The famous Bamberg Green Man (c. 13th Century) in the shape of an acanthus leaf, Bamberg Cathedral, Germany (Source)

A Green Man is any kind of a carving, drawing, painting or representation of any kind which shows a head or face surrounded by, or made from, leaves. The face is almost always male, although a few Green Women do exist (examples can be found at the Minster of Ulm, Germany and at Brioude, France), and Green Beasts (particularly cats and lions) are reasonably commonplace.

There are three main types of Green Man image:

• A head where the whole face may be composed of a leaf or leaves (sometimes called a “foliate head” or “foliate mask”). A good example is the Green Man of Bamberg in Bamberg Cathedral, Germany (see picture at right). This is perhaps the oldest variant, dating back to the leaf masks of Roman times.
• A face with leaves, vines or branches sprouting from the mouth, nose, ears or even eyes (sometimes called a “disgorging” or “uttering” head). The oldest example dates from 5th Century France, but this became the most popular style in the 12th to 15th Century, especially in Britain. A good example is the Sutton Benger Green Man in Wiltshire, England (see picture on Home page).
• A head where the hair, eyebrows, moustache and/or beard may be made up of leaves, often bearing flowers or fruit. Good examples can be found in Southwell Minster and on roof bosses in Norwich Cathedral.
• A head surrounded by foliage, but where the leaves are not actually part of the face. At its simplest and most naturalistic, this may be just the image of a man peering out from among dense foliage, similar to the figure of Jack-in-the-Green. There are good examples in York Minster, England and Magdeburg Cathedral, Germany. However, many purists do not consider this to be a genuine type of Green Man.

But, within that general description, the variations are almost infinite, and there appears to be no standard representation of a Green Man. For example, there are examples of:

Green Man images from the sketchbook (c. 1230) of Villard de Honnecourt (Source)

Sometimes a foliate head is quite clearly a human head (on a human neck and shoulders) which changes to leaves and vegetation at its edges. Sometimes it may be more of a cluster of leaves (or even a single leaf on a stalk) which exhibits the features and character of a human face. Drawings by the 13th century architect Villard de Honnecourt (see picture at right) clearly demonstrate these different styles (although both types may appear side by side, such as at Chartres).

Sometimes a Green Man appears with a feminine “consort”, often in the form of a sheela-na-gig (figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated open vulva, sometimes considered a kind of Green Woman, the female counterpart of the Green Man) or a split-tailed mermaid, although some have argued that the vegetation itself can be identified with the feminine principle of Gaia or Mother Earth, so that the Green Man transcends gender entirely.

This moon-faced Green Man (restored to its original colouring) is high on a roof boss in All Saints Church, Evesham, Worcestershire, England (photo Rex Harris) (Source)

The faces themselves maybe either naturalistic in appearance, or more stylized, including variants of the “wild man” and “moon face”. Renditions vary from the simplistic and basic carvings of folk art traditions, to sophisticated and expressive sculptures which hold their own among the very best of church ornamentation (some of the later medieval Gothic masters were able to portray specific features, emotions and moods on the faces of Green Men that were beyond the skills of earlier carvers). Some faces have welcoming and reassuring expressions; others appear distinctly ferocious, at times even threatening (a good example being the famously stern foliate head in Bamberg Cathedral, shown at the top of this page). Some appear barely human, having more in common with demons or beasts.

The types of leaves shown on Green Man images vary, largely dependent on the local flora and symbolism associations, with common choices being fig, vine and acanthus in the south, and oak, beech and hawthorn further north (although one example, again at Chartres Cathedral, specifically shows vine, acanthus and oak leaves all together).

Most Green Men are found in Christian churches, the vast majority in Britain, France and Germany, mainly dating from the medieval period from the 11th to 16th Century. Sometimes they are apparently hidden away behind rood-screens or choir stalls or high in the ceiling structure, but often they are in plain view (often even in place of honour) on columns or above main doorways. In terms of size, they may range from life-sized to tiny images on roof bosses. They can also be found, although less commonly, on other buildings, both ecclesiastical and secular, and as decorations on tombs and memorial monuments.