Another green man

During our visits to historic churches we often come across a green man. These carvings, usually in stone or wood, of a head surrounded with leaves, look decidedly un-Christian and that may well be the case - it wasn't unknown for early Christianity to embrace aspects of what were probably pagan customs. The green man is thought to be a symbol of rebirth, a feature that is both pagan and central to the Christian religion. The earliest examples of such heads seem to post-date the birth of Chritianity and are most common in the Romanesque and Gothic periods. There has been a resurgence of the green man in recent years that has nothing to do with religion or paganism. They can be widely found on sale as garden ornaments, which is the case with the one shown above.

A Green Man

The Green Man is a folklore figure that appears in carvings and other depictions across Europe and the Near East. Most often it is represented by a face made of leaves, or with leaves sprouting from the mouth, nose, eyes or ears. It may represent fertility or a mystic Man of the Woods. In England the Green Man is most often seen in carvings in wood or stone in churches. Medieval masons and wood carvers, and medieval clergy if it comes to that, had no qualms about reproducing images of pagan figures in Christian buildings. This example is the decoration of a capital in Grange Court, the former market house that was converted into a habitation in Leominster, Herefordshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Green Man misericord

A misericord is a seat in church choir stalls. It folds up and offers a small ledge on which a medieval monk would lean. This would rest his weary legs and make onlookers think he was standing during the periods of the long religious service when that was required. The one in the photograph, is raised (the ledge is above the carved head), and has like most misericords, a carving on its base. Here it is a "Green Man", a character that is widely thought to be pre-Christian i.e. pagan, but which the church adopted and adapted. This example is one of the "disgorging" variety. That is to say, leaves come only from his mouth. It dates from c.1370-80 and is one of a group in the church of St Margaret at King's Lynn in Norfolk.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10