The Green Man

Rating:
Summary: The Classic Text and Photo Essay of The Green Man
Review: I can't believe I'm the only person to write a review of this great book! I think most people shy away from it because the cover is in black & white; a pity, because this 1978 book is a neccessary read if you want to study the Green Man.

There's not a lot of text in this book, but it's text has taught me more about the REAL meaning of the Green Man than any other book on the subject (and I own them ALL!)..We moderns interpret the Green Man as an image of "Father Nature", a figure who reveals the wild side of the green world. We want him to be a reminder to treat the natural world with loving care & reverance.
The people who lived during the times that these carvings were made had an entirly different idea, it seems. The often scowling and frowning faces that peeped through the stone foliage are from a very different time, when nature and it's wildness was a threat to those who believed in a transcendant god, a god who taught that nature was evil and dirty.

Ms. Basford's theories and keen observations made a great deal of sense to me; I'd always wondered why the Green Men could be so scary when all the newer books were telling me he is a friendly, loving figure. I never quite got the connection, and thanks to this insightful and well-researched book, I now know why.

Those who are looking for an historically accurate (I feel) treatise on this mysterious figure called the Green Man, will delight in this book as much as I did. The photos are all black and white, but there are many of them. There are several good picture books with Green Man photos, but as I said, the text that accompanies this particular book is the most enlightening I've found yet.