THE GREEN MAN


Wood spirits, folk deities, ancient gods and spirits, they are associated with Pan, Herne the Hunter, Jack in the Green and the Old Man of the Woods. Source behind the Robin Hood legends and Peter Pan, even early images of Father Christmas.

It’s an ancient myth – as old as the hills – that strikes a chord with me for the basic love of the earth and the seasons, and the quiet power of the forest; sometimes benign, sometimes dangerous, always powerful ...

Something old and strong and tremendously important lies behind his leafy mask. One of the earliest English epic poems Gawain and The Green Knight may refer to yet another manifestation of the Green Man as the God that dies and is reborn.

He is the Green Man, Jack in the Green, the Old Man of the Woods, Green George and many other things to many other men but one common theme runs through all the disparate images and myths, death and rebirth and the Green that is all life.

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




Green Men are especially associated with trees and woodland. Whilst the Christians of the Middle Ages would probably not have made overt associations with heathen Gods, he can be seen to symbolise Ingeld who is often depicted as a woodland God and who is associated with fertility, renewal and the natural world. In this sense, he can be seen along with other folk traditions with heathen origins, such as John Barleycorn and the May Day celebrations. But he also has strong associations with Woden and Herne the Hunter too, especially when one considers the related folk belief of the Wild Man of the Woods which may have ancient connections to the Wild Hunt led by Woden. However, for me at least the strongest connections to our native faith is the Ingeld (or Ing Freyr) who is most closely associated with woodland and the seasonal cycles of nature.




The Green Man is alive and well and can be found all over the country. It is not a comprehensive picture but a series of glimpses as befits his enigmatic character. You may know him as the Green Knight or Robin Hood, you will still see him around May Day as Jack in the Green, in Mumming plays and Morris dancing and maybe as the Green George, a relative of St George. Foliate heads can be found in buildings of all kinds inside and out.

In parish churches and cathedrals look for him as a leafy head in roof bosses, on the tops of capitals, on corbels, tympanum, on tombstones, misericords and bench ends, in the choir stalls, cloisters, over doorways and in chapter houses.

However you see him, as a benign spirit, guardian of the female forests, symbol of new life and hope in spring, a signifier of regeneration, you will feel his presence in our ancient woods and forests such as Wyre, Wistmans and Sherwood. He has been our cultural companion for millennia, reminding us of our close relationship with nature and remains with us as a celebration of the art of the craftsmen, masons & carpenters. Rediscover the Green Man in yourself and do more than Touch Wood : make every tree a wanted tree.




Of the creatures with which we share the world, trees, above all, have engaged our imagination. Now, for most of us, they are simply 'there' in the street, down the lane, on the village green. We hardly give them a second thought. Not so our forbears who must have thrilled to the warmth and the green shoots after the perils of winter, the return of hope. The moment of new leaves meant new life for all. Why not celebrate?




In Turkey, significant trees are ringed with red ribbon, in India, you may come across trees painted with vermillion or turmeric, in southern France there is a time of the year when bottles are hung from the boughs, in Somerset on old Twelfth Night, apple trees are wassailed with shotguns and cider to ensure a good crop, in Japan sacred trees are hung with pure white paper shapes, in Buddhist ritual trees may be hung with beads or red ribbons. In Africa, many dances have their origin in offering thanks to the trees.




Trees are not simply landmarks, they have helped us understand and explain our place in the world. They outgrow us and outlive us, they stay in one place reaching deep into the earth and then up high into the sky. Many cultures have used trees to describe the ordinary events which remain inexplicable... where did we come from, where are we going? The Tree of Life with its roots in the underworld, its trunk in our world and its branches in the heavens, recurs in symbolic forms as diverse as the native American totem pole and the Chinese pagoda.



We inherited a land dominated by deciduous trees. We virtually carved ourselves out of the forest, and went on to make half timbered houses, tea clippers and men of war, elm water pipes, hawthorn hedges, greenwood chairs, all from the trees about us; we ate and fed our beasts from apples, hazel nuts, beech mast, acorns. Family names Sawyer, Cooper, Woodward, Turner tell of forbears whose tasks related to wood. Our cultural connection with trees is there to be read all around us. As you pull down the blind with the little acorn at the end of the string, think that in the Channel Isles they still remember that the oak is the tree which attracts lightning: that toggle is a symbolic protector of the house.






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