The giants Gog and Magog feature in most world religions, with appearances in the Book of Genesis, the Book of Revelation and the Qu’ran, among others. As well as their religious significance, Gog and Magog are also the legendary guardians of London, and statues of them have stood at the Guildhall and featured in the Lord Mayor’s Show on-and-off since Henry V sat on the throne.
As Gog and Magog feature throughout global folklore, there are hundreds of different stories as to who they are and what they did. The most popular story of their origin, as it relates to the City of London, is the one preferred, and hence propagated, by the Lord Mayor of London. This tale dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, when Diocletian ruled as Emperor.
It was said that he had 33 beautiful daughters, who were ill-behaved. Hoping to curb their wickedness, Diocletian arranged for them all to be married off, to 33 willing husbands. The daughters were really not happy with these arranged marriages and, spurred on by the eldest daughter Alba, they each murdered their husband, slitting his throat as he slept.
When Diocletian found out, he had the girls exiled to sea. Their ship was wrecked on an island, named Albion after the ringleader eldest daughter. Albion is the earliest recorded name for the British Isles. It was here the girls met, and mated with, a race of demons. This peopled the island with a monstrous brood of giants, of whom Gog and Magog were the last known descendants.
The pair were then enslaved by England’s first mythological King, Brutus, and made to stand guard at the site of Brutus’ palace, about where the Guildhall is today. The name Britain is supposed to derive from Brutus.
It’s a pretty horrendous story, what with its components of murder, enslavement and unnatural behaviours. It’s also slightly confused chronologically as Brutus, grandson of Trojan hero Aeneas, ruled England about 1500 years before Diocletian ruled Rome. But that shouldn’t get in the way of a good legend!
If you want to see our mythical guardians today, you can visit the Guildhall in London. The original wooden statues are long since gone, and their replacements were destroyed in the Blitz, having stood for over 200 years. Today’s statues are striking sculptures, created by David Evans. If you can’t tell the two apart – Magog has a phoenix on his shield!
You can also see the giants at the head of the Lord Mayor’s procession, after their wicker effigies were reinstated in 2006. The new effigies were created by the Company of Basketmakers, and are drawn by the Society of Young Freemen, as they would have been during their original figures in medieval times.
This year’s Lord Mayor’s Show takes place this Saturday 13th November, and Gog and Magog will be heading the parade, so if you want to come face-to-face with a London giant, make sure you’re in the old city, around Bank/ Moorgate / St Paul’s area, from 11am.
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