A Christian insight into the ‘Green Man’

In my recent post Thoughts on the Green Man I drew together some ideas about the image almost universally known as the ‘Green Man’ and the fact that the terminology and general classification dates only from 1939, whereas there are numerous medieval depictions of a face sprouting foliage.

I have now come upon a short note in the Guardian about the possible, if not indeed probable, origin of this common medieval decorative motif. It also explains why it is so frequently found in church buildings. The author argues that it represents the tree that grew from the three seeds placed in Adam’s mouth at his burial. In the legendary history of the Cross that tree was, of course, the one which became the wood of Calvary. I linked to that narrative in my 2021 posts The Legend of the True Cross and Another commentary on Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross

The Guardian note is by Stephen Miller, author of The Green Man in Medieval England: Christian Shoots from Pagan Roots. It can be read at The Christian history of the Green Man motif | Folklore and mythology

I have not read Miller’s book but his argument would seem to make sense. When we see the ‘Green Man’ in churches and cathedrals we are not seeing residual paganism but part of the narrative of Salvation history.