|
|
Ritho
Ritho or Rython, a giant who had made himself furs of the
beards of kings killed by him. He sent to King Arthur, to meet
him on Mount Aravius, or else to send his beard to him without
delay. Arthur met him, slew him, and took “fur” as a
spoil. Drayton says it was this Rython who carried off Helena,
the niece of Duke Hoel; but Geoffrey of Monmouth says that King
Arthur, having killed the Spanish giant, told his army “he
had found none so great in strength since he killed the giant
Ritho;” by which it seems that the Spanish giant and Ritho
are different persons, although it must be confessed the scope of
the chronicle seems to favor their identity. History of
the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
As how great Rython’s self he [Arthur] slew ...
Who ravished Howell’s niece, young Helena, the fair.
Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. (1612).
"But let them behold it in silence and without laughter," the
King charged Sir Bedivere, "for never since I slew the giant
Ritho upon Mount Eryri have I encountered so mighty an
adversary."
The Giant of Mont-Saint-Michel from Legends
and Romances of Brittany by Lewis Spence
"The passage of these giant traditions into the romances of modern chivalry may easily be traced. King Arthur himself was a hero of colossal proportions. He is still thought, as we have already seen, like Barbarossa and others, to lie entranced in the recesses of more than one mountain. He was attended by the magician Merlin, and he and his followers performed superhuman feats. He slew many giants of prodigious size, including Ritho, who had clothed himself in furs made from the beards of vanquished kings, and the Spanish giant, who had borne away Helena, the niece of Hod, and fled with her to the top of St. Michael's Mount." Giants - Mythical And Otherwise from Traditions, Superstitions And Folklore By Charles Hardwick
