Who is the 'Green Man,' and where is he growing...?
Aug 30, 2013 13:33:43 GMT
Post by Goldenfleeced on Aug 30, 2013 13:33:43 GMT
Now, as to the 'Green Man'... I was giving Rosslyn Chapel some thought, mostly the poor 'apprentice' and his pillar... and I remembered the 'Green Man.' This symbol has been incorporated into the architecture, not only in Rosslyn Chapel, but in such other 'Christian' bastions as Southwell Minster; in the cathedrals at Norwich, Ely and Exeter; in the screens of St Paul’s Cathedral London and King’s College Chapel Cambridge, among others; in one church, a Virgin and Child stand on a Green Man’s head, and in another he watches over the body of Christ in an Easter sepulcher; he often appears near scenes of the Creation, Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection. The famous cathedral at Chartres has more than forty in its magnificent west front (the royal portal) alone and many more in a great number of other places. This cathedral has literally thousands of sculptured pictures, all carefully coordinated into a well-structured program unfolding Biblical and other Christian events, and so it would seem inconceivable that the Green Man crept in as a pagan figure or merely a 'mason’s whim' and seems that he had become a perfectly acceptable Christian symbol. Indeed, his facial expression often echoes, or 'resonates with,' the scene portrayed, such as a look of expectation at the coming or Jesus, or of delight at his victory. Michaelangelo put one on a pope’s tomb, and Martin Luther’s books, printed in his own lifetime, include the 'Green Man' on the title page. The earliest example of a green man disgorging vegetation from his mouth is from St. Abre, in St. Hilaire-le-grand, in about 400 AD.
The 'Green Man' predates these churches, however... he is... as old as the hills, it would seem. Heads from Lebanon and Iraq can be dated to the 2nd century and there are early Romanesque foliate heads in 11th century Templar churches in Jerusalem.
In one of his roles the ancient Egyptian God Osiris is regarded as a corn-deity and is commonly depicted with a green face representing vegetation, rebirth and resurrection. Containers of soil in the shape of Osiris planted with seed ("Osiris Beds") are found in some New Kingdom tombs. The sprouting corn implied the resurrection of the deceased.
Other gods depicted green are Amogha-siddhi ,(Tibet)and Tlaloc (Mexico).
In Sanskrit, the Green Man is cognate with the gana Kirtimukha or "Face Of Glory" which is related to a lila of Shiva and Rahu. The Face of Glory is often seen in Vajrayana Buddhist Thanka art and iconography where it is often incorporated as a cloudform simulacrum; and depicted crowning the 'Wheel of Becoming' or the Bhavachakra.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Man
This one is from from Rochester church in Kent
This carving from South Tawnton church in Devon depicts a dead man’s head and the tendrils are less like leaves and more like worms...
In spite of their ties with a benign 'Jesus,' or 'messiah,' or 'Christ' (anointed one) perhaps, not all of the 'Green Men' are benevolent looking; some scowl menacingly, while others smile with such cold eyes they could be demons. Indeed, the devil is depicted as a Green Man at Cartmel Priory in Lancashire. This is an interesting subject on its own account; the priory at Cartmel, that is, and the associated symbolism. It may take a seperate thread to do it justice, but here is one of the 'miserichords,' or 'green man' carvings, for the sake of interest.
It may be that the foliage and tendrils coming out of the mouth of the 'Green Man' represented the expunging of sin from the soul. On a font at Lullington church in Somerset, a ring of four cats’ heads
sprout foliage above a Latin inscription which says ‘in this holy bowl sins are washed from the soul;' it is not known what the particular symbolism of the cat means in this instance, although there is an old medieval tradition that equates cats with the Holy Mother, perhaps reflecting their association with Freya, and there is the family motto of the Keener's, appearing on the crest, which tells us that 'A stroked cat is gentle.' Aside from that, there is an ancient connection with Dionysus, and my own translation of the symbol, which goes somewhat beyond those... but, it does seem to incorporate them all within it somehow, much as the branches of a very large tree... coincidentally.
This 'cat-like' 'green man' is from Cartmel, as well...
