The vernal equinox is approaching in the northern hemisphere, March 20th actually, and it is time for The Green Man to raise from his winter slumbers.
(and I don't want any pedants pointing out that he has missed a couple of summers. Everyone is entitled to a sleep in from time to time.)
The Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man, the Winter guise of the Green Man appears from the River Thames.
The Twelfth Night is organised and performed by The Lions Part a professional Group of Shakespearian actors.
Graham Wilson is a stone carver from Newcaslte, NSW who has taken an interest in one of the oldest carved decorative figures, The Green Man.
Here is are pictures of one of a couple of his carvings. An admirable effort and who should know better than The Green Man himself.
Click here to view more of his work and perhaps purchase a piece.
The Green Man is a foliate face that has existed in the western european culture from the depths of time. Originating in this region he is typically depicted with a face of leaves from the great trees of the region, such as oak.
Here is a contemporary Green Man in a more tropical context.
This Royal Palm Green Man is by Phyllis Araneo. Her paintings in Green Man Resurrected series explore her contention that the Green Man image emerges through popular cultural art forms when there is a marked change in the relationship between nature and humanity.
Christmas is fast approaching and images of the jolly green/red man are to be found everywhere. You may not be aware, however, that Santa has a helper and it is not some cute little elf.
Meet Black Peter
Looks familar? Well Black Peter is another name for the devil and legend has it that St. Nicholas put the Devil in chains and made him his slave. Each Christmas it was believed that the Devil himself was working under orders from Saint Nick. The good Saint would direct Black Peter to drop gifts and candy down the chimneys into the children’s shoes which were always there on Christmas Eve.
Further more the legend gave Black Peter a role in St. Nicholas’ decision making as to what the children should receive for Christmas. The naughty ones and the lazy ones would be spirited away during the night by Black Peter, or punished with a birch rod. St. Nicholas would always force his evil slave to reward the good children with gifts. The fate of the naughty children was often spared by St. Nicholas at the last moment in some cultures, subject to a promise to be good during the following year.
This folklore has its origins in Holland, like St Nicholas himself, and Black Peter is usually depicted wearing spanish style clothes. At the time these legends arose Holland was under Spanish rule which was deeply resented by the Dutch hence the representation of the devil as being aligned with Spain.
For hundreds of years, men and women have told stories about the strange people, beautiful as starlight, fierce as wolves, and heartless as ice. These are not tales for children. They reveal the fairies as a passionate, proud, brutal people.
Stories and motifs are followed down the centuries to reveal the changing nature of fairy lore as it was told to famous figures like WB Yeats and Sir Walter Scott. His research is based on primary sources and many errors about fairy tradition are laid to rest.
It has recently won the Katherine Briggs prize for the best book about folklore in London and is a fascinating insight into the role Fairies played in the emotional world of our ancestors.
Take a minute now to think of a teenage boy that you know, it may be your son or your brother or the boy next door. What age is he, 15, 16, 17, 18? Think about what he is like. If he is like most boys he is full of youthful enthusiasm, his mind set on discovering how to be a man but the journey to manhood has still some distance yet.
Still thinking of this young man take a look at this picture on the right. Picture him in this scene. You see he is the age of the teenage boys that were signing up to head off to World War 1.
Full of youthful bravado they set off to fight for their country. The war was their grand adventure. Like the teenage boy you are thinking about would be they were excited and enthusiastic and eager to take on the world.
Now picture the young man you have been thinking of with his legs shot up, caught on barbed wire in no man's land slowly bleeding to death, alone and frightened as the war raged around him. Picture his dead body hanging there between the trenches for days until a truce was called to collect the bodies.
This was the tragic reality for so many young men. Barely more than children, their grand adventure turned into the horrific nightmare that finished with their slow and painful death many thousands of miles from those who loved them.
Those who returned were deeply emotionally and physically scarred by the whole horrific experience. There was some physical rehabilitation of these young men but little psychological aid. Most stoically bore the psychological scars for the rest of their lives. Many never spoke of their experience to anyone, what point would there have been, they could not describe how horrible it was.
So it was that a generation of young men was destroyed by folly and the egos of the aristocracy of Europe.
Take time to remember these boys and young men whose naivety and youthful joy of life was stolen from them and when you think of them do them the honour of recognising the reality of what was done to them.
In the fields Flanders three generations ago nature presented a spectacular display of her indifference to human folly.
