The green children of Woolpit
The legend of the Green children of Woolpit (from English. Green children of Woolpit ) is about two children with a greenish color, which in the 12th century near Woolpit , a village in the English county of Suffolk should have been, discovered.
Legend
According to tradition, at harvest time near the town of Woolpit , reapers discovered two unusual children, a girl and a boy, in a deep wolf pit . The children had a greenish skin color and wore clothes whose textiles could not be identified by anyone. They also used an unfamiliar language so communication seemed impossible. Perplexed and perplexed, the children were handed over to the landowner, a certain knight named Richard of Calne. The children are said to have cried incessantly, and they initially refused any food until they were served fresh beans. But the boy soon fell ill and died. The girl, on the other hand, got used to various foods over time, soon lost her greenish skin color and learned the English language. A questionnaire about her person and her origin was now possible.
To everyone's astonishment, the girl stated that the children were siblings and came from a country called “Saint Martin”, in which above all no sun shines, but in which “Eternal Twilight” prevails. In addition, every resident of the country has a green skin color. There is another country there with bright lights on it, but this is separated from your own country by a very wide river and you can only see it from a distance. One day the children were busy tending their father's grazing cattle when they discovered a deep cave from which distant bells rang. The children followed the sounds out of curiosity and ended up in the wolf pit at Woolpit, where they were blinded by the bright daylight and the sound of the reapers and their sickles startled.
After all, the girl was asked where her country was exactly, but she couldn't answer that question. However, the girl had said that they believed in Jesus Christ there and that there were churches in her home country. The baptism was, however, unknown to them.
When the girl got older, she was baptized, adopted the name Agnes Barre and married a wealthy ambassador from King Henry II .
Origin and Background
The legend is first mentioned in the book Historia rerum Anglicarum ( English history of English incidents ), written by William of Newburgh , a historian and monk . Once again it is the story in the book Chronicon Anglicanum (dt. English Chronicle mentioned), written by Ralph of Coggeshall (sixth abbot of the monastery Coggeshall Abbey ). The story of the "Green Children of Woolpit" is said to have taken place between 1135 and 1154. William of Newburgh takes the story back to the final years of King Stephen of Blois ' reign , while Ralduph of Coggeshall mentions King Henry II .
Interpretations
The story of the “green children” is not historically verifiable, but it contains interesting, cultural-historical elements: It describes what - in the opinion of contemporary authors - can happen to people of indefinite origins if they cannot adapt to a new culture (or want) and what happens to those who do and make an effort. Historian Jeffrey Jerome Cohen assumes that the “green children” may represent a kind of personified reminder of England's past and the forcible conquest of the original British by the Anglo-Saxons , followed by the Norman invasion . The description of the children is a literary swipe at the racial and cultural differences between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons. The background to this interpretation is the historical fact that the Anglo-Saxons found it difficult to adapt to the Norman culture and vice versa. At the same time, the story of the green children seems to reflect the archetypal fear of locals of foreigners, which is indicated by the details - green skin, strange clothing and incomprehensible language. Only when at least one of the children adapts culturally and linguistically and is baptized will it soon be accepted by society and can go on living.
There are numerous theories and conjectures, especially around the possible identity and origin of the “green children”. Historian Derek Brewer suspects the children may have been of Flemish origin. Her parents may have been Flemish refugees who perished during the Battle of Fornham (around 1173). Completely traumatized, the children wandered around, found hardly any food and suffered from malnutrition as a result. This could have led to a rare, extreme form of iron deficiency anemia , which causes changes in skin color. This disease was not uncommon in the early Middle Ages and was also called "chlorosis" due to its external appearance. Another clue, Brewer said, was reported child amnesia , another symptom of persistent malnutrition. A third clue was the girl's statement that the ringing of the bells, which the children had followed, reminded her of the ringing that she knew from St. Edmund Abbey . The Battle of Fornham had taken place near them .
According to a modern interpretation, a count who is said to have been the guardian of two children first poisoned them with arsenic and then exposed them. Before they died, they could be saved in time. What is plausible about this interpretation is that arsenic poisoning can lead to skin discoloration.
Less credible theories about the origins of the children are that they could have been of extraterrestrial origin. They would have come to earth through a spaceship crash , or alternatively, they were accidentally moved to Woolpit through a failed beam process. According to different claims, the children came from a kind of parallel world and accidentally discovered a portal into our world. According to another fantastic speculation, the "green children" would have been elves .
literature
- Theresa Bane: Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland, Maryland 2013, ISBN 1-47661242-0 .
- Jeffey Jerome Cohen: Cultural Diversity in the British Middle Ages: Archipelago, Island, England. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2008, ISBN 0-23061412-4 .
- Michael Staunton: The Historians of Angevin England. Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK) 2017, ISBN 0-19108263-5 .
- Keagan Brewer: Wonder and Skepticism in the Middle Ages (= Routledge Research in Medieval Studies , 8th volume). Routledge, London 2016, ISBN 1-31743035-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Florian Welle: Woolpit in England: The legend of the green-skinned children. Retrieved February 19, 2020 .
- ^ A b c Theresa Bane: Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. P. 166.
- ↑ a b c Jeffey Jerome Cohen: Cultural Diversity in the British Middle Ages. Pp. 83, 84, 87.
- ^ Michael Staunton: The Historians of Angevin England. Pp. 120-122.
- ↑ Keagan Brewer: Wonder and Skepticism in the Middle Ages. Pp. 7-8.
- ↑ Nick Redfern: Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order. Visible Ink Press, 2015, ISBN 1-57859558-4 , pp. 89-91.