The name of a mysterious and allegedly reality episode in the history of England in the 12th century - possibly during the reign of King Stephen: in the village of Woolpit, in Suffolk County, peasants discovered children, a brother and sister, who had a generally normal appearance in the field except for their skin color, which was green. They spoke in an unknown language and, despite their obvious hunger, refused any food; the only food they first ate was green beans. Eventually they learned to eat other foods and lost the green color of their skin, but the boy was sickly and died shortly after the children were baptized …
In Suffolk County, Great Britain, there is a village called Woolpit, which has an unusual and mysterious history. The name translates as "Wolf Pits", and the village emblem depicts a wolf and two children - a girl and a boy. It was here in the XII century, 112 kilometers from London, that the last wolf of England died, falling into one of the many wolf pits.
In the XII century, during the reign of King Stephen, a strange incident happened here. One day two small children appeared here. It happened on a hot August day during the harvest. They emerged from a deep hole dug to catch wolves - hence the name of the village. The boy and girl, emerging from the pit, went to the people. The amazing thing was that the babies' skin had a greenish tint, and they were wearing strange clothes, cut from an unknown material. The children were very scared and waved their arms as if they were driving away bees. With their appearance, they confused the peasants, but when they came to their senses, the reapers took them to the village and took them to the landowner Richard Kane.
Having calmed down a little, the children began to speak in an incomprehensible language, in which hissing and whistling sounds predominated. They spoke in high-pitched voices. The inhabitants did not understand a word, although in those days in England the villagers were familiar to some extent with all the languages of the neighboring peoples. Here they well remembered the Normans and Danes with Scandinavian dialects, heard the French language of the knights, did not forget the Germanic Anglo-Saxon dialect, recognized the Celtic dialects of the Scots, Irish, Welsh, and the priests knew Latin. When the children were taken to the village, they began to cry and refused to eat anything, although they were very hungry. Richard was very surprised at the sight of the children, but after seeing enough of them, he ordered the servants to prepare the best delicacies, but the children refused everything. So, they starved for several days,until one day the villagers brought into the house a crop of beans plucked from the stalks. The boy and girl were very interested in beans, but could not find beans. It seemed that they knew what it was and understood that it could be eaten. When one of the servants showed them where the food was, they ate it greedily and for several months ate exclusively on it. Richard Caine turned out to be a kind person and allowed the children to stay in his castle.
After several months the boy died, he was two years younger than his sister and was unable to adapt to local life. Gradually he closed in on himself and refused to eat, so he soon fell ill and died. The girl survived and after baptism received the name Agnes. But religion remained something incomprehensible to her, and some sacraments and mass only caused inconvenience. Gradually, she learned to eat ordinary food and her skin lost its greenish tint. She was blonde with blue eyes and fair skin. Agness easily adapted to the local life, grew up, got married, learned English and lived in Norfolk County for many years. The girl was addicted to dancing and wine, actively flirting with men. Ralph mentioned in his work that she was very headstrong and capricious, but despite this, her husband and children loved her very much. There are sources that said that her name was Agnes Barr and she married the High Ambassador, Henry II. It was also said that they had a son, Count Ferrers. It is not known what this data is based on.
The girl remembered little about her origin. However, she said that she came with her brother from Saint Martin's Land, where all the inhabitants - Christians were also green. According to her, there was eternal twilight and the sun never shone. She also said that their house was located "on the other side of the big river." Agnes said that she and her brother came across a cave grazing a flock of sheep. From there the chime of bells was heard, they went to this sound and entered the cave. There, according to her, she and her brother got lost and only after some time found a way out. But, leaving the cave, they were blinded by a bright light. The children got scared and wanted to go back, but they did not find the entrance to the cave. The girl also added that Saint Martin's Land can be seen from a great distance, that it looked like a glowing country on the other side of the river. With the permission of Richard, Agness set off to look for a way back, but she could not find a way back. But this is not surprising, because by order of Richard, the pit from which the children came out was filled up. He feared that armed men might come for his brother and sister. The girl did not know anything about this.
