Colbrand (also written ''Colbron'') was a legendary

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

from

English folklore English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's Legendary creature, mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, Folk dance, dance, balladry, and Folklore, folktales tha ...

, supposedly defeated by

Guy of Warwick Guy of Warwick, or Gui de Warewic, is a legendary English hero of Romance popular in England and France from the 13th to 17th centuries, but now largely forgotten. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the Matter of England ...

, a legendary English hero of

Romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

popular in England and France from the 13th to 17th centuries. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the

Matter of England ''Matter of England'', romances of English heroes and romances derived from English legend are terms that 20th-century scholars have given to a loose corpus of Medieval literature''Medieval insular romance: translation and innovation'', Judith Wei ...

.''Boundaries in medieval romance'', Neil Cartlidge, DS Brewer, 2008, , 9781843841555. pp. 29-42 According to the story, Guy returned to England after some years of absence to deliver Winchester for Athelstan of England from the invading northern kings, Anelaph (Anlaf or Olaf) and Gonelaph, by slaying in

single combat Single combat is a duel between two single combatants which takes place in the context of a battle between two army, armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants wh ...

their champion, the Danish giant Colbrand. Winchester tradition fixes the duel at Hyde Mead, before the Abbey near

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. Under the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, the royal household paid a wage of two-pence a day to provide a custodian for the sword used to slay Colbrand (specifically one William Hoggenson, a yeoman of the buttery).

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

mentions Colbrand in both ''

'' (Act V, scene iii) and '' King John'' (Act I, scene 1). Colbrand, as an appellation, had (by the 18th century) developed into a nickname for anyone of considerable size or strength, an example being the character of Colbrand the huge Swiss valet in ''

Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' is an epistolary novel, epistolary novel first published in 1740 by the English writer Samuel Richardson. Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct book, condu ...

'', an

epistolary Epistolary means "relating to an epistle or letter". It may refer to: * Epistolary (), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles * Epistolary novel, a novel written as a series of lette ...

novel by

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...

, first published in 1740.Irving, Washington
The Analectic Magazine, Volume 1
1816. p. 392, footnote 2

References

English giants Bevis of Hampton Hampshire folklore {{Europe-myth-stub