The Green Children of Woolpit

In the 12th century, villagers in Woolpit, Suffolk, discovered two children in the wolf pits that gave the village its name. The children were unlike any they had seen: their skin was green, they spoke a language no one recognized, and they would eat nothing but raw beans. They claimed to come from St. Martin’s Land, an underground realm of eternal twilight.

The Discovery

The Wolf Pits

Woolpit (from “wolf pit”) maintained deep pits to trap wolves:

• Dug into the ground, covered with branches
• Designed to trap predators
• Located outside the village
• Periodically checked by villagers

The Finding

During the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154) or possibly later:

• Harvesters discovered two children in a pit
• A boy and girl, apparently siblings
• They were crying and confused
• Most remarkably: their skin was green

Initial State

The children were:

• Terrified and disoriented
• Dressed in strange, unfamiliar clothing
• Speaking an unknown language
• Unable to communicate with villagers

Early Days

Sir Richard de Calne

The children were taken to the home of Sir Richard de Calne (or possibly Ralph of Coggeshall):

• A local landowner
• He attempted to care for them
• He offered them various foods
• They refused everything

The Beans

The children would eat only one thing:

• Raw broad beans still in the pod
• They ate nothing else for months
• They eventually learned to eat bread
• Their green color faded as their diet changed

The Brother’s Death

The boy:

• Remained sickly throughout
• Never fully adapted
• Died within a year of discovery
• The cause was never determined

The Girl’s Survival

The girl:

• Grew stronger
• Learned English
• Lost her green coloring
• Integrated into village life
• Eventually married a man from King’s Lynn (some sources say an ambassador)

Her Story

When She Could Speak

Once the girl learned English, she told her story:

St. Martin’s Land

• Her homeland was called St. Martin’s Land
• Everything there was green
• There was no sun, only perpetual twilight
• The light was like that just after sunset

The Population

• Other people lived there
• They could see a bright land across a river
• They could not reach that land

The Journey

• They were tending their father’s flocks
• They heard a loud noise (like church bells)
• They followed the sound into a cavern
• They became lost in darkness
• They eventually emerged in the wolf pit

The Confusion

• The brightness of our sun stunned them
• They didn’t know how to get home
• They were frightened and crying when found

Historical Sources

William of Newburgh

Historian William of Newburgh (c. 1136-1198) recorded the account:

• He lived during the same century
• He spoke to people who knew the children
• He considered the account credible but strange
• His Historia rerum Anglicarum preserves the story

Ralph of Coggeshall

Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall also documented the case:

• His version has some differences
• He places the children with Sir Richard de Calne
• He provides the marriage detail
• Both sources are considered reliable for their time

Theories

Medical Explanations

Green Sickness (Chlorosis)

• A form of anemia can cause greenish skin
• Caused by iron deficiency
• Common in medieval children with poor diets
• Would explain the color fading with better nutrition

Arsenic Poisoning

• Chronic arsenic exposure can cause greenish discoloration
• Possible from contaminated water or food
• Would explain the brother’s death
• Might affect memory and perception

Rational Explanations

Lost Flemish Children

• Flemish immigrants lived in England
• Their language would be unknown to Suffolk villagers
• They might have been orphaned or abandoned
• Poor nutrition caused their green color

Underground Hiding

• The children may have lived in hiding (from persecution, war, or abuse)
• Dark environments would cause pallor
• Limited diet caused malnutrition
• They constructed a story about their origins

Supernatural Explanations

Fairy Children

• Medieval belief included fairy realms underground
• The description matches fairy lore
• St. Martin’s Land resembles fairy kingdoms
• The children may have genuinely been non-human

Parallel Dimension

• They came from an alternate Earth
• The “twilight land” exists elsewhere
• They accidentally crossed between worlds
• They couldn’t return home

Hollow Earth

• An underground civilization exists
• The children came from below
• The “river to the bright land” is the surface
• Passages connect worlds

The Folkloric Explanation

The story may be:

• A folktale that became attributed to a specific place and time
• An allegory for something else
• A confusion of multiple incidents
• A medieval hoax that succeeded

Analysis

What Supports the Account

• Two independent medieval sources
• Specific details and named individuals
• Consistent with medieval record-keeping
• No obvious motivation for fabrication

What Raises Questions

• No contemporary documents exist
• Green skin is medically unusual
• The story resembles fairy tales
• Details may have been embellished over time

Legacy

Woolpit Today

The village acknowledges its famous story:

• Village signs feature green children
• Local tourism mentions the legend
• The account is preserved in village history
• The wolf pits are long gone

Cultural Impact

The Green Children have influenced:

• Fantasy literature
• Studies of medieval folklore
• Discussions of first contact scenarios
• Theories about parallel worlds

Continued Mystery

After over 800 years:

• No definitive explanation exists
• The children remain enigmatic
• Scholars still debate the account
• The mystery endures

The Question

Two green children emerged from the earth in medieval England. They spoke an unknown language. They came from a land of twilight. One died; one lived and told her story.

What were they?

• Flemish orphans with malnutrition?
• Fairy children crossing into our world?
• Refugees from underground?
• Something we can’t categorize?

The girl married and presumably had children. If so, somewhere in England, descendants of a green child from St. Martin’s Land may still live, carrying DNA from a place that doesn’t appear on any map.

A place of eternal twilight.

A place you can still hear, perhaps, if you listen for the bells.