Wednesday, 16. May 2007
The Green Man
His face stares down at us from the roofs , pillars and doorways of our great cathedrals and churches, he appears on second century Roman columns in Turkey and in Jain temples in Rajasthan.

He is found all over England, some parts of Wales and Scotland and a few rare places in Ireland.

On the continent he has been seen and noted in Germany, France, Italy, Holland and is said to be found in Spain, Hungary and Poland. India and Malaysia have their own Green Man and though he doesn't seem to appear in Native American traditions he can be seen in his modern role as a bringer of fortune on the walls of banks in New York and Chicago.

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The Mystery of the Green Man by Mike Harding.
Many good pictures, including Asian examples

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‘The Green Man’, a name coined by Lady Raglan in 1939, is a mediaeval image usually found in churches. Carved in stone or wood, depicted on stained glass, illuminated manuscripts and where else, he can be recognised as a face, often grotesque, with foliage sprouting from his mouth, nose, eyes or ears. Alternatively, he may be a face composed entirely of leaves. Exterior or interior, he features on capitals, corbels, choir stalls, bench ends, fonts, screens, roof bosses - indeed, any surface open to ornamentation.


However, the mighty questions of who, what and why - the search for a meaning behind the symbol - have no answer yet.

The Green Man - Variations on a theme by Ruth Wylie.

In the older religions, trees were held sacred; forest groves were perceived as the dwelling place of gods, goddesses, and a wide variety of nature spirits. Some scholars now think modern May Day revels were once part of pagan spring fertility rites (complete with pole representing the phallus) since the pageants have overtly sexual elements — and yet we can never really know for certain, for the original meanings of the ceremonies have been lost through the centuries, and the Church was quick to assign lewd connotations to all pagan practices.

A staunchly animist outlook (with a strong reverence for trees and the holiness of nature) was particularly entrenched among the peoples in the far north of Europe and in the British Isles.

The Green Man and The Green Woman by Terri Windling.

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The Green Man is one of the commonest decorative motifs which we can put a name to, yet there is very little indication of its meaning. We know what an angel is; we know what a mermaid and a dragon are but we know almost nothing about the face made out of leaves.

The Search for the Green Man
by Nigel Rushbrook.

Many pictures from the Green Man in Canterbury, Kent, Devon and Green Man Curiosities.


For me the Green Man is a symbol of our connection with nature, with the earth, a reminder that we are a part of the cycle of life and death of all living things on earth. He is for me a reminder of our humility and weakness against nature.

Green Men in Germany
by Maddy Aldis-Evans.
Many pictures from the Green Man in Bremen, Köln, Dessau, Erfurt, Frabkfurt and more.

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A sequence of medieval Heads-with-Leaves (aka Green Men, Foliate Heads etc.) from Chester Cathedral, UK; filmed by Sabrina Eden with music by Sedayne.

For more see:
Heads with Leaves

Many pictures and 6 clips at the bottom of the page.

Category: Myths & Sagas Category: Symbols & Geometry




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