| The Green Man and
other Pagan Symbols
The Green Man
After the figure of Christ, one of the next
most common symbols in English churches is the head of the Green Man.
Selby Abbey is no exception and this example appears as a ceiling boss in
the War Memorial Chapel. There are others about the Abbey. The
image is usually found wrapped in Acanthus leaves or with leaves issuing
from its mouth as here and frequently the face is constructed of layers of
leaves. The Acanthus is also common in church decoration, used as it
is as the decoration at the top of Corinthian order columns to form the
capitol. So common is the Green Man that for example in Manchester
Cathedral, there is some argument as to whether or not he replaces Christ as
the most common icon.
Early Christians very sensibly did not try to
supplant all the beliefs of the pagans whom they were converting. It
has long been assumed that the Green Man is a pagan symbol of fertility
which has been transposed into Christianity to represent Christ's kingdom
over all living things.
The earliest imagery of the Green Man is
found not in churches but on pre-Christian memorial monuments to rich
citizens in places like Trier. It was not until the 6th Century AD that the
Green Man found his way into a place of Christian worship. This was again in
Trier, where Bishop Nicetius took some of these carvings from the ruin of a
nearby Roman temple and built them into a new pair of pillars in his
cathedral. For 500 years these carvings of the Green Man occupied a very
prominent place until blocked up behind brick during restoration work in the
11th C. And during that time the motif became much more widely known and
used in church decoration.
In England in the middle ages and earlier,
the symbolism has become synonymous with legends such as the Green Knight in
the Arthurian legends, Robin Hood, and even the fool in Morris dancing.
Leaping Hares
Easter is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess
of the dawn and spring - Eostre. When the date of the crucifixion and
resurrection was fixed in the early church it was almost certainly as as a
concession to the universal pre-existing observance of the rebirth of nature
in the spring. Associated with Eostre was the Hare, whose behaviour
gives rise to the expression 'mad as a March hare'. Hence the hare is
associated with spring, rebirth and Easter.
The hare is also associated with Easter and
fertility in a another way. Eggs are also a symbol of fertility and
spring is the time of fertility. It was a very short step to imply
that hares lay eggs and to create Easter customs associated with hares and
eggs. German immigrants took this symbolism to the USA where it
apparently became corrupted with the much more prolific breeding habits of
the rabbit , hence the Easter bunny and chocolate eggs. Children still
go on 'egg hunts' in the garden at Easter.
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