Yernagate is a legendary giant from English folklore, supposedly a guardian of the New Forest area of Hampshire.
Origins
The story of Yernagate is an example of one of "the fable of ... gyants in the woods" near Southampton, mentioned by Daniel Defoe in 1724. Though the etymology of Yernagate is unknown, the traditional link between the New Forest and giants may be connected with the Anglo-Saxon names for the area: "Ytene" and "Jettenwald" (as well as the later anglicisation of "Ettinwood"), which are interpreted by some as meaning "the wood of giants" or the "giant's weald".
Topography
Though recent Ordnance Survey maps depict the site of Yernagate's Nap as being a small deciduous wood to the south of Little Linford Inclosure, according the maps of the 18th and 19th centuries it is actually a circular Bronze Age earthwork, and located on a small hill within Little Linford.
References
- Defoe, Daniel. Defoe's Hampshire, "Southampton", 1724
- Yonge, Charlotte Mary. CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY: FROM ROLLO TO EDWARD II., "CAMEO X. THE CONQUEROR. (1066-1087.)", 1873
- Palgrave, Frances. The History of Normandy and of England, Volume IV. Cambridge University Press, 1921 (p. 705)
- Pasmore, Anthony. "Yernagates Nap", New Forest Notes, September 2000
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