Mythology/English Mythology/Cormoran and Cormelian

Cormoran and his wife Cormelian were a pair of giants said to have created St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. According to the legend, in ancient times St Michaels Mount was six miles inland and surrounded by woodland. The giant Comoran live in the area and decided to build himself a fortified home and raise it high above the trees so that he could see for miles around and in doing so created the mount.

He choose only the finest white granite from the local area which his wife would carry to the mount in her apron. One day, though, she decided to use the lighter, more abundant green stone instead. So whilst Cormoran was asleep she placed a boulder of greenstone in her apron, hoping to hide it beneath the rest. Unfortunately Cormoran awoke and seeing what she was doing kicked her so hard that he sent her flying through the air. The greenstone became buried deep into the sand and could not be moved. The stone became known as Chapel rock.

After years of terrosing the area, the local people decided to rid themselves of Cormoran. They offered a reward to anyone who could slay the giant. A farmer's son named Jack took up the challenge and decided to trick the giant into a vulnerable position. He dug a huge pit and covered it with saplings, leaves and straw. When the pit was ready he called the giant down from the mount by blowing his horn. Cormoran rushed down and fell straight into the trap. Jack struck the giant a fatal blow to the head with his pick. The local people were delighted and awarded Jack with a sword engraved with his name. He hence became known as Jack the Giant Killer.