Coat of the Giant of Mont Saint-Michel
The garment of the giant slain by Arthur, associated with one of the most brutal episodes of the tradition.
Introduction#
Before Gawain faces his own trials of honor and temptation, Arthur himself confronts monstrous evil in the episode of the Giant of Mont Saint-Michel. In this grim encounter, the giant’s grotesque coat – embroidered with the beards of slain kings – stands as a symbol of tyranny and desecrated sovereignty.
Alternative Names | Coat or Kirtle of the Giant
The Story in the Medieval Tradition#
The episode appears first in Historia Regum Britanniae and is later expanded in the Alliterative Morte Arthure. It is also retold by Le Morte d’Arthur.
In these accounts, a giant terrorizes Brittany and Normandy, abducting noblewomen and murdering kings. Arthur travels to Mont Saint-Michel to confront him personally. After a fierce struggle, Arthur kills the giant and discovers the monstrous trappings of his lair.
Among the horrors is a coat or kirtle adorned with the beards of fifteen conquered kings. The beard, a sign of dignity, maturity, and royal authority in medieval culture, becomes here a token of humiliation and domination.
The garment is not merely gruesome decoration—it is a proclamation of the giant’s defiance of earthly and divine order.
Arthur’s Trophy#
After his victory, Arthur takes the coat along with the giant’s iron club. By doing so, he transforms the objects of terror into emblems of restored order and kingship. The coat, once a symbol of tyranny, becomes instead a mark of Arthur’s triumph and authority.
Sources#
Historia Regum Britanniae | Geoffrey of Monmouth, c. 1138
Alliterative Morte Arthure | c. 1400
Le Morte Darthur | Sir Thomas Malory, 1469-1470
