THE Green Man is a Christian symbol and, therefore, an appropriate image to be carved on a headstone in the churchyard of St Edward’s, Kempley, the Consistory Court of the diocese of Gloucester has ruled.
The ruling came after Dr Polly Stirzaker, the widow of Roy Stirzaker, lodged a petition, in June 2023, for a memorial for her late husband which included a carving of a Green Man on the headstone. Her intention was to commemorate Mr Stirzaker’s longstanding association with morris dancing.
The Priest-in-Charge of St Edward’s indicated at the time that the proposed design relating to the Green Man might fall outside the Chancellor’s guidelines. After consultation with the Archdeacon and the Registrar, the Priest-in-Charge stated: “Under advisement from archdeacon and registrar, I cannot give permission as the green man symbol is not considered a Christian symbol.”
The diocesan Chancellor, the Worshipful Mark B. Ruffell, said that the advice given by the Archdeacon and the Registrar accorded with his own understanding.
In February 2023, before Dr Stirzaker’s petition was lodged, the Chancellor gave directions stating: “The court is aware that the green man image is linked to modern paganism as well as being a character in folklore. The fact that the image (or one similar) has occasionally occurred in church architecture is unlikely to be persuasive upon the court that it should be carved upon a memorial in a Christian churchyard.” He encouraged further research into the history of the symbol.
From that research, it became apparent that the history of the Green Man was complicated. There were Green Man symbols apparently carved in Gloucester Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral. In spring 2023, the invitation to the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla was issuedm and it contained the image of a Green Man.
The Chancellor said in the judgment: “The coronation invitation confirmed what was becoming abundantly clear — that the symbol, whatever its origins, was not regarded universally with the same suspicion that I had originally supposed. Indeed, I soon became aware that there was a body of opinion that suggested that those in the last century who had tried to link its appearance in medieval architecture to some pre-Christian pagan activity had been discredited.”
The Chancellor was directed to a short paper, “The Green Man/Foliate Head as a Symbol in the Context of Christian Memorialisation”, co-written by the Revd Dr Helen Hall, of Nottingham Trent University, with Professor Javier Garcia Oliva, of the University of Manchester.
That paper considered that in medieval architecture the Green Man appeared in an explicitly Christian context and was generally construed in a positive light. It had links to the Christian legends of Adam and the Garden of Eden and the quest of Seth. Trees were often linked to the crucifixion, and to winter and spring making the connection between seasonal death and rebirth.
The paper concluded that the Green Man was a Christian symbol, as it had been used in church architecture to convey Christian truths.
The Chancellor decided that, while there was evidence that some had tried to link the Green Man to pagan traditions, he was not convinced that this was historically accurate. It was possible that the symbol might cause some discussion among those visiting a churchyard or a church. But the widening body of research and the use of the symbol on the coronation invitation meant that it was highly unlikely it would cause offence or upset to those seeing it.
The Chancellor accepted “that the symbol of the green man can be seen as a representation of Christ as the new Adam surrounded by the abundance of life that he brings”.