The Green Man (original) (raw)

“It is a man’s face, with oak leaves growing from the mouth and ears, and completely encircling the head. Mr. Griffith suggested that it was intended to symbolize the spirit of inspiration, but it seemed to me certain that it was a man and not a spirit, and moreover that it was a ‘Green Man.’ —Lady Raglan. “The Green Man in Church Architecture.” Folklore. Vol. 50 no. 1 (1939): 45–47. 45.

Image credit: Stuart Whatling via MedievalArt.org.uk

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Þer hales in at þe halle dor an aghlich mayster,
On þe most on þe molde on mesure hȝe;
Fro þe swyre to þe swange so sware and so þik,
And his lyndes and his lymes so longe and so grete,
Half etayn in erde I hope þat he were,
Bot mon most I algate mynn hym to bene,
And þat þe myriest in his muckel þat myȝt ride;
For of bak and of brest al were his bodi sturne,
Boþ his wombe and his wast were worþily smale,
And alle his fetures folȝande, in forme þat he hade,
ful clene;

For wonder of his hwe men hade,
Set in his semblaunt sene;
He ferde as freke were fade,
And oueral enker-grene.

British Library Cotton MS Nero A. X

Corbel, Bamberg Cathedral

Corbel beneath the Bamberg Horseman, Bamberg Cathedral
13th century

Depending on where you stand, the eyes seem to be looking directly at you.

Corbel beneath the Bamberg Horseman, Bamberg Cathedral 13th century
photo credit: Johannes Otto Först

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Poitiers, Poitiers, France

Poitiers Cathedral, Choir stall, North side, #19

Presbytery of St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney

ca. twelfth–thirteenth centuries, Norman and Romanesque. Image credit: Wordandsilence1979.

The Green Man in Art and Literature

The foliated head, often called a Green Man, appearss in art and literature beginning in the Medieval era. Look for him (and sometimes, her) on corbels, roof-bosses, choir stalls, and sometimes, in poems and stories. The following books and decorative items include Amazon affiliate links.