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Fierabras
(Sir), of Alexandria, son of Balan, King of Spain. The
greatest giant that ever walked the earth. For height of stature,
breadth of shoulder, and hardness of muscle he never had an equal. He
possessed all Babylon, even to the Red Sea; was seigneur of Russia,
Lord of Cologne, master of Jerusalem, and even of the Holy Sepulchre.
He carried away the crown of thorns, and the balsam which embalmed the
body of Our Lord, one drop of which would cure any sickness, or heal
any wound in a moment. One of his chief exploits was to slay the
“fearful huge giant that guarded the bridge Mantible,” famous for its
thirty arches of black marble. His pride was laid low by Olivier, one
of Charlemagne's paladins. The giant then became a child of God, and
ended his days in the odour of sanctity, “meek as a lamb and humble as
a chidden slave.” Sir Fierabras, or Ferumbras, figures in several
mediæval romances, and is an allegory of Sin overcome by the Cross. (See Balan.)
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Fierabras from Infoplease:
- Fierabras - Fierabras (Sir), of Alexandria, son of Balan, King of Spain. The greatest giant that ever walked ...
- Ferumbras - Ferumbras (See Fierabras.) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 Related ...
- Iron-arm - Iron-arm Francis de Lanoue, the Huguenot soldier, Bras de Fer (1531-1591. (See Fierabras.) Source: ...
- Maliom - Maliom Mahomet is so called in some of the old romances. “Send five, send six against me. By ...
- Mantible - Mantible (Bridge of) consisted of thirty arches of black marble, and was guarded by “a ...
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