This barren wasteland, richly fertilised with the human blood and bone of the countless thousands who died there, was transformed into a spectacular display of wild poppies. If you are wearing a poppy today, be aware of the reality that is embodied in the the symbolism.
"Green Man" by Cynthia Matyi that incorporates Celtic symbols and mythology. Currently on display at Hyde Park Art Show, Cincinnati.
Here is a story set in Sherwood forest involving Robin Hood, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Maid Marion and Little John. Put aside any preconceived opinions of these four characters and judge them only on the content of the story below.Give your honest opinion (oh and don't take the results too seriously)
The Sheriff of Nottingham captured Little John and Robin Hood and imprisoned them in his maximum security dungeon. Maid Marion begged the Sheriff for their release, pleading her love for Robin.
The Sheriff agreed to release them only if Maid Marion spent the night with him, indulging his carnal pleasures. To this she agreed.
The next morning the Sheriff released his prisoners. Robin at once demanded to know how Marion has persuaded him to free them. Marion confessed the truth and was bewildered when Robin abused her, calling her a slut and saying that he never wanted to see her again.
At this Little John defended her, inviting her to leave Sherwood Forest with him and promising life-long devotion. She accepted and they rode again together.
Now, in terms of realistic every-day standards of behaviour, put Robin, Marion, Little John and the Sheriff in the order in which you consider they showed the most morality and honesty. Once you have decided click on the appropriate link below and remember the psychologists mantra, "we are all screwed up but some of us are more aware of it than others."
Robin, Marion, Sheriff, Little John
Robin, Marion, Little John, Sheriff
Robin, Sheriff, Marion, Little John
Robin, Sheriff, Little John, Marion
Robin, Little John, Marion, Sheriff
Robin, Little John, Sheriff, Marion
Marion, Sheriff, Little John, Robin
Marion, Robin, Sheriff, Little John
Marion, Robin, Little John, Sheriff
Marion, Little John, Sheriff, Robin
Marion, Little John, Robin, Sheriff
Marion, Sheriff, Robin, Little John
Little John, Robin, Marion, Sheriff
Little John, Robin, Sheriff, Marion
Little John, Marion, Robin, Sheriff
Little John, Marion, Sheriff, Robin
Little John, Sheriff, Marion, Robin
Little John, Sheriff, Robin, Marion
Sheriff, Robin, Marion, Little John
Sheriff, Robin, Little John, Marion
Sheriff, Marion, Robin, Little John
Sheriff, Marion, Little John, Robin
Sheriff, Little John, Robin, Marion
Sheriff, Little John, Marion, Robin
In a recent post one of The Green Mans loyal readership drew The Green Mans attention to his web site upon which are the details of the worlds largest Green Man. The image to the right has been politely stolen from said website.
At 40ft high it is a truely impressive Green Man although perhaps somewhat more entish than most Green Men.
This incarnation of The Green Man is to be found at The Custard Factory in Birmingham and is the work of master sculptor Tawny Gray.
Naturally, having seen this magnificent icon you will want one for yourself and the only problem will be where to put it. Clearly it would make an impressive addition to the BBQ area in the backyard but The Green Man politely suggests that this may be slightly disrespectful and that perhaps ajoining the front door may be more appropriate.
Some people may inexplicably feel a Green Man is inappropriate well don't dispair you could have a 50ft high dragon for the side of your house or one of a number of other iconic figures. Contact the esteemed Tawny Gray to discuss you iconic scuplture requirements.
Recruitment
Enlistment
Off to War
Into The Trenches
The Battle
The Outcome
The Aftermath
The Green Man is oldest, he saw the first rain drop fall and the first acorn of the old forest sprout. He walked the mountains when the world was free of care.
The Green Man sadly shakes his head as, from the eves of the ancient forest, he observes obese children in costumes seeking more obesity via sweets in a pathetic curruption of a ritual where priests used to seek sustenance in exchange for assisting the dead to the afterlife.
Samhain is the holiest day in the Celtic calendar and marks the end of the northern hemisphere summer. It is a day when the dead return to walk among us. The world of faerie intersects with the our world and we may encounter residents of this realm. Knights of this realm were at once both magnificent and terrible.
