Who or what is the Green Man ?
‘Look up and ye shall see’
An inscription underneath a corbel carved into the head of a ‘Green Man’, in a church in Devon.
Who or what is the Green Man?
Well , he certainly isn’t the Jolly Green Giant, or The Hulk, although I feel their creators may have taken some elements of the mythical being and built it into their characters.
The Green Man can still be found aloft, in the architecture of many churches, cathedrals and castles, dotted around Britain and the world. Most are found in Britain ( thanks to a resurgence in interest amongst our Victorian ancestors) but there is one spectacular example that makes up part of a design on a mosaic in Istanbul. Often, he’ll be in a location where he can look down on parishioners and courtiers…. A position of importance.. of influence.
Today people interpret his image as a symbol of rebirth or fertility…… I think this to be a little simplistic and only a modern interpretation of much older ideas.
All over the world there are similar effigies or images and they have persisted throughout history since the beginning of recorded history. Sometimes they are symbols of rebirth, sometimes of bountiful harvest, sometimes they represent worship of the earth and it’s harvest. All are similar beliefs…..and yet not the same.
So go and have a little read….do a little research and find out for yourselves, a little more about the Green Man.
Every time I walk into a living church, a ruinous villa or grand castle, I look up….always hoping to see him frowning down on me…… and wonder.