The Wodewose of Suffolk

Suffolk's unusual depictions of silvestres homines – the wild men of the woods

A wodewose (derived from the Old English wudu – wood or forest) is a ‘wild man’; a hairy forest-dwelling embodiment of nature, closely linked in its symbolism to the green man. Both the wodewose and the green man are depicted in medieval church architecture on roof bosses and corbels. The wodewose, in Suffolk at least, is often shown as a complete figure, supporting the bowl of a c. 15th baptismal font or flanking the exterior of a church porch. They are depicted covered in hair, bearing a club or a shield and sometimes locked in combat with a wyvern. But why are they present in church decoration at all?

A type of ‘wild man’ surfaces in, of all places, the Bible: King Nebuchadnezzar II is cast out of society by God; he grows hair on his body and lives like a beast. Similarly, St John Chrysostom and St Onuphrius respectively did penance by living in the woods like a beast-man, and sported a thick pelt and loincloth of leaves.