Farmer Giles of Ham

Farmer Giles of Ham is a comic medieval fable published in 1949, though it originated as a story told to his children in the late 1930s. Set in the fictional “Little Kingdom” of a semi-mythical, anachronistic Dark Ages Britain, it is a playful parody of heroic romance and dragon-slaying legends.

The story follows the reluctant hero, Ægidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo – better known as Farmer Giles of Ham – a fat, red-bearded, and contentedly unadventurous man. Giles accidentally achieves local fame by frightening away a near-sighted Giant with a blunderbuss blast.

Rewarded by the King with an old, seemingly useless sword, Caudimordax, Giles’s comfortable life is truly disrupted when the wily dragon Chrysophylax Dives (“Gold-watcher the Rich”) hears of the giant-slayer and descends on the kingdom. The King’s knights, who are more interested in etiquette than fighting, are useless. Driven by his terrified neighbours, Giles reluctantly confronts Chrysophylax.

The tale is notable for its humour, linguistic jokes, and sharp satire of courtly pretence versus commoner practicality, offering a delightful contrast to the high-fantasy seriousness of Middle-earth.

Dates of January 1st indicate that the exact day of the year is not known.