the green man
TRANSCRIPT
The Green Man
In modern Wicca the Green Man is often seen as an aspect of the Horned God, especially in his Celtic Cernunnos form. Yet is he really an ancient Celtic figure or a Medieval Christian one?
As presented at Kaleidoscope gathering July, 2010
What We'll Cover (Agenda)
What a Green Man is A brief review of the historical record What we think he may have represented to those who carved him A look at the Mysteries of Dying and Rebirth
The Whitefield Green Man
Things to Remember
• We know almost nothing about the Green Man
• Now a central figure in Mayday lore & celebrations throughout North and Central Europe (from 18th C.)
• Pagans use him as an emblem of life, death and rebirth
Who is He? Frequently found in
church architecture; also in municipal buildings
Term dates from articles written in the 30's "The Green Man in Church Architecture", The Folklore Journal, 1939 – Lady Raglan
No idea what, if any, name originally given
a.k.a. Robin Hood, King of May, the Garland & Jack-in-the-Green
central figure in N. & Central European Mayday celebrations
Types of Green Man
Foliate (the head turning into leaves)
Spewing, Uttering or Disgorging(spews vegetation from its mouth)
(Blood)Sucker (branches coming from eyes, ears & nose)
Jack In The Green (face appearing in a bower of leaves)
Earliest Records
c.100 Viridios, Ancaster 2 inscriptions - (Proto-Celtic Wirdjos - 'Green Man'?)
c.500 Nicetius decorates cathedral w. Green Man from a Roman temple
Others follow suit Reformation: not seen Now been seen as a
hidden decoration mostly in churches & cathedrals
Cylenchar, 'the hidden one'
disgorging woodland & meadow spirit of Spring rebirth & renewal a.k.a. Jack-in-the-Green, Welsh Gwrddni
located high up by the roof or in dark corners but also hidden in plain sight amongst carvings e.g. leafy designs beside every doorway just one of which will have a face
What Might He Represent?
Resurrection - hope of new life, green leaves sprouting from a sometimes obviously dead head
Creation - uttering leaves into being Wood Spirits - leaf masks in particular seem to show
beneficent face shining with energy of Nature Protection - if Celtic, its use beside or above doors
may protect the building from evil spirits or luck Fertility - some, especially cat-like ones, seem to be
associated with harvest (cat as corn spirit)
(continued)
Portraiture - some have such character it appears to be taken from life. Are these portraits of clerics, sponsors, masons etc. involved with the building?
Decoration - Renaissance foliate heads merely a formal decoration & found everywhere
Wealth - 19th C. Banks frequently feature Green Men. Not only is such carving the preserve of the wealthy, but the lush foliage issuing from a face symbolises the generation of wealth at that time.
Gawain & the Green Knight,
The story-poem of Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the 14th century—a time when many of the foliate heads were being carved on the cathedrals of Europe.
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=13535
Rosslyn Chapel
excess of 110 carvings of Green men in and around the Chapel
progress from E. to W. young in East (Spring) aging as we progress towards the setting sun in the West & Autumn of man's years
How We Use Him
As an archetype of our oneness with the earthhence as a symbol of the Green movement
Son of the God of life & death and of the Goddess of birth & renewal
Some Wiccans see him as the Ever Returning One as opposed to the Horned Lord of death and what comes after
Q & A