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This story was told in two sources by Ralph Coggshall and William of Newburgh, who were authoritative chroniclers and historians of the Middle Ages, worthy of trust. The works were created around 1220. The event was also mentioned in the work of Bishop Francis Godwin, in which he refers to the work of William. William lived in a Yorkshire monastery and was an objective critic; he himself doubted the veracity of the story. He included it in his chronicle reluctantly. But Ralph based his chronicle on the words of Richard Kane, in whose house Agnes worked as a servant. Many details indicated that all the facts presented were genuine. Ralph Coggshall lived in Essex, near Suffolk. Therefore, he could communicate directly with other participants in the events.
Both authors in their writings described the incident only after many years. It is even possible that the event took place during the reign of not King Stephen, but King Henry II. After all, the entire history of England until the death of King Stephen was set forth in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which contains a huge number of stories about miracles known at that time. There is no information about "green children".
Many have tried to unravel the mystery of the origin of the "green children" and the location of a rather strange country; many different assumptions have been put forward. According to one version, children could have entered Woolpit from the copper mines, which used child labor at that time. The skin and hair of children from constant contact with copper could indeed acquire a greenish tint. Constant contact with copper can cause all sorts of changes in a person's appearance. There are contemporary examples of this phenomenon. But then what about the material from which the children's clothes were made, with the story of Agnes and with the fact that they could not eat ordinary human food? In addition, beans were one of the most common cultivated plants in the Middle Ages.
There were also bold versions that the children could have come from another dimension, the underworld, or even aliens in general who accidentally came to Earth. Some researchers believed that the cave, through which the boy and the girl entered our world, was something like a path that connected the Earth with another planet. Or the path that was laid between the past, present and future. Paradoxically, such a hypothesis explains everything, because if they came from another dimension, then only minor genetic changes will be enough for the hair and skin to acquire the usual human color. Green children could well be the product of genetic engineering, which is possible in the future of our world or a world that exists "parallel" to the Earth.
Paul Harris has put forward a hypothesis these days that seems quite real. He suggested that the boy and girl lived in the village of St. Martin, which was located on the banks of the Lark River, not so far from Woolpit. According to the stories, the parents of the boy and the girl died of the plague and their guardian, a certain Earl of Norfolk, wanted to take possession of their inheritance. To this end, he added arsenic to the children's food. For some reason, the poison did not work, but it is known that the skin turns green when poisoned with arsenic. The count did not wait long and took them to the forest, where he left to die. They got lost and lived there for a while. It may also be that it was in the forest that their skin acquired a green tint. Indeed, due to a constant lack of food, chlorosis can develop - this is a form of anemia that causes greening of the skin. Children once entered the mine and from it have already entered a clearing near the village of Woolpit. This theory is similar to the truth, but the question still remains - what language did the brother and sister speak and why did none of the local residents know it? The presence of foreign children in a medieval village is very strange. In addition, none of the mines in Setford Forest had access to the village of Woolpit.
Perhaps such children have never existed? Despite the credibility of the words of authoritative chroniclers, this story may well be a figment of the rich imagination of a certain storyteller of England in the 12th century. The story of these children may just be one of the many legends of the time. Then it is quite understandable why the hair and skin of children were green - after all, it was believed that this is the color of fairies. In England, there is a legend about the Green Jack, who was a mythical creature who personified fertility and spring. Green children could just be a continuation of this tale.
Today it is difficult to say how true this story is, because in medieval England they believed in miracles much more readily than in the modern world. This story is confirmed by only two sources of the XII century. The secret has not been revealed, it even gave rise to many imitations. If it is not possible to find at least some traces of Agness's heirs and documentary evidence, then the story of the "green children" will remain one of the most important mysteries of English folklore.