Editing Dun Cow (section)

==Dunsmore Heath==
The '''Dun Cow''' was said to be a savage beast roaming Dunsmore Heath, an area west of [[Dunchurch]], near [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]] in [[Warwickshire]], which was reputedly slain by [[Guy of Warwick]]. A large [[narwhal]] tusk is still exhibited at [[Warwick Castle]] as one of the ribs of the Dun Cow.<ref>[http://www.fotolibra.com/gallery/1273341/narwhal-tusk-warwick-castle/ Narwhal Tusk Warwick Castle] fotolibra.com {{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref> The fable held that the cow belonged to a [[giant (mythology)|giant]], and was kept on [[Mitchell's Fold]] (middle fold), [[Shropshire]]. Its milk was inexhaustible; but one day an old witch who had filled her pail, wanted to fill her [[Riddle (tool)|riddle (sieve)]] as well. This so enraged the animal that she broke loose from the fold and wandered to Dunsmore Heath, where she was slain by Guy of Warwick.

[[Isaac Taylor (canon)|Isaac Taylor]], in his ''Words and Places'' (p.&nbsp;269), says the dun cow is a corruption of the ''Dena Gau'' ([[Denmark|Danish]] region) in the neighbourhood of [[Warwick]], with ''[[Gau (administrative division)|Gau]]'' in [[German language|German]] meaning "region or country". If this explanation is correct, the great achievement of Guy of Warwick may have been a victory over the [[Danes (tribe)|Danes]], and taking from them their settlement near Warwick.<ref>From the 1898 edition of ''[[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]]''</ref>