Of giants.

In the year 1511, at an assembly of the states in Augsburg, the Emperor Maximilian I was presented with a man of an extraordinary height and size. This man could devour a whole sheep or calf in a few mouthfuls without any hesitation, whether it was roasted or raw. He claimed that it only sharpened his appetite. This incident was recorded by Surius in his Commentary of the memorable things of our time.

Joachim II elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, had a peasant in his court humorously called Little Michel, for he stood eight feet tall, which is considered quite tall in our time but small compared to giants from ancient times, like Goliath and others from Judea. This account was mentioned by Matthaeus Horst in his collection of the combat between David and Goliath.

I once saw a young maiden of giant-like stature who was taken from town to town as a prodigious sight. People gave her gifts as she was exhibited, and her mother, who accompanied her, received the offerings. She stayed in a rented chamber, allowing people to admire her. Curious, I inquired about her background and learned from both the maiden and her mother (who was of average height) that no one else in their family had extraordinary height. Until the age of twelve, the girl was quite small, but during a bout of quartan ague (a type of malaria) that lasted several months, she began to grow, and all her body parts proportionally increased in size. When I saw her, she was around twenty-five years old, and there was no disproportionate feature from head to foot. At this age, she had not yet experienced her monthly cycle, as nature seemed to regulate her bodily functions to sustain such a large body. She was healthy but not particularly attractive, with dark skin and a simple, sturdy build. Her vital energies, originally meant for an ordinary-sized body, had dispersed throughout her massive frame, making her movements heavy. As for the causes of her extraordinary growth due to the quartan ague, I will leave the medical experts to discuss and not engage in speculation. In summary, when a person between twelve and twenty years old undergoes significant growth due to illness, doubling in height compared to others, we must admit that nature's power is extraordinary and admirable.

This account is drawn from Marcellus Donatus, a learned physician, who discusses the causes of giant-like height as his profession requires.

King Louis XII

After the victory at the Battle of Lode, King Louis XII went to Milan, where I found a young man in the hospital. He was so tall that he couldn't stand upright, lacking sufficient nourishment to support his bulky body and powerful limbs. They had to lay him on two beds joined together to accommodate his length.

The Samogitians, living between Prussia and Livonia, are known for their great height. However, sometimes they produce children who are of small stature, while at other times, they give birth to exceptionally tall individuals.

In 1571, a giant was seen in Paris, and people rushed to catch a glimpse of him. He kept himself hidden in an inn, and one could only see him by paying for the opportunity. When people entered his chamber, they were amazed to find a man of remarkable height sitting in a chair. But their wonder grew when he stood up, and his head touched the chamber's high ceiling. He was believed to be a Polish or a Transylvanian. The giant had a wife who was also incredibly large and very fat, although much shorter than him. They had a young son who was expected to become almost as tall as his father.

At the West-Indies (discovered some hundred years since), many giants have been seen, as recorded by those who have written their histories. Near the Antarctic Pole, there are some found, standing at a height of ten or twelve feet [3-3.5m]. Similarly, on the Island of Sumatra (or Taprobane) in the East-Indies, such giants have been observed. The same author reported these accounts.

The "king" of China in 1555 Jiajing Emperor.

 

In his letters where he discusses the affairs of China, Melchior Nunez reports that in the chief city called Paguin, the porters are fifteen feet tall. In other letters written in the year 1555, he asserts that the King of China employs and feeds five hundred such men as archers in his guard. Simon Maiolus also mentions this in his Canicular days.

In a great temple in Valencia, a man's eye-tooth was seen, larger than a fist, as reported by Ludovicus Vives. Other travelers and historians have also mentioned seeing such large teeth, but since they likely belonged to people who lived many ages before, we won't dwell on this further.

In our time, among the archers of the deceased King of Navarre, there was a man from Béarn of such tall stature that he equaled his master's height when mounted on a great horse, surpassing the tallest men in the country by a head and shoulders. On the other hand, there was a man called "the great Smith" in Paris, who was very tall compared to many of average height.

Antonie Pigafet, a renowned traveller of his time, claimed to have seen a giant near the Antarctic pole whom other tall men did not reach above his navel. There were also accounts of individuals beyond the Strait of Magellan with necks a cubit long and the rest of their bodies proportionate to this extraordinary feature.