Cerne Abbas Giant Hill Figure View all content for Cerne Abbas Giant

Doh! Pagans have pledged to perform "rain magic" to wash away a cartoon character painted next to their famous fertility symbol - the Cerne Abbas giant. BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/6901543.stm I can hear those rants beginning...

Posted by wysefool 17th July 2007ce

Comments (2)
The part that amuses me is that the Cerne Abbas giant is probably not all that ancient at all. You see, just down the road from him there was a monastery full of deeply religious, easily offended monks who had a penchant for writing things down. We still have much of their monastic record-keeping, and though the records detail much minutae over money, local events and local features, nowhere is a priapic graven image upon a local hill mentioned. The best guess is that it dates to the Civil War era, or just after cessation of hostilities and is intended as a caricature of Oliver Cromwell, for the amusement of local closet Royalists; it depicts a hugely masculine figure of great and primitive power (which Cromwell was, not that he ever wanted to admit it) which was probably a laugh a minute locally. Well, you had to make your own amusement back then. Seen in that light, Homer Simpson is really quite a good companion for the giant; a bit lacking in the crude humour department but pretty good nonetheless. What a pity the Pagans don't seem able to laugh at the joke.	Posted by Dan1701 18th July 2007ce
"What a pity the Pagans don't seem able to laugh at the joke." Especially in the light of the even more side-splitting permanent paint that seems to have been used in error. Now THAT, in a twisted we-told-you-so kind of way, IS funny...	Posted by Cursuswalker 9th August 2007ce
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