A Dutch Greenman.
The photos are borrowed from Wikipedia.Except for the Dutch Green Man. This was taken by one of my daughters.
Wikipedia says: "A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical). "The Green Man" is also a popular name for English public houses and various interpretations of the name appear on inn signs, which sometimes show a full figure rather than just the head.
The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or "renaissance," representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history".
I wonder if you ever saw a "Green Man"in your surroundings. From now on I am going to be more attentive and I am going to look for Green Men!!
With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with G.
35 comments:
All the different rites of spring, Great slides and description Wil.
Around where we live there are quite a few green men on buildings etc. - I love them. Your photos are really most interesting.
Ah, the Greenman is so old and mysterious. So many stories of him in the UK.
I was just going to say what Weaver said! lol! Yes a lot of them around the UK. I will let my friend Kath know about this! She has a green man too!
Denise ABC Team
The last photo is very cool, I love the design. Green men used to freak me out as a child, I don't know why. I'm not sure I ever encountered one for real, but descriptions and drawings were enough.
Oh, I do love it when I read about something I didn't know about before!! What a terrific post, Wil! And now I have some more fascinating things to discover about the Greenman! I know I wish he would put in a personal appearance here in the northwest -- SOON!! Hope your week is going well. I'm glad your liked the poem on my blog, it touched me very deeply as so many things from that era do today as well as then, when I was a child. They made an incredible impression on me then and now as well. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Sylvia
ABC Team
Thanks for this information abut Greenmen. I've seen some of these, but did not know much about them. I enjoyed your slide show.
This is new to me! Cool.
Some of those faces in the slideshow are scary.
Great post. I have seen green men but wasn't aware of this history. I'll start looking out for them now too. I love the ones you posted here.
I have never heard of or seen a Green man before. Interesting history about the elusive Green man.
I'll be watching more closely - this is wonderfully fascinating. A grand G post, to be sure!
Wonderful slide of Greenmen - some look quite gentle and friendly, but others I would not like to meet on a country lane alone! They must be very old and mythical.
I loved your slideshow and learning about Greenman. I never heard of him, where have I been?
reminds me of the comic book character Swamp Thing.
or me!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
The Greenman that stands out in my memory is the one in the Roman Baths in Bath.
I was not aware of Greenmen and may have glanced right by one. I will definitely be more observant in the future. At least now I will know what I am seeing. Thanks
I've never heard of such a thing. I must watch for Greenmen when we're in Europe. Won't be long now! I hope to see you there.
-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
I love the imagery of the Green Man. Thanks for the pictures, Wil!
This is so cool, Wil! I love your header photo! It brings back such nice memories. Well... there was that incident with Art's wet camera, but otherwise, what a gorgeous place.
Wonderfully informative. Love the variety in green man.
I had no idea of the Greenman and haven't seen any. I should pay more attention to architectural details, thank you for the information!!
Great take on 'G'.
Interesting info.
Ik had er nog nooit van gehoord !!!
Interesant :-)
Fijne dag vandaag
tis weer koud :(
Groetjes van ons allemaal
Fascinating information and photos. That's what I love about our blogging community. I learn so much. thank you for the perfect choice for the letter G.
Most interesting G, very mysterious.
Very interesting story about this sculpture!I'm always learning good things with you and we share the love for arts, thanks a lot!
Happy Wednesday,
Léia - Bonjour Luxembourg
How utterly fascinating. I will have to keep a lookout for something like this. Excellent post Wil.
Fascinating. I'm not sure how many buildings here have green men on them. Now I will be looking.
I've seen them before but never stopped to think that there was a name (and history) for them! Thanks!
Wow! Fascinating! Learned something new today...and I, too, will search more carefully everywhere I go. :D
Leslie
ABCW Team
Thanks for sharing the research you did for this post - haven't been looking for a green man around me -they must be sparse, since coming of spring in this city is hardly noticeable (usually).
Interesting and fascinating information about the Green Man, Wil. Thanks. The face in that last photo is spooky!
You might be interested in the post I wrote on the Green Man a few weeks back. This is the URL
http://esthersgardennotes.blogspot.com/2011/01/green-man-and-dancing-trees.html
Esther Montgomery
Interesting. Not sure if I ever saw one? If I did I probably wasn't even aware there of that name for it. (I live in Sweden and I can't recall we have a corresponding name.)
Reader Will: Thanks for visiting my Picture Book blog.
Sorry for the confusion ;) My ABC Wednesday post is on my other blog: Beyond the Lone Islands In the Friday My Town challenge subjects vary from week to week, but not in alphabetical order. This week just happened to be "the letter S".
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