Thunderdell ( cy, Taranau), also recorded as Thunderdel, Thunderel, Thundrel, Thunderdale, or Thunderbore, was a two-headed

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

slain by

Jack the Giant-Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklor ...

in the stories of Tabart and others.

Jeff Rovin Jeff Rovin is an American magazine editor, freelance writer, columnist, and author, who has appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Biography Jeff Rovin has been editor-in-chief of ''Weekly World News'', an assistant editor and w ...

's ''The Encyclopedia of Monsters'' (New York: Facts on File, 1989) misspells Thunderdell as "Thunderel", and after describing him, proceeds to tell the basic story of "

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

" with no further mention of "Thunderel", despite being the title of the entry. He then refers readers to

Cormoran Cormoran ( or ) is a giant associated with St. Michael's Mount in the folklore of Cornwall. Local tradition credits him with creating the island, in some versions with the aid of his wife Cormelian, and using it as a base to raid cattle from t ...

Appearance

In ''Jack the Giant Killer'', Thunderdell first appeared where he crashed a banquet that was prepared for

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

. During this time, he chanted "fee fau fum." Jack defeats and beheads the two-headed giant with a trick involving the house's moat and drawbridge.

Popular culture

* Thunderdell is in the '' Monster in My Pocket'' where his number is #98. * The Thunderdell name is used for a giant in '' Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story'' who was portrayed by

Bill Barretta William Paul Barretta (born June 19, 1964) is an American puppeteer, actor, producer, writer, and director, who is best known for providing the puppetry and voice of characters such as Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo ...

. This version is based on the giant from "

External links

Gandolf.com
Arthurian characters British folklore English giants Fictional giants Jack the Giant Killer Cornish folklore {{fantasy-char-stub