WEBVTT - Who Is the Legendary Green Man?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>Bogelbaum here. Earlier this spring, the official invitation for the

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<v Speaker 1>coronation of King Charles the Third created a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a stir because of whom it included, and no, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not talking about any of the participants involved. On the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom border of this ornate invitation is a depiction of

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<v Speaker 1>what's known by art historians as a foliate head these days,

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<v Speaker 1>though it's perhaps more popularly known as a green man,

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<v Speaker 1>his face smiling, his beard and hair made of leaves

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<v Speaker 1>of ivy oaken hawthorn mixed with a jumble of multicolored flowers.

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<v Speaker 1>But I said there was controversy, so what's not to like?

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<v Speaker 1>The green man is one of the most popular decorative

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<v Speaker 1>tropes in England. Sculptures of his leafy mug can be

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<v Speaker 1>found looming over the ceilings of medieval churches and up

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<v Speaker 1>from garden paving stones all over the UK and Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>Various renderings depict him in different ways. On the coronation invitation,

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<v Speaker 1>he appears friendly, but depending on the artist and the

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<v Speaker 1>mood of the piece, he can look joyful, goofy, terrified,

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<v Speaker 1>ill leering, stoic, angry or downright demonic. His face can

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<v Speaker 1>be obscured by greenery, as if he's peeping out through foliage,

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<v Speaker 1>or it can overtake and meld with him, replacing some

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<v Speaker 1>of his human features with botanicals. Although the Green Man

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the most common artistic motifs in Christian

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<v Speaker 1>and Catholic churches around the UK and Europe, the story

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<v Speaker 1>that we tell about him today is overtly pagan, a

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<v Speaker 1>symbol of spring and rebirth, or of nature's ultimate supremacy

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<v Speaker 1>over humanity. His connection to the ancient history of the

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<v Speaker 1>British Isles is up for debate, but his face on

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<v Speaker 1>the invitation of an ostensibly Christian coronation ceremony it did

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<v Speaker 1>cause a bit of an uproar. However, The Green Man's

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<v Speaker 1>reputation as a powerful pre Christian nature deity was cooked

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<v Speaker 1>up less than a century ago by a British aristocrat

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<v Speaker 1>and folklore buff named Julia Somerset or Lady Raglan. She

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<v Speaker 1>named the foliate heads seen in English churches the Green

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<v Speaker 1>Man and invented a fairy tale about his origins. In

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<v Speaker 1>a thirteen page article that was published in the March

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen thirty nine issue of the journal Folklore. In her article,

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<v Speaker 1>Somerset not only assigned a name to the foliot head,

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<v Speaker 1>and she likely got green Man from the many English

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<v Speaker 1>pubs with that name, but she also identified him as

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<v Speaker 1>an ancient god of fertility and strength. She went on

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<v Speaker 1>to speculate that ancient Pagans might have engaged in ritual

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<v Speaker 1>human sacrifice each May Day, identifying a male member of

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<v Speaker 1>the community to represent the god, and then hanging that

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<v Speaker 1>man I'm a tree, or decapitating him and placing his

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<v Speaker 1>severed head in a tree. Let's be clear, there is

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<v Speaker 1>no scholarly evidence to back up Somerset's claims, but this

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<v Speaker 1>gruesome story of pagan brutality and hedonism became wildly popular

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<v Speaker 1>in the UK. Since then, the Green Man has been

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<v Speaker 1>ever more plastered, sometimes literally, over English pubs, inns, gardens,

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<v Speaker 1>and even music festivals. There is a green Man Music

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<v Speaker 1>Festival in the UK, and the Burning Man Festival in

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<v Speaker 1>the US made the Green Man its theme back in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and seven, if these foliot heads did in

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<v Speaker 1>fact represent a powerful pagan god for whom the ancients

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<v Speaker 1>on what's now the British Isles ritualistically decapitated people it

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<v Speaker 1>would send a bit of a disturbing coronation message. However,

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<v Speaker 1>that's almost certainly not the case. Versions of the foliot

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<v Speaker 1>Head have been found from as far removed as sixth

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<v Speaker 1>century Istanbul, alongside Greek depictions of Dionysus. It's probably found

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<v Speaker 1>in the decor of so many Christian churches throughout Europe

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<v Speaker 1>because it was an esthetic and often intricate design that

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<v Speaker 1>was evocative without being directly religious, a perfect for places

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<v Speaker 1>where an artist was allowed to work with secular or

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<v Speaker 1>less than serious themes. Early Christians may have viewed the

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<v Speaker 1>figure as a symbol of the cyclical nature of Christianity,

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<v Speaker 1>or as a nature centric representation of the Holy Spirit,

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<v Speaker 1>which breathes life into the world, and the leaves, vines

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<v Speaker 1>and flowers flowing from him as a symbol of rebirth.

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<v Speaker 1>No matter where or when the Green Man came from,

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<v Speaker 1>he's become a neopagan icon, a symbol of English folklore,

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<v Speaker 1>and eventually was adopted by the New Age movement in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen sixties. Modern Pagans sometimes worship him, which does

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<v Speaker 1>make his visage an unusual choice for coronation invitation, because

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<v Speaker 1>it seems to be inviting controversy. Perhaps by revisiting Robin

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<v Speaker 1>Hood or Sir Gowin in The Green Knight, we might

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<v Speaker 1>learn more about what green Man has to teach us,

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<v Speaker 1>because although he may be watching, the Mysterious green Man

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<v Speaker 1>isn't talking. Today's episode is based on the article who

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<v Speaker 1>is the controversial green Man on the Royal Coronation Invitation

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<v Speaker 1>on HowStuffWorks dot Com written by Jesslyn Shields. A brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot

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<v Speaker 1>Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows