The Green Children of Woolpit
In medieval England, two children with green skin were found near a Suffolk village, speaking a language no one knew.
What was reported
Two English chroniclers of the 12th century, William of Newburgh and Ralph of Coggeshall, tell how two children, a brother and sister, were found near the village of Woolpit in Suffolk. Their skin was green, they wore strange clothes, and they spoke a language no one understood. At first they would eat only raw beans.
Over time their green colour faded. The girl later said they came from a land where the sun never shone, called St Martin's Land, and had wandered into Woolpit by following the sound of bells.
Explanations offered
Historians have suggested the children were lost Flemish children, orphaned during conflicts of the time, and pale-green from malnutrition, with their story made stranger in the retelling. Others see it as a folk tale. The village sign at Woolpit still shows the two green children.
- When
- 12th century
- Where
- Woolpit, Suffolk, England
- Witnesses
- Villagers, as recorded by medieval chroniclers
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.