As the Romans overran the Celtic heartlands they recognised the significance of this day and embraced it. Samhain was replaced with the festival of Pomona. She was the goddess of the orchards and the harvest, and her feasts consisted of apples, nuts, grapes and other concord fruits. To the Romans, the apple was the symbol of love and fertility. One Samhain ritual introduced by the Romans was to take an apple before the Sabbat begins and cut it in half. Mentally fill it with all your illnesses and bad habits, then put the fruit together and bury it in the ground. As the apple rots so do your misgivings.
The Christians, in turn recognised and embraced this sacred day. who named it the day of all sanctities, or All Hallows in old English.
Samhain has sruvived the passing of the ages and cultures, changing its name but retaining its deep spiritual significance. Sadly it seems that it has been hijacked by popular culture and stripped it of its spirituality. Halloween is now a trivial and banal caricature of an ancient Celtic celebration whose orgins are lost in the depths of time.
Tuesday Night was one of the warmest October nights on record in Melbourne. What better than a stroll down the main street to buy some beer and a pizza for dinner. A gentle warm northerly breeze was blowing and the footpath tables of the local cafes were full. It reminded me of our time in Mexico actually. Ah there has to be some pluses to global warming.
In the southern hemisphere we can expect more of these delightful nights. Not like you lot in the northern hemisphere who have commenced your decent into death. Don't worry though, The Green Man will be there next spring to triumph over winter and return life to your forests and fields. Traditionally this is a period when you must stock up to survive the cold winter months. The food is stockpiled for this frigid period. By now most crops have been harvested and it is time to slaughter stock and hunt wild animals to provide the meat for the winter. Accordingly, the October Moon is known as the "Blood Moon".
This months moon is more special than most. If you live in north america, on Wednesday, Oct. 27th at 9:14 p.m. EDT (6:14 p.m. PDT) you can witness a full lunar eclipse of the moon when it will display itself full of the blood of the slaughtered animals, as per the picture on the right.
Some of the more anal retentive of the readership may be interested in the scientific explanation of this phenonemon which I will come to in a minute. First, however, consider not reading any further and look upon it with the awe and respect that your ancestors did.
You kept reading!
Oh all right then. The lunar eclipse is formed by the earth coming between the sun and the moon. The light from the sun is powerful however and refracts through the earths atmosphere causing the red tinge to the moon.
Read more at NASA here or Salisbury University here.
Here is a photo of El Castillo at Chichen Itza which is on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. (None of those words you probably pronounced correctly if you were reading aloud, except, hopefully "peninsula". Never mind that is not the point of the post anyway.)
It was built by the Mayans around 1500 years ago when their civilisation was thriving in the area. The Mayans, like many ancient civilisations, were deeply committed to the study of celestial bodies and the changing of the seasons were always marked with celebrations. In the Mayans this usually involved doing all sorts or terrible things to captured warriors but we won't go there.
You can see steps running up each face of the monument. The ones that are of interest in the context of this post are the ones on the right. Those clever Mayans built this monument in such a way that at the equinox the shadow of cast by the sun on these steps formed the image of a snake. At 3 PM the snakes body makes its way down from the top until it connects with a huge carved stone snakes head at the base of the steps.
The photo on the left is of The Green Man gingerly descending the said steps, in a green t-shirt, naturally. I include this photo primarily because it is my blog and I can. It has no particular relevance to the article in question. The photo was taken in October so verification of the snake business was impossible. If you think those steps look steep you are right. In fact they are probably steeper than you think, the OH&S representative was obviously not present during the construction phase. Still, given that they had the habit of ripping the still beating heart from their enemies and chucking people into cenotes, occupational health and safey may not have had the priority that it does today.
The Green Man has never been very good with heights so what was good fun going up was a nightmare coming down.
Anyway back to the topic. The Autumn Equinox is also a big event in England with harvest feasting and celebrations. It is also the time of the symbolic death of Goddess (or possibly wood nymph) Pomona. Pomona is the spirit charged with the responsibility of looking after the fruit and vegies. She is dressed in flowing robes, she generally wears a crown of fruit and often carries an overflowing cornucopia dripping with the fruits of the harvest. Don't be too upset though she is returned to life next spring.
The horse pulling in the last cartful of produce is garlanded with ropes of flowers although this lost something when the farmers moved to tractors. A garland of flowers around the exhaust pipe just doesn't have the same romantic feel about it. The Green Man is also featured but more in a supporting role, May is The Green Man's time.
