The Green Man

The best definition I have found for the Green Man is the following by Clive Hicks in his book The Green Man: A Field Guide (published 2001): 

"The Green Man is an image and an idea.  It is the image of a human face associated with foliage and it is the idea that makes real the connection between humanity and nature. The image personifies the idea."

The earliest Green Men in Britain, probably arrived with the Normans but the majority of Green Man images are found carved in wood or stone in medieval churches and cathedrals. They are also found in some European countries, especially France and Germany.  

The Green Man is also used as a name for a public house in England, although there are none in Somerset (the closest are in Barnstaple, Kings Stag (Dorset) and Bristol).

The term Green Man was first used by Lady Raglan in 1939.  Before this time they were usually described as "foliate heads".

No medieval written records have been found about Green Men, so their original meaning is shrouded in mystery.  They may have their origins in ancient mythology, which lives on today in folk customs, for example May Day celebrations, which sometimes include a character known as Jack-in-the-Green and have the theme of regeneration/rebirth.  Alternatively their origins may lie with "wild-men" who lived in the woods on the fringes of society in the Middle Ages, for example Robin Hood. Or they could come from an innate part of the human psyche where the Green Man symbolises the realisation and acceptance that humanity and the world are inseparable.

There are three main types of Green Men:

1.  Have faces formed of leaves
2.  Have faces where foliage comes out of the face, usually the mouth but occasionally the nose, ears or eyes.  This is the most common type in medieval carvings in England
3. The face is set amongst the foliage.

There are very few Green Women and only a few animals: usually cats, lions, dragons or birds.

There are a few theories as to why so many Green Men are found in British churches:

1. They are a customary decoration
2. They are a witness to the events of the Christian story: Nativity, Crucifixion, Last Judgment etc and the cycle of life
3. They are there to teach us to behave better and to deter us from sinning

Post medieval Green Men are mostly decorative, rather than having a symbolic meaning.  In the Victorian period they were often used as decorations on churches, houses, municipal and commercial buildings, monuments and fountains.

Somerset has more than its fair share of Green Men.  Here are a few I have spotted:  

Bench end, Monksilver Church

Roof boss, Raddington Church

Bench end, Clayhanger Church

Bench end, Crowcombe Church

Bench end, Crowcombe Church

Bench end, Crowcombe Church

Roof boss, St Cuthbert's Church, Wells

Bench end in Churchstanton Church

Bench end in Cothelstone Church

Corbel in St Andrew's Church, Banwell

Capital, St Andrew's Church, Banwell

Capital, St Andrew's Church, Banwell

Capital, St Andrew's Church, Banwell

St Andrew's Church, Clevedon

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

This is an animal, rather than a man

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

This is an animal, rather than a man

St Nicholas's Church, Withycombe

Gate of Lydeard St Lawrence Church

Green man carved into the stonework of the side wall of the Boston Tea Party in Corporation Street, Taunton

Is this a green man?  

He is on the wall of a cottage opposite Aisholt Church

Bench end in St George's Church, Dunster

Green Man  next to the 'Welcome to Wiveliscombe' sign

Green man carved on the 16th century font in Brompton Ralph Church

Green man on a bench end in Cheddon Fitzpaine Church

Further reading: The Green Man: A Field Guide by Clive Hicks, published by Compassbooks, 2000