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The ‘Green Man’ is a relatively common pub name but is most often seen carved in wood or stone in churches across Britain and much of continental Europe. Thought to be a Pagan symbol, it was used by the early Christian church as a symbol of the Resurrection and life after death. The earliest Green Men appear in first and second century Roman motifs and the image has endured to the present day.
He combines nature and man together symbolising the power of both, representing life, death, fertility and rebirth, with leafy vines growing from his mouth and sometimes his eyes, nose and ears. The juxtaposition of a pagan symbol in medieval churches is fascinating and can be seen on capitals, bosses, corbels, misericords, fonts, stalls, bench ends, tombs and in stained glass. The face is almost invariably male, benign rather than sinister and usually in a location above head height so you have to look heavenwards to see it.