Christians, eager not to be left out of the celebrations also have harvest services to give thanks for the years produce but, as in so many cases, much of their traditions have their origins in our pagan past.
Regular readers of The Green Man will know that The Green Man is fundamentally disinterested in the Olympic Games. This is because it is essentially all hype these days. Having said that, the open ceremony was interesting to watch specifically because of its classical theme. Greece is afterall the birth place of democracy, of philosophy, of great academic endeavour.
Ancient Greece was one of the great civilisations of man and the Olympic Opening Ceremony celebrated this. Christianity Today, however, did not share The Green Man's admiration of this tribute to a culturally rich and artistically vibrant society. Why, well it was a pagan culture and they are upset that Christian athletes were present when
Greek god Eros descends over scantily clad lovers sensually clutching and releasing each other as they frolic in the water. Finally the procession of Greek history begins, with float after float parading the progress of Greek sport, science, mathematics, warfare, theatre, and—culminating in the persona of the goddess Athena and a replica of the Parthenon—religion. Over all this, Eros hovers, as though the god of love is guiding the course of human history.
Hmmmm love guiding the course of human history. Fiction of course, the bulk of human history has been driven by war and conquest, a significant component in the name of Jesus Christ, but love is a wonderful ideal as a motivating force for human endeavour. How sad that Christianity Today feels so threatened by the passion of two lovers. If it was sex they were concerned about then The Green Man would of thought that the 70,000 condoms put to effective use in the Olympic Village would have been of greater concern than the image of a pagan god floating over the open ceremony.
And a nice enough god he is too. The Green Man, being an ancient pagan spirit himself, knows Eros personally. Never take him as your darts partner at the pub though; he is terrible at darts, can't focus, always distracted by couples in the booths.
The ancient Olympic Games were pagan and they were violent but that was a different place and time. A place and time that gave birth to civilisation as we know it. If you are a Christian then this is part of your cultural heritage, Christianity developed in this corner of the space and time. Everyone today benefits from the science, literature and art that arose during this pagan era.
Just lighten up people. The Green Man is extremely concerned that we are entering a new dark ages where conservative puritan values and fear are becoming the compass by which we strike our course. The Olympic Games, whilst boring and market driven are essentially harmless. Christianity Today would do well to turn its attention to the numerous and significant moral dilemmas that exist for us to confront at the moment, in Iraq, Sudan, Israel, Chechnya to name but four.
These are sophisticated times in the west. In Australia, just as in other western countries such as USA, Canada, UK, NZ, magic and tales of fay deeds are the realm of childrens fantasy. J K Rowling has been responsible for moving the genre solidly into the teenage bracket but most "grown-ups" still regard faeries with distain.
This is a relatively modern phenonemon. Faeries were not necessarily tiny cute winged creatures that lived at the bottom of the garden and captivated young girls, they were once great and powerful. Faerie warriors were magnificent and awe inspiring. As they past mortal men fell to the ground in terror of their majesty and power. In times gone by tales of faerie were for adult consumption.
The strength of the faerie story is in its ability to explore the deeper reaches of the human pysche. To tap into those primal aspects of the human brain that gave form to The Green Man. For those with the intellectual strength to undertake a journey into this domain ancient, forgotten corners of our psyche are accessible for exploration. Many of you who feel threatened by this alternate reality will dismiss it as foolishness but there is much to be learned in the fay realms.
The adult faerie story is a genre seldom visited these days however, in her new novel, ''Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,'' Susanna Clarke has reentered this inspiring domain. Set in London at the time of the Napoleonic Wars it chronicles the lives of two gentlemen wizards. Mr. Norrell is an intellectual wizard whose actions are considered and responsible. As a counterpoint his pupil is the dilettante Jonathan Strange.
This is an intricate adult tale of dueling wizards with the complexity of story structure and narrative to engage an adult reader. Set in Regency England in the 19th century it provides an interesting social commentary on the contemporary mores and the publics fascination notoriety, the cultivation of social status. Hmmm that bit of our culture hasn't changed that much has it?
The Green Man is currently under a comment spam attack and I have had to disable comments. There is no point emailing me either because the email account has maxed out as a result of the attack. Hopefully things will be back in order in a day or so.
Update
Ha, fixed you, you bastards. There are some advantages to being skilled in relational databases. A quick bit of SQL and 2,500 pieces of comment spam are obliterated. Now it is just the tediousness of deleting all the accompanying emails and calming down my hosting service who are cracking it over the amount of CPU usage the incident resulted in.
