He appears in pub names, May Day festivals and ancient folklore, but who is the Green Man? Jo Tinsley tracks down the mysterious country character
The Green Man is one of Britain’s biggest secrets. His familiar, eerie face, shrouded in leaves, is cut into gargoyles, depicted in stained glass and carved into church pews across the country.
He name is honoured in pub names, music festivals and real ale, while his more mischievous counterpart, Jack in the Green, still parades through villages on May Day. Yet strangely for such a prolific image, his origins remain a mystery.
What does the Green Man look like?
The figure takes three main forms: the foliate head, a benign male face that peers from behind a mask of green leaves; the disgorging head, which spews vegetation from its mouth; and the grotesque bloodsucker head, which sprouts greenery from every facial orifice.
You couldn’t get a more Pagan idea – fertile and ever-growing, he’s a symbol of man’s union with nature and of the cycle of death and rebirth. So why does this pre-Christian image appear in churches across the country, and why do we still celebrate this enduringly popular Pagan figure at May Day festivals?
The answer perhaps lies in the way early Christian missionaries would adapt Pagan gods and practices, rather than try to eradicate them. Some of the church carvings date as far back as the 11th century, but it’s likely the roots of the Green Man stretch back even further. It’s possible his origin was shrouded in mystery even at the time when he was assimilated into Christian imagery.
Once absorbed in our culture, the myth evolved and, just like the vines that spew from his mouth, reincarnations of the Green Man began to spread throughout Britain’s history.
Who is the Green Man?
Folklorist Lady Raglan was the first to name the Green Man in 1939, but his literary appearances can be traced back centuries, Some argue that he has his roots in Woodwose, the wild man of the forest in medieval tales, and that the myth ties in with Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the mysterious warrior in 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
When you look at these characters, you can see why people have made links. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a mysterious warrior attired completely in green challenges a knight of the Round Table to a duel. The Green Knight offers anyone the chance to strike him with his axe if, in one year and a day, he can return the blow. Sir Gawain accepts and lops off his head in one chop, only to look on in horror when the Green Knight retrieves his head and calmly reminds him to meet him at the appointed time.
Then there’s Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, a half-tamed mischievous woodland sprite, who famously appears in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has a habit of leading folk astray in the woods using echoes and lights, as well as swapping babies for elfings.
More tenuously, some say Peter Pan – a mischievous boy who enters the civilised word from Neverland – is a modern day embodiment. Even jolly Saint Nick was once depicted in a green fur-lined coat, wreathed in holly or ivy – could Father Christmas really be the Green Man?
Many believe Robin Hood is born of the same myth. Long before he became a charitable outlaw who scuffled with the Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood was the Lord of Misrule. Along with his Maid Marian, he formed part of May Games in late-medieval May Day celebrations, which included wrestling contests, dancing around maypoles, and sleeping in the greenwood.
The figure still springs up in May Day celebrations. Sometimes he appears as the Green Man himself – in the Shropshire town of Clun, May Day culminates in a skirmish on the town’s ancient bridge between the Green Man, the bringer of spring and the Forest Queen.
Other times he appears as Jack in the Green, a vaguely sinister figure that looks like a little like a walking Christmas tree. Up to 3m (10ft) tall, Jack wears a wickerwork frame entwined with branches and leaves.
Mischievous and rowdy, he cavorts drunkenly through the crowd, often accompanied by the dancing Lord and Lady of May. This boozy manifestation might explain why the Green Man is one of the most common pub names in the country.
At the turn of the 19th century, Victorian sensibilities replaced bawdy Jack with the more wholesome May Queen, but he has enjoyed a revival at festivals in Bristol, Hastings, Knutsford and Whitstable
Morris dancers in Hastings revived the custom in 1983, and Jack has since paraded through the streets of the old town each May, guarded by his trusted Bogies (bearded men painted green, who daub spectators in paint), along with papier-mâché giants and chimney sweep At the end of the procession, morris dancers slay Jack and throw his leaves to the crowd who keep them for good luck before burning them on the winter solstice.
Jack’s association with morris dancers and chimney sweeps is particularly interesting. Some suggest that the term ‘morris dancer’ originates from Mary’s dancers – Jack was often accompanied by Robin Hood and Maid Marian (a form of Mary), who leapt in the air as a symbol of life triumphing over death.
It’s also possible that the morris dancers were chimney sweeps who, to supplement their income, would decorate themselves in gaudy ribbons, blacken their faces and cavort with Jack to the sound of sticks, drums and whistles as an early form of busking.
Interest in the Green Man has waxed and waned throughout history, but today he enjoys new popularity, being reinvented in sculpture, cult films like 1973 horror flick The Wicker Man and music festivals.
Artist David Goff Everleigh created the largest depiction of the Green Man in the world. While London built the Millennium Dome and Cornwall assembled the world’s largest conservatory, Wales celebrated a new millennium with a maze of interlocking gardens in the Brecon Beacons, made from 3,500 beech and yew trees.
But why would we want to mark the turn of a new age with an image that’s more than 1,000 years old?
Isle of Wight-based artist and former forester Paul Sivell carves figures of the Green Man into fallen trees: “When I ask what the Green Man means to people today, I always hear words like environment and conservation,” Paul told us. “Whatever his Pagan origins, he’s such an adaptable character that, in the same way he once found a home in churches, he now fulfils roles from benevolent guardian of a well-loved garden to eco-warrior.”
The Green Man Festival, an independent music, art and literature event held in the Brecon Beacons, celebrates the age-old season of renewal with a four-day knees-up that culminates in the burning of an 8m (26ft)-tall green figure. Managing director Fiona Stewart explained how the event is grounded in Green Man mythology: “We’ve created a festival where you can celebrate being alive and reinvent yourself. The Green Man is a spirit of mischief and irreverence and this is a chance to become a fellow Lord of Misrule and celebrate in true bacchanalian style”
Therein lies his appeal. Whether a poster child for a new eco-movement, a rural custom we preserve each May or an ancient excuse for a party, we continue to reinvent the Green Man year on year. He emerged from the depths of our history, as mysterious 1,000 years ago as he is today, yet his strange attraction is just as strong today.
Discover more fascinating myths and legends
- The terrifying tale of the Lantern Men, evil pixies who would lead unwary souls to their death
- Witchcraft and witches in the UK: Exploring 14 famous witch trials and stories
- Herne the Hunter: Why a glimpse of Windsor’s horned phantom could spell doom for the King