A popular name for a country pub, the Green Man is possibly the oldest figure in English folklore. His image can be found in the architecture of medieval cathedrals and churches all over Europe. In this form, it's only his head that's depicted, usually wreathed in greenery - branches, leaves or vines, in some cases sprouting from his eyes, ears and nose.

The foliage is frequently recognizible as oak or hawthorn (called the 'May tree' because it blossoms in that month) and the face is generally severe, with a decided frown. The Green Man is commonly believed to be an ancient fertility symbol, predating organized religion, but then the Church, pragmatically, has never been slow to embrace images and ideas from other cultures and claim them as its own.

In fact, as Christianity grew throughout Europe, missionaries often deliberately assimilated pagan stories and beliefs in an effort to encourage conversion. Christ's birthday is now commonly thought to have been in September, for instance, but the dates of Christmas usefully coincide with Yule and other midwinter festivals. In some cases, churches were built on ancient pagan sites, often on the very foundations.

All of which indicates a far stronger pagan element in modern Christianity than many Christians would care to admit. Because of his association with rebirth, representing the new growth of spring, some Christians adopted the Green Man as a symbol of Easter (itself a pagan festival, relating to the goddess Eostre, celebrated at the spring equinox) and of the resurrection, although it comes as no real surprise that others regard him as a demon or even the devil.

Many equate the Green Man with Jack-in-the-Green, the May King of traditional British May Day ceremonies, who wreathed himself with green leaves and flowers, feigned death and then came to life, jumping up to console his disconsolate May Queen and dance with her. There is also evidence to suggest the Green Man existed in the traditions of many ancient cultures and belongs to no single country. Outside Europe similar figures have been found in the Middle East and further afield, in Nepal, India and Borneo. Before Christianity, the ancient Britons worshipped trees, believing protective spirits to live inside them. People in need of good fortune would make a pilgrimage to a designated tree and stroke or hug it, leading to the traditional expression 'touch wood' when we are hoping for a little luck to come our way.

The Celts considered the Green Man to be the god of spring and summer, disappearing each autumn for the long harsh winter, before returning again in the spring to provide warmth and crops, and the pagan festival of Beltane held on 1 May every year celebrates this. May Day was a holiday throughout Europe - and a great excuse for a day of drunkenness and celebration, thus making the Green Man an ideal name for a pub. The Green Man is also associated with one of the greatest English folk heroes of them all - ROBIN HOOD, whose image also appears on many a pub sign. Both live in the woods and dress all in green; indeed, it's thought Robin Hood and his adventures may have arisen from the myth of the Green Man. The Green Man has also been linked with Robin Goodfellow, more familiar as Puck, the mischievous nature spirit immortalized in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Green Man could be connected, too, with the Green Knight, of Arthurian legend, whose story is told in the fourteenth-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this tale, a man clad completely in green, and even with a green beard, hair and skin, strides into the court of King Arthur on New Year's Day and issues a challenge. He asks for someone in the court to strike him once with his axe, on condition that he will return the blow one year and one day later. Sir Gawain accepts the challenge and severs the man's head at one stroke, expecting him to die. The Green Knight, however, picks up his head, reminds Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in a year and a day and rides away.

When Gawain eventually, after many adventures, finds the knight and submits to his blow, he also escapes with his life, receiving only a small nick (which he could have avoided, it turns out, by not flirting with the Green Knight's wife a little earlier). The Green Knight then explains how the whole thing had been been set up by Arthur's evil sister, Morgan le Fay, always looking for an opportunity to make trouble, and they part on good terms. So, whichever way you look at it, the pub name the Green Man - whether you regard him as a fertility symbol, a nature god, Robin Hood, Puck or a figure from the time of King Arthur - comes steeped in legend and folklore.