Email is back up again. I will switch comments back on over the weekend after I have put some measures in place to try and stop it happening again.
This Saturday, July 17, is Green Man day in Barnstaple with the highlight of the annual Pilton Festival being the parade and Green Man pageant.
Here you see John Hopper making a noble attempt at The Green Man in preparation for the festival. He is being kitted out by Albert Linacre who seems to have developed quite a reputation in the area for his Green Man costumes.
Barnstaple is in the heart of Green Man country, North Devon and those of you living within a bull's roar of the place should make your way down for this notable show of respect for The Green Man. By way of encouragement The Green Man observes that the area is also notable for the production of some admirable hogs heads of cider, a number of which it can be expected will be consumed over the weekend.
Here is John Hopper in Pilton St with Kieron Miller-Watts and Maureen McDonald acting as helpers.
The Green Man notes with some surprise the presence of blue in the sky. This is, afterall, England.
Looks like the night time naked dancing around the bonfire may be a goer afterall. Ask a local, I am sure they can point you in the direction of this more bohemian aspect of The Green Man celebrations.
Important Update:
Reform Inn is holding a beer festival and yard of ale competitions as part of the overall celebrations. A ideal spot to quench the thirst after a browse in the medieval-style market and a visit to Pilton House for a bit of blood and guts medieval-style in the tournament that will commence at 3:30pm.
Read more in the North Devon Gazette.
Remember happiness is a method of travel, not a destination.
The Green Man Blog is one year old, I thought it was today but, checking back, the first post was on the 26th May. Never mind, such is the nature of The Green Man, he has never been particularly good with dates.
The Green Man blog arose out of a creative writing course that I was attending at the time. It started as a creative writing exercise and had essentially three main objectives,
1. to explore contemporary issues in art, ethics and science,
2. to promote and educate in the richness and depth of the culture within which we live,
3. to promote men's physical and psychological wellbeing through challenging the destructive myths and values that constrain and diminish the quality of men's lives
The big challenge for a new writer has traditionally been to get published, that is after the big challenge of coming up with something worth publishing of course. The internet has changed all that, $3.75 a month, a little bit of technical know-how and today you have a world market for your writing.
The beauty and the curse of the internet is that there is zero quality control on the material that is published there. The only measure of quality is the degree to which people, having stumbled on a site, return to read more. The Green Man is most gratified to know that, out of the 6 billion or so of us that share the planet, there are at least 4 people that fit into that category vis-a-vis The Green Man blog.
Seriously though, the readership of The Green Man has grown consistently over the 12 months and continues to grow. The current readership is around 1,100 people per day which is quite gratifying.
It is quite easy to get caught up in the day-to-day argy bargy that occupies the front few pages of our newspapers, which many will note The Green Man is also not immune from. It is, however, mainly froth and bubble. The Green Man will endeavour to maintain his focus on the more important aspects of life, namely art and beauty, exploration of our cultural heritage, the greater understanding of ourselves and others that science gives us and, of course, that nakedness is seldom a bad idea, except, perhaps, when you are frying chicken.
A quick review of the statistics for The Green Man shows that the two top search strings that have lead to this site this month are "Green Man" and "The Green Man".
It makes a bit of a change from "Spencer Tunick" and "Worlds Tallest Tree" which are the usual two. A bit of an odd combination that, I am sure I can make something bizarre out of it with a small amount of effort. But I digress, Green Man, is top this month and it is hardly surprising. May, afterall, is the month of The Green Man. It is spring time in the Northern Hemisphere and pagan celebrations of renewal and fecundity abound. It is no wonder that people are searching for more information on The Green Man. He symbolises the triumph of spring and summer over autumn and winter and is popping up in celebrations across much of America and western Europe.
In the Southern Hemisphere the days are shortening and the cold, wet weather is setting in. We can only watch in envy as men and women across Europe and America dance joyous and naked around the bonfire. Why no join them? Put that bad news and negativity aside for a moment and release your wildness.
Trust The Green Man, it is very therapeutic and a glass or two of seriously strong scrumpy cider before hand never goes astray either.
Read more about The Green Man here.
The Green Man had his followers out in force at Ilfracombe's May Day Celebrations and “Green Man” festivities on May Day.
The celebrations are held each year to invoke the spirit of summer and to bit farewell to winter.
Organiser of the event Garry Thompson says,
We make the sun come out every year! We defy the weather forecasters and the sun always shines on the May Day revellers, but the children were absolute stars and I think they were the ones who brought the sun out for us.
The Green Man wholeheartedly agrees.
And in, what can only be desribed as an enlightened move, Ilfracombe augments the Green Man festivities with a Beer Festival. Now this is my sort of town.
Read more in North Devon Gazette
So Frodo says to me “Who are you master?”
I answer “"Don't you know my name yet? That is the only answer. ... But you are young and I am old. Eldest that's what I am. ... Tom was here before the river and trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. .... When the Elves passed westward Tom was already here, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the starts when it was fearless."
I was, of course, going by the name of Tom Bombadil at the time. Names, however, mean little to me, they are a human artifice and I have had many.
To the Morris Dancers of the English countryside I am “Jack In The Green”. My role in their dances typifies the ancient view of me. I was viewed as the Lord of Misrule, as wild as the ancient forest. My role is to disrupt the dancers, cavorting amongst them, upsetting the rhythm of the dance. I am also the subject of one of the most important alliterative poems of Medieval literature, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. At one stage Sir Gawain lops off my head, I pick it up and laugh. I am symbolic of the seasonal nature of life in the forest, a representation of the conquest of spring and summer over the symbolic death of winter.
Many of you will know the story of Robin Hood and his wild existence in Sherwood forest. What you may not know is that I am the original Robin Hood. I existed in English mythology long before the Robin of Loxley character was grafted on and Maid Marion and the Merry Men existed. It was not until 1939 that Lady Raglan named me The Green Man but the name was embraced by the public. Since then this is primarily the name by which I am known.
Like the howl of the wolf at dusk in the wilderness I resonate in the dark recesses of your primitive mind. Suppress your knowledge of me if that makes you comfortable. I care not; I am not a spirit that particularly concerns itself with the comings and goings of men. My realm is the ancient forest, my friends are the giant oak and elm. The time of men is but a flicker of a shadow in the ancient forest.
It is the summer solstice today in the southern hemisphere, which presumably means that it is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. "Solstice" is Latin for "sun stands still" (sol "sun" and sistere "to stand"). Summer Solstice is so named because to the naked eye the sun appears stationary in its northern and southern progression.
Happy solsticing to you all.
Summer solstice represents the day of the year when the sun is at its most powerful. Marking the commencement of the disent into winter it was a time for planning for the long cold months that will inevitably follow. Fire is an important aspect to Midsummer celebrations. The balefires, bonfires on hilltops, at crossroads, or any place where people could gather reaches far back into antiquity.
Winter solstice, on the other hand, is even more significant in the solar calendar. It was celebrated with feasts and bonfires for thousands of years. Tomorrow, in the northern hemisphere, the Sun begins again to win the battle that it fights in perpetuity with darkness. This is the time when The Green Man begins to stir. Over the next few months he will exert his influence in the old deciduous forests, emerging triumphant from the battle with winter to lead the celebrations of spring.
The Green Man is old, he saw the first rain drop fall and the first acorn of the old forest sprout. He walked the mountains when the world was free of care.
The cycle of the seasons is the rythm of life to The Green Man and the pulse of the earth takes a beat as we approach Samhain (pronounced sah-ween). It is the holiest day in the Celtic calendar, marking the end of the northern hemisphere summer. It is a day when the dead return to walk among us. The world of faerie intersects with the our world and we may encounter mighty knights of that realm who are at once both magnificent and terrible.
As the Romans overran the Celtic heartlands they recognised the significance of this day and embraced it. So, in turn, did the Christians who named it the day of all sanctities, or All Hallows in old English.
Through the passing of the ages the day has retained a deep spiritual significance. Sadly popular culture has seen an end to that. Not abandoned to wither like many ancient beliefs, it has been hijacked and reduced to the trivial.
The Green Man sadly shakes his head as, from the eves of the ancient forest, he observes obese children in costume seeking more obesity via sweets where priests used to seek sustenance in exchange for assisting the dead to the afterlife.
The earth's pulse is burdened by ischemia these days.
I have been working on a new image for the Green Man. The Green Man is normally depicted full face but I am experimenting with half profile at the moment.
Here is the first draft. It was drawn with Derwents last weekend.
