The Green Children of Woolpit: Chronicles, Fairies and Facts in Medieval England

Shortlisted by The Folklore Society for The Katharine Briggs Award 2025. Two medieval chroniclers, William of Newburgh and Ralph of Coggeshall, reported the mysterious appearance of a pair of 'Green Children'-with green skins and speaking an unknown language-in the Suffolk village of Woolpit in the mid-twelfth century. The story is well known today, usually as a Suffolk folktale about fairies and a fairy otherworld. Retold many times, it continues to inspire novels, poetry, songs, plays, an...