Green Man Wall Decor

Green Man Wall Hanging

The Green Man is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of or completely surrounded by foliage. The Green Man is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. Found in many cultures from many ages around the world, he is often related to natural vegetation deities.

During the early modern period in England, and sometimes elsewhere, the figure of a man dressed in a foliage costume, and usually carrying a club, was a variant of the broader European motif of the Wild Man (also known as wild man of the woods, or woodwose). By at least the 16th century the term “green man” was used in England for a man who was covered in leaves, foliage including moss as part of a pageant, parade or ritual, who often was the whiffler (a person who clears a path or space through the crowd for a parade or performance). It was Julia Somerset, Lady Raglan that connected this motif to paganism in 1939.