As a child I longed for a complete set of Derwent pencils but they were for children with wealthier parents than I had. I had to wait for my son to give me a set, which he did, for Christmas, two or three years ago.
The final will probably be in water colour or possibly oil paint but, after all these years, I still turn to pencils first when working up new ideas.
The Green Man is the participant in many of the festivals of the old English countryside. As such The Green Man and beer are long term companions. This relationship is celebrated in Asheville, North Carolina at the Jack of the Wood pub. The pub brews in the English tradition and, if I was in the area, I'd be dropping in.
You can visit them on the web at www.jackofthewood.com
Here is an article about the pub from the Citizen Times.
Gloucester Cathedral has a fine collection of images of The Green Man. The age of the images range from mediaeval through to modern.
If you are driving past you can check them out. Click here to find a list of them.
Thanks to JMRoth for this pointer to another song of The Green Man by Jethro Tull. I used to be a fan of their music in my young and ignorant days, I'll have to revisit it.
This is from the "Songs From The Wood" album.
Jack In The Green, by Jethro Tull
Have you seen?
- With his long tail hanging down.
He sits quietly under every tree
In the folds of his velvet gown.
He drinks from the empty acorn cup.
The dew that dawn sweetly bestows.
And taps his cane upon the ground -
Signals the snow drops, it's time to grow
It's no fun being:
No place to dance, no time for song.
He wears the colours of the summer soldier;
And carries the green flag all the winter long.
Jack do you never sleep - does the green still run deep in your heart?
Or will these changing times, motorways, powerlines, keep us apart?
Well, I don't think so.
I saw some grass growing through the pavements today.
The Rowan, the Oak and the Holly tree
Are the charges left for him to groom.
Each blade of grass whispers, "Jack-in-the-Green."
"Oh Jack, please help me through my winter's night."
And - "We are the berries on the Holly tree:
Oh, the Mistle Thrush is coming. Jack, put out the light!"
As mentioned in passing in an earlier post. The Green Man makes his appearance in the Morris Dancers of England as Jack-In-The-Green. His is a disruptive character that attempts to distract the dancers from their dancing by playing the fool, as well as breaking away from the dance troope and accosting the onlookers.
Below is a picture from Breinton Morris with their Green Man in full flight. (click on the picture to visit their site and see lots more pictures of the Green Man in action.
To quote the piece "If A Thing's Worth Doing, It's Worth Overdoing". A motto they seemed to have embraced with enthusiasm. Long live the Green Man.
Update: Breinton Morris site seems to have disappeared. I have updated the image with one from Toronto High Park May Morning 2001 Morris Dancing courtesy of Mark Whitcombe
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight is one of the most important alliterative poems of Medieval literature. The Green Knight in question is actually the Green Man from mythology. Originating in the north-west midlands, it dates from the second half of the 14th century.
Gawain and other knights are in attendance at Arthur's court on New Year's Day. Arthur, as is his custom, refuses to eat until he has seen some marvel. A mysterious green knight appears and issues a challenge: One man may strike him one blow with an axe. If he survives, he will expect the knight who struck the blow to afford him the same chance in a year's time. Gawain takes up the challenge and beheads the man. The man grabs his head, laughs, and tells Gawain to fulfill his part of the bargain. The Green Knight leaves the axe as a memento and a sharp reminder of Gawain's promise: He must go to the Green Chapel in a year and a receive a blow just like the one he gave the Green Knight.
Not to be thought cowardly or vulnerable, Gawain agrees.
Fast forward to the following December:
Gawain reaches a splendid castle (as if by chance) at Christmas; he is entertained for a few days by the castle lord, his ravishing wife, and a mysterious black-shrouded older woman. The host tells Gawain that the Green Chapel is just around the corner and further invites him to stay the last three days of the year in the castle. Ever gracious, Gawain accepts.
The castle lord proposes a game: He and Gawain will each share with the other what they have gained at the end of a day. For the lord, this is game that he has hunted and killed; for Gawain, it is kisses that he has received from the lord's lady, who has tried to seduce him while her lord is away. She also gives him a talisman-laden green girdle, which he does not give up.
The next day, the first of the new year, Gawain and a guide from the castle set out for the Green Chapel. The guide tries to dissuade Gawain from fulfilling his part of the bargain by boasting of the Green Knight's fearsome deeds, but Gawain will not be swayed.
