The Green Man: Myth and Reality – Imogen Corrigan

I was in the process of writing – well, researching – an idea I had for a novel. It involved various incarnations of the Green Man and probably owed more to Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing than I care to admit. It was a very cozy eco-centric idea in which the remaining green spaces fight back against the great polluters and yadda yadda yadda…

My prior research – and experience – led me to believe that The Green Man was the consummate symbol of Paganism. This suited my purposes. Confirmation bias is a terrible thing. I had always seen it as a quintessentially British symbol, but there are many instances of the foliate head in European churches, too. As far as I recall,  I don’t remember the book mentioning American instances. I have certainly seen them in cathedrals in the US. The odd thing is, that it only seems to be the UK that has any real interest in them. The author recounts the complete indifference to them in non-Uk settings. Maybe this is because we have Herne, Robin Hood, Jack in the Green and are desperate to co-opt it as part of those legends. That was certainly the case in the pagan groups I was involved with.

Imogen Corrigan, presents new ideas with new evidence occur and you are left with a sense that, – other than the name – nothing is certain. Certainly, no one can really claim it as their own and its true meaning has been lost. 

Detailing its history and likely sources, ‘The Green Man Myth and Reality’ explodes the ‘Green Man is Pagan’ myth almost completely. Quite what it is is still open for debate, but there are quite a few pieces of unearthed evidence that suggest the green man is not necessarily an ancient pagan archetype. Shockingly, the majority of the foliate heads weren’t even green – red and gold seemingly the favoured colours. Even the name is in doubt with the first instance of the Green Man name coined in 1939 by Lady Raglan. Prior to that, the aforementioned foliate head was the preferred soubriquet.

This is mind blowing news for a slightly cynical ex-pagan.

The major take-out from this book, for me at least, is that its origins are possibly biblical, or at least biblically adjacent, hailing from a story in Jacobus de Voragine’s 1300’s compilation ”The Golden Legend which I’m going to have to track down; a story of Adam being buried with three seeds in his mouth makes so much sense. (If sense is the correct word.) The expulsion of greenery from eyes, ears, mouth, nose seems entirely logical in those circumstances. This may explain why they are so prevalent in churches. Far from an appeasement to the old gods, they state quite clearly, the origins of the church in which they are placed. Or…

What fascinates, it that despite the tremendous research, there are no conclusions, no definitives. Exasperating – for me and the author – but somehow quite appropriate. The Green Man, the Foliate head is a bona fide mystery.

If the book has a fault, then it’s the practice of explicitly describing the heads and placing a picture next to the forensically written detail. It seems a tad redundant. (Bizarrely, it reminded me of Patrick Bateman’s obsession with listing, but I’m in a weird mood).  That said, it’s a never less than fascinating read, utterly enthralling and entirely engaging. So compelling, in fact, that the ideas I had for the novel seem hopelessly archaic. I’ve abandoned that project on reading this book and far from being annoyed, I’m revelling in the new and exciting information. And that is where the book excels.

After years of dry academia, this book has made learning interesting again. (I suspect this is book has its root in a PhD thesis but that’s by the by and none the worse for it)

Perhaps that is what the Green Man, the foliate head, is all about. Breathing new life into old.

A genuinely remarkable book and a riveting read.