used his wife’s bracelet as a ring for his finger? Indeed, it increases our wonder to learn that at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg, a man of prodigious size was presented to Emperor Maximilian; this man would devour a whole sheep—whether roasted or boiled—in a single sitting, yet his hunger remained unappeased.

Pigafetta, a man of the utmost integrity, witnessed a giant among the American cannibals. Likewise, the Dutch, while sailing the Straits of Magellan, came upon an island inhabited by people nine feet tall. Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the unknown regions of the globe, also discovered the "Island of Giants," which still bears that name today. Even more recent is the account given by the Jesuit Melchior Nuñez in his letters regarding Chinese affairs. He reports that in the royal city of Peking, the gate guards are of giant stature—namely, fifteen feet tall—and that the King of China employs five hundred such men for his protection, paying them an ample salary.

Here we present images of the nine- or ten-foot giants who live in a certain region of America; they are called Patagonians and paint their faces with various colors squeezed from certain herbs. This is how they are depicted in the map of America by Cornelius de Jode. Giovanni Lorenzo d’Anania likely had these people in mind when he recorded that the Patagonians, discovered by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, were of giant stature, standing eleven palms high. They ride to various places on animals similar to mules and make crude clothing from their skins; they also delight in using bows. Finally, the youths first dye their hair and then their entire bodies with colors so that they may appear elegant to others.

Giants of America.