At the Green Chapel, the Green Knight appears and swings the axe three times: The first two are feints, and the third nicks Gawain slightly on the neck. The Green Knight then explains that he was Sir Bertilak, the lord of the castle where Gawain had stayed, and that he had deliberately set his wife to tempt Gawain and that the third knick was for the green girdle, which Gawain had not revealed. The Green Knight further reveals that the black-shrouded older woman at the castle was Morgan Le Fay, whose idea the whole challenge was. She, it seems, was trying to stir up trouble.
Sir Gawain triumphs not through his bravery, but his morality. This is somewhat ironic because Gawain was usually depicted as a womaniser!
I am born on May Morning - by sticks, bells, and ribbons
I am the sap - in the dark root
I am the dancer - with his six fools
I am the tump - behind the old church
I am the lost soul - under the misericord
I am the oak - against the stars
I am the face - that peers through the leaves
I am the fear - in a child' s mind
I am the demon - on the roof-boss
I am killed in October - and laid on church altars
I am the guiser - on the bright bonfire
I am the old grain - sown with the seed
I am the flame - in the pumpkin ' s grin
I am the spirit - in the kern-baby's bosom
Anonymous
From this piece on the history of The Green Man in Morris Dancing
The namesake for my blog, The Green Man, appears through much of western Europe, including the UK. His image appears on many buildings and cathedrals. If you are interested in seeing what he looks like this site the documents some of the images to be found in Kent , Canterbury and Devon
The Green Man's a traveller
A reveller, unraveller
Of dreams and of fancies
The first to the last.
Older than old men
Living in all things
Son, father and sage
Long live the Green Man
(Cloudstreet)
In writing The Lord of The Rings Tolkien drew extensively on the old mythology of western Europe for his characters and the Green Man was no exception. After the fellowship, at this stage consisting only of the hobbits, leave Buckland they enter the old forest. This is dangerous because many old and malevolent things exist in there. Merry is caught by a wicked old willow tree and is only saved when Tom Bombadil wanders by and commands the willow to free him. They accompany Tom back to his home and question both Tom and his wife, Goldberry, as to who Tom is. Goldberry answers "He is master of wood, water and hill. ... all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves. Tom is the Master."
Later Frodo asks "Who are you master?"
Tom answers "Don't you know my name yet? That is the only answer. ... But you are young and I am old. Eldest that's what I am. ... Tom was here before the river and trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. .... When the Elves passed westward Tom was already here, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the starts when it was fearless."
Tom has no concern of the comings and goings of men and the ring of power has no power over him. It does not make him invisible. He is the one person in the realm that is not affected by it. His concern is the old forest, this is his world and he never ventures from it.
With little or no fanfare the green man commences his journey through the blogosphere. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the green man he is a mythic creature that appears across most of Western Europe and similar iconic figures have been found in many other cultures. The origins of the Green Man are lost in the depths of antiquity, he predates Christianity and is thought to be symbolic of the triumph of life over death by personifying the triumph of summer over autumn and winter. As with many pagan beliefs, he was incorporated by early Christians in their pantheon. His image stares down from the roofs, pillars and doorways of great cathedrals and churches throughout England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Italy and Holland. He appears in second century Roman columns in Turkey and in temples in Rajasthan.
The Green Man is typically depicted as a face formed from leaves of the ancient woodland trees, with either leaves, roots or fruit emerging from his mouth. Although the full meaning of the Green Man is lost, he is a window into an extremely ancient part of ourselves. He is at once both strangely compelling and slightly disturbing and gives the sense that he represents something old and strong and tremendously important.
The Green Man's is thought to be the origin of many myths that we know today. He appears as Robin Hood, the Lord of the Merry Greenwood. This Robin Hood had nothing to do with the bows and arrows and Sheriff of Nottingham stories. He was an older and more powerful figure and the Robin of Loxley figure was added much later. Robin Hood was a lord of Misrule as well as the King of the Wood. As well as the Morris dances of Old England, he is believed to be the origin of Jack in the Green who precedes Maypole dancers, Old Man of the Woods and the Green Knight whose tale is told in one of the earliest English epic poems "Gawain and the Green Knight".
In the modern context the Green Man serves as a symbol of our unavoidable involvement with nature. Whether we like it or not we are all part of nature and tied to the cycles of nature. By ignoring the ancient part of ourselves that the Green Man represents we reduce our completeness as people.
