Phenomenon of
the Green Man (and Woman)
with examples in Prague
Miloslav Lapka
Faculty of Art and Philosophy, Prague
Green Man…
• The Green Man is a pre-Christian symbol found
carved into the wood and stone of pagan
temples and graves, of medieval churches and
cathedrals, and used as a Victorian architectural
motif, across an area stretching from Ireland in
the west to Russia in the east.
• Terri Windling- Tales of the Mythic Forest
• William Anderson - Green Man symbolism (1990) Poet
• Václav Cílek – Landscapes and Inscapes (in Czech)
How old is Green Man?
• An ancient Celtic symbol, its origins and original
meaning are shrouded in mystery.
• Earliest known examples of the foliate head
date back to classical Rome
• The name dates back only to 1939, when
folklorist Lady Raglan drew a connection
between the foliate faces in English churches
and the Green Man (or "Jack of the Green")
tales of folklore.
•
The Jack in the Green is a figure associated
with the new growth of spring and May Day
celebrations
•
Many scholars consider the god Dionysus to
be a forerunner of the Green Man symbol, for
Dionysus was often pictured masked, crowned
in vine and ivy leaves. This compelling but
dangerous deity was the lord of the wilderness;
he was the god of wine (made from wild grapes),
ecstasy, and sexual abandon.
Why has been the Green Man adopted by
Christianity and accommodated into the
Cathedrals?
• Sacred trees and groves played a central part in
Greco-Roman myths.
• The oak was the tree sacred to Zeus, whose
priests heard his voice in its rustling leaves.
• Adonis, the god of returning seasons and new
crops, was born from the trunk of a myrrh tree.
• The nymph Daphne turned into a laurel tree in
order to escape ravishment by Apollo
Daphne
The Green woman…u
• Far less common than Green Man
• In Irish churches were known by the name
Sheela-na-gig (India the “yoni” figures)
• Greek Goddess Artemis – Mother of all
Creatures
Al-Khidr
• Muslims tradition, literally
means „The green One“
spirit, eternal liveliness.
• One of the Prophets,
angel – guide to those
who seek God.
• Water of life – one who
has found the source of
life.
• Town located on the bank
of the Eufrat river, Iraq.
Twelfth century capital underneath tower, St Michael's,
Melbourne, Derbyshire.
Sheela na Gig? Celebration of fertility? Land and man?
Font, c.1160, St Mary's, Stottesdon
Green cats – influence of illuminated manuscripts
Twelfth century capital fragment from Hyde Abbey cloisters, now
on display in St Batholomew's church, Winchester.
Acorn, grapes?
Fourteenth century sedilia spandrel, St Martin's,
Thompson, Norfolk.
Fifteenth century misericord, Holy Trinity, Wysall,
Nottinghamshire.
Mid-sixteenth century chancel screen, Marwood,
Devon.
Sixteenth century gilded roof boss, Priory church of
St Mary & St Cuthbert, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire.
Composition, remind cubism
Tomb of Sir William Sharington (died 1553), Lacock
Abbey, Wiltshire.
Nineteenth century arm rest, chancel, St Helen's,
Leverton, Lincolnshire.
Tears?
Hagia Sofia 6th – 16th C. Byzantine emporium
H. Sofia, Istanbul
Hagia Sofia
6th – 16th
The Green Man
The Green Man on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.
Dryad, Green knight, 20th century
"A Dream of Apples" by Charles Vess © 1999
"Woman and Mask"
by Robert Gould © 1998
• In our country?
– Al.M?
Green Man and Woman are still living…
• The force of the forest,
wildlife - The city of Rome
was born of the forest,
many European cities ,
too.
• Dryad – Greco – Roman
tradition of trees nymphs
• Archetype of the rebirth,
natural forces
• In myths and fairy tales Celtic Cernunnos, Merlin,
Green Knight, the
• Modern transformation
into:
• Brothers Grimm Teutonic forest,
• Ents- J.R.R. Tolkien
• Neil Gaiman- modern
myths - Stardust
Summary…
Symbol of forest, wild nature, power of nature, nonhuman world, nature spirits…
 Accommodated into Christianity - medieval churches
and cathedrals
 Located inside
 No enemies but not friends
 Location - representative buildings
 Man has respect to Nature but…
 Human domination over nature
Original meanings?
Lets to meet the Green Man….

Green Man is speaking…
"Our remote ancestors said to their Mother Earth: 'We are
yours.'
"Modern humanity has said to Nature: 'You are mine.'
"The Green Man has returned as the living face of the whole
earth so that through his mouth we may say to the universe:
'We are one.'"
(William Anderson)

No longer can we regard the Green Man as simply a decorative feature and the
slightly odd survivor of a by-gone age that has no relevance to the world of today.

We have to honour and acknowledge the Green Man as an age-old symbol of
humanities relationship with the rest of the natural world.

New - old contemporary environmental meaning
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