The Green Man in Britain

A study of the Green Man through church carvings, folk customs, legends and literature, plus an extensive Gazetteer. The Green Man has many facets, many dimensions. He peers through his leaf mask in hundreds of church misericords and stone carvings. His innate link with the changing seasons and fertility is revealed in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and in summer folk customs such as Jack in the Green, the Castleton Garland and the Burry Man. Perhaps he even lurks in the legendary hero of the Greenwood, Robin Hood. The authors have been running summer schools and courses on the Green Man for many years, and in this fascinating study they discuss his significance in medival times and explore the modern development of the concept of the Green Man. The book also contains a detailed gazetteer of over 200 sites, featuring almost 1000 carvings (many photographed by Felicity Howlett).