This all seems quite consistent with the Old English material. Grendel in Beowulf is described as an 'eoten' related by descent to the Biblical giants, yet is not too big to fit inside a hall and have his arm ripped off by a (relatively large) human being. Yet elsewhere we are told that he carried off thirty men, and that his severed head had to be carried by four strong men on spear-shafts. One imagines that customary epic exaggeration has made it that much harder to visualize his proper size.
Then there is the giantess Harthgrepa in Saxo Grammaticus, who is described as being able to shapeshift from a huge size to one capable of sexual intercourse with a normal man. This could be an attempt to rationalize away the inconsistencies in later stories, but could also be a traditional attribute of these supernatural creatures (cf. the story of Skrymir).
This all seems quite consistent with the Old English material. Grendel in Beowulf is described as an 'eoten' related by descent to the Biblical giants, yet is not too big to fit inside a hall and have his arm ripped off by a (relatively large) human being. Yet elsewhere we are told that he carried off thirty men, and that his severed head had to be carried by four strong men on spear-shafts. One imagines that customary epic exaggeration has made it that much harder to visualize his proper size.
Then there is the giantess Harthgrepa in Saxo Grammaticus, who is described as being able to shapeshift from a huge size to one capable of sexual intercourse with a normal man. This could be an attempt to rationalize away the inconsistencies in later stories, but could also be a traditional attribute of these supernatural creatures (cf. the story of Skrymir).
This is an extremely well-researched essay on a formerly confusing topic - thank you!
This is great! Thanks very much. I enjoyed it well.