Personally, I see the 'Green Man' as the symbol of that 'man' which is the true sprout of an ancient vine... as old as the earth itself, which has been prophesied and prepared for, since those most ancient of times. This is why the vines grow from the ends of his arms, and out of his 'limbs' and orifices... he is the 'living vine,' you see, which the Christians attribute to Jesus, and others... they wait for 'him' to 'bloom.'
And so, Arthur, and silent company... I believe that Merlin's injunction to 'Grow...' stands.
Time to grow. And since it seems to be the time, and the season, for it, we'll take another look at the 'Green Man,' and the stories and images associated with it.
Read more: innerchamber.proboards.com/thread/649/who-green-man-where-growing?page=1&scrollTo=5336#ixzz2dSTCaIhg
Disgorging Green Man on the tomb of St. Abre (c. 4th or 5th Century CE), now in the church of St.-Hilaire-le-Grand at Poitiers, France (photo Julianna Lees)
The 'Green Man' predates these churches, however... he is... as old as the hills, it would seem. Heads from Lebanon and Iraq can be dated to the 2nd century and there are early Romanesque foliate heads in 11th century Templar churches in Jerusalem.
In one of his roles the ancient Egyptian God Osiris is regarded as a corn-deity and is commonly depicted with a green face representing vegetation, rebirth and resurrection. Containers of soil in the shape of Osiris planted with seed ("Osiris Beds") are found in some New Kingdom tombs. The sprouting corn implied the resurrection of the deceased.
Other gods depicted green are Amogha-siddhi ,(Tibet)and Tlaloc (Mexico).
In Sanskrit, the Green Man is cognate with the gana Kirtimukha or "Face Of Glory" which is related to a lila of Shiva and Rahu. The Face of Glory is often seen in Vajrayana Buddhist Thanka art and iconography where it is often incorporated as a cloudform simulacrum; and depicted crowning the 'Wheel of Becoming' or the Bhavachakra.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Man
Carving, dated 1493, on the keystone of a window of the Chapel of the Nine Alters, Fountain’s Abbey, Yorkshire
This one is from from Rochester church in Kent
This carving from South Tawnton church in Devon depicts a dead man’s head and the tendrils are less like leaves and more like worms...
In spite of their ties with a benign 'Jesus,' or 'messiah,' or 'Christ' (anointed one) perhaps, not all of the 'Green Men' are benevolent looking; some scowl menacingly, while others smile with such cold eyes they could be demons. Indeed, the devil is depicted as a Green Man at Cartmel Priory in Lancashire. This is an interesting subject on its own account; the priory at Cartmel, that is, and the associated symbolism. It may take a seperate thread to do it justice, but here is one of the 'miserichords,' or 'green man' carvings, for the sake of interest.
It may be that the foliage and tendrils coming out of the mouth of the 'Green Man' represented the expunging of sin from the soul. On a font at Lullington church in Somerset, a ring of four cats’ heads
sprout foliage above a Latin inscription which says ‘in this holy bowl sins are washed from the soul;' it is not known what the particular symbolism of the cat means in this instance, although there is an old medieval tradition that equates cats with the Holy Mother, perhaps reflecting their association with Freya, and there is the family motto of the Keener's, appearing on the crest, which tells us that 'A stroked cat is gentle.' Aside from that, there is an ancient connection with Dionysus, and my own translation of the symbol, which goes somewhat beyond those... but, it does seem to incorporate them all within it somehow, much as the branches of a very large tree... coincidentally.
This 'cat-like' 'green man' is from Cartmel, as well...Personally, I see the 'Green Man' as the symbol of that 'man' which is the true sprout of an ancient vine... as old as the earth itself, which has been prophesied and prepared for, since those most ancient of times. This is why the vines grow from the ends of his arms, and out of his 'limbs' and orifices... he is the 'living vine,' you see, which the Christians attribute to Jesus, and others... they wait for 'him' to 'bloom.'
And so, Arthur, and silent company... I believe that Merlin's injunction to 'Grow...' stands.
Time to grow. And since it seems to be the time, and the season, for it, we'll take another look at the 'Green Man,' and the stories and images associated with it.
Read more: innerchamber.proboards.com/thread/649/who-green-man-where-growing?page=1&scrollTo=5336#ixzz2dSTCaIhg
