it. And there are numerous accounts of it being slain for the feast to end all feasts.
Certainly it has not been seen or found in the modern age. No doubt a legend and a myth, it is a pleasing one all the same.
The legend begins in the supposed time of giants, of Gog and Magog, when the pair came across a horse upon the banks of the River Thames. Each desired to have this thoroughbred as their own and, thus, an argument and then a fight took place. Before the contest was decided, however, Gog noticed that the horse had fled.
Later, when Kent was known as Cantium, the horse was sometimes referred to as the Cantium Beast. Having grown popular as a source of rich manure (and possibly featured on many Iron Age coins), it is thought the horse had eventually become a bane as it trampled and destroyed fields and houses while roaming its lands. Some say the horse was driven away, into the sea, or perhaps Sussex or Essex (many arguing it spent time roaming the country and was recorded on various hills).
There are stories that the soldiers of Caeser and Claudius caught sight of the horse as they invaded through Kent. That the Dark Ages saw its rampant return as destroyer. That the Norman writers of the Domesday Book hid its existence through not recording it. And there are numerous accounts of it being slain for the feast to end all feasts.
Certainly it has not been seen or found in the modern age. No doubt a legend and a myth, it is a pleasing one all the same.
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