One of the most bizarre and enduring folklore tales is the legend of the green children of Woolpit, a village in Suffolk, England. In the 12th century, two peculiar children with green-tinged skin and speaking an unknown language emerged from the village’s wolf pits, baffling the local residents.
This enigmatic story, documented in medieval chronicles, has sparked debates over whether it describes a genuine encounter with beings from another realm or a distorted account of real events involving lost children struggling with malnutrition and culture shock during the tumultuous period known as “The Anarchy.”
Discovery and Characteristics of the Green Children
According to medieval accounts, the green children of Woolpit were discovered at harvest time during the reign of King Stephen (around 1150). The villagers stumbled upon a peculiar sight – a brother and sister with green-tinged skin, speaking an unfamiliar language, and wearing strange clothing.
Their Appearance and Behavior
The children were of normal appearance, except for their green skin color. They spoke in an unknown tongue and initially refused to eat anything other than raw broad beans. Their behavior was described as nervous and bewildered, as if they had been transported to an alien world.
Initial Reactions from Villagers
The villagers were understandably baffled by the presence of these enigmatic children. Their green complexion, foreign language, and unusual dietary preferences set them apart from the local populace. The discovery sparked a mix of curiosity, fear, and speculation among the residents of Woolpit.
Life with Richard de Calne
According to medieval accounts, the green children were taken to the nearby home of Sir Richard de Calne. Initially, they refused to eat any food offered to them for several days until they discovered green beans growing in Richard’s garden, which they consumed directly from the ground.
Adaptation and Learning English
The children gradually adapted to normal food, and over time, their green color faded. After learning to speak English, the surviving girl, later known as Agnes, explained that they came from a land where the sun never shone, and the light was like twilight.
Brother’s Illness and Baptism
Tragically, the boy, who appeared younger than his sister, fell ill and died around the time of their baptism. However, Agnes continued to work as a servant in Richard de Calne’s household for many years, earning a reputation for being “very wanton and impudent.” Eventually, she married the archdeacon of Ely, Richard Barre, and reportedly had at least one child.
Explaining the Mystery
Despite it still not being clear if any of this story is true, there are a number of popular and likely theories surrounding both the origin of the green children of Woolpit and their green skin.
Folktale Elements
Twentieth-century scholars of folklore such as Charles Oman noted that one element of the children’s account, the entry into a different reality by way of a cave, seems to have been quite popular. The medieval historian Gerald of Wales tells a similar story of a boy who encountered two pygmies who led him through an underground passage into a beautiful land with fields and rivers, but not lit by the full light of the sun.
Madej has similarly argued that the tale of the Green Children was part of a popular skein of imagination, originating in the territories of England and Wales, that of passing through a cave to another world.
Historical Context and Interpretations
It’s speculated that the children could have been the descendants of Flemish immigrants. A number of Flemish immigrants arrived in the nearby town of Fornham St. Martin during the 12th century. Fornham was separated from Woolpit by the River Lark, which could be the river mentioned by the girl, but under the reign of King Henry II, the battle of Fornham saw many Flemish immigrants killed.
Under this theory, the children could have been orphaned by the war and become malnourished and sickly during their time alone in the woods. This would explain their unrecognizable language as being Dutch, and their unusual clothes as being Flemish. The nearby Thetford Forest may have been where the children were living, where the heavy tree cover could have made it seem like permanent twilight. Entering into one of the many underground mine passages in the area, it would have been possible for the children to end up in Woolpit.
Psychological and Medical Insights
While unusual, there is actually a couple of conditions that can cause green skin. Hypochromic anemia, also called chlorosis or “green sickness”, is caused by severe malnutrition that affects the color of red blood cells and causes the skin to turn a shade of green. This theory is supported by the account of their skin returning to skin-color after a while of eating a balanced diet.
A slightly more upsetting cause could be arsenic poisoning which is known to tint the skin green. A modern version of the tale links the green children with the Babes in the Wood, suggesting they were poisoned with arsenic by their uncle and left to die in the woods before ending up in Woolpit.
The children’s seeming emergence from inside a pit or cave, paired with interpretations of the girl’s own words, has also inspired speculation that they come from an underground world. Robert Burton suggested in 1621 that the green children “fell from Heaven”, an idea picked up by Francis Godwin in his 1638 speculative fiction The Man in the Moone, which draws on William of Newburgh’s account.
The Legend’s Enduring Appeal
Since it was first recorded, the story of the green children of Woolpit has endured for over eight centuries. While the real facts behind the story may never be known, it has provided the inspiration for numerous poems, novels, operas, and plays across the world, and continues to capture the imagination of many curious minds.
Contemporary Significance
The tale resurfaced in the mid-Victorian period when the folklorist Thomas Keightley included it in The Fairy Mythology — its first publication in English. The English anarchist poet and critic Herbert Read describes the story in his English Prose Style, first published in 1928, as “the norm to which all types of fantasy should conform”. It was the inspiration for his only novel, The Green Child, published in 1935.
Narratives in Modern Culture
The green children tale has been the basis for several 20th and 21st-century children’s books and stories, including Judith Stinton’s Tom’s Tale from 1983, a trilogy by Mark Bartholomew in 2006 and 2007, and The Green Children of Woolpit by J. Anderson Coats in 2019. Children’s author and poet Kevin Crossley-Holland has returned to the theme several times, with his 1966 book The Green Children staying faithful to the early chroniclers, and his 1994 adaptation telling the story from the green girl’s perspective.
Fantasy and science fiction authors have also drawn inspiration from the legend. John Crowley (in 1981) and Terri Windling (in 1995) have published short stories based on the green children, while the 1638 science fiction story The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin incorporated the idea of the children falling from the moon. The tale inspired J.H. Prynne’s 1976 poem “The Land of Saint Martin” and Glyn Maxwell’s 1996 verse play Wolfpit, performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The green children were even the subject of a 1990 community opera composed by Nicola LeFanu with a libretto by Crossley-Holland.
An Anglo-Norwegian band, The Green Children, took their name and that of their charity foundation from the story, with their music described as “atmospheric electropop”.
Conclusion
The enigmatic tale of the green children of Woolpit has captured the imagination of many for centuries. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the story continues to fascinate and inspire various interpretations, theories, and creative works across different mediums. Its enduring appeal lies in the mystery surrounding the children’s origins, appearance, and their encounter with the bewildered villagers of a remote English hamlet.
While we may never unravel the true facts behind this peculiar legend, it serves as a testament to the human capacity for wonder and storytelling. The green children of Woolpit have transcended their folkloric roots, weaving their way into literature, poetry, music, and art, and leaving an indelible mark on our collective cultural tapestry. Their story reminds us to embrace the unknown, challenge our perceptions, and celebrate the rich diversity of human experiences, even those that defy conventional explanation.