Giant-of-Hell (Miguel Gomes’s telling)

Overview

In Miguel Gomes’s telling, the Giant-of-Hell has devastated a king’s flower garden, killed his vassals and carried away his daughter. Pedr’, the hero called Donkey-Son because an ass nursed him, arrives with three strong companions and offers to guard the garden. The giant uses one particular gate. He asks each cook for fire to light his pipe, spits into the food and overcomes the guard with a slap on the neck. In the first encounter the food turns black. The repeated scene establishes an intrusive, speaking opponent who uses a pipe and physical blows; the text supplies no horns, hooves, wings or detailed portrait.

When Pedr’ takes the watch, he prevents the giant from spoiling every pot and splits him in two with Tres-Balanc’, his sword. One half falls to the ground and the other goes to Hell. This is not the end of the giant. After descending through a hole beneath a stone, Pedr’ finds the captive princess, who advises him about the contests the giant will propose. He avoids wrestling and kicking, wins an eating contest and refuses to kill an opponent merely for eating. A sword fight follows. He first uses an old rusty sword as advised, then strikes with Tres-Balanc’ and cuts off the giant’s ear. The giant flees, leaving the ear behind.

Pedr’ sends the princess up the rope, but his companions betray him and leave him below. Weak with hunger, he finds the ear in his pocket and bites it. The giant immediately appears and begs him not to eat it. He says that his own people could still accept him after he was divided, but rejected him after the loss of his ear. In exchange for its return, he offers to carry Pedr’ back above ground. Pedr’ is transported out with his eyes closed, yet retains the ear. Later, when a jeweller needs a ring matching the princess’s, another bite summons the giant, who produces ten matching rings from his pocket. The hero’s sword drives him away; he becomes a whirlwind and returns to Hell.

The last summons equips Pedr’ for the wedding. The giant supplies a horse and a suit of gold and silver, receives his ear back and whirls down to Hell. Pedr’ then exposes the false rescuers and is crowned. The giant’s role therefore changes from destructive abductor to coerced provider, ending in the return of the object used to summon him. This telling does not make him a permanently bound servant or narrate his death. His apparent survival after division and his whirlwind departure are separate episodes, not a complete explanation of his anatomy or an unlimited set of powers.

Origins & earliest records

The informant note identifies Miguel Gomes of Cab’ Verde. Parsons explains that Cab’ Verde is an island name used by her informants, rather than a label to apply indiscriminately to the whole archipelago. Her preface places the collection among Cape Verdean immigrants in New England in 1916–1917, with translation and later written Fogo-dialect versions mediated by Gregorio Teixeira da Silva. This is a particular recorded English version, not evidence that every island shares an identical giant. The printed Fogo alternative calls the opponent Sea-Giant; its soul-in-a-sword episode and the San Vicente variants are not silently added to Gomes’s main narrative.

Records & interpretation

The complete selected English tale, its ending, printed variants, informant note and complete editorial preface are preserved. The OCR is not presented as a verified facsimile transcription.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Folk-Lore from the Cape Verde Islands, Part I

   Elsie Clews Parsons, with Gregorio Teixeira da Silva · 1923

   Complete selected English narratives, variants, endings and printed notes. Part II and comparative publications are not independently consulted.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary historical collected English narrativeParsons 1923 — complete selected tale and prefaceResearch access: 2026-10-18

Image credits

AI-generated reconstruction of Miguel Gomes’s Giant-of-Hell before the garden fight.

The initial pipe-and-gate encounter is textual. Face, clothes, colouring, precise size and other unspecified appearance are imagined; no horned-devil or Sea-Giant form is asserted.