The differences in William's account and Ralph's account of the Green Children is probably due to the differences in how each heard the story. William appears to have investigated the story around forty years after it happened, and he talked to many people who recounted him the event, so his version is likely a smoothed-out compilation of many short versions of the story. Certainly, he did not state that he talked to any eye-witnesses; so it's quite possible that none of the people he talked to were.
Meanwhile, Ralph appears to have heard the story repeatedly from just one man, who claimed to be an eye-witness: and this version also has this very same eye-witness as playing a vital role in the legend. This sounds suspiciously like said 'eye-witness' -- Richard de Calne -- may have been bragging to a friend.
Although both accounts agree on the general structure of the story, they disagree on the details; so they cannot be used either to confirm one another, or to prove the event happened. Still, each has clues that narrow down the where and when of the event, so further digging may still be able to give a more definitive answer in the future.
Of course, it would help if there were a third ancient account, but...
Gervase of Tilbury's account?
Three authors -- Brad Steiger in 'Strange Disappearances', Rodney Davies in 'Supernatural Disappearances', and Harold T. Wilkins in 'Strange Mysteries of Time and Space' -- claim that a third ancient account of the Green Children exists, one by Gervase of Tilbury, a well-known author of historical texts. Since Gervase lived from around 1152 to 1220, an account from him would be as valuable as Ralph of Coggeshall's or William of Newburgh's; unfortunately, I haven't found any real indication that Gervase actually wrote such an account. Brad Steiger gives no details on this matter at all other than mentioning that Gervase wrote one; and Rodney Davies' simply reprints a paragraph that is supposed to be from Gervase's account. It's quite likely that both of these two authors got their information from the third, Harold T. Wilkins, who was the first of the three in print to claim that Gervase wrote an account.
This is the paragraph that Davies claims is from Gervase's alleged account... it's said to be a quotation from the Green Girl:
| "We are folk of St. Martin's Land; for he is the chief saint among us. We know not where the land is, and remember only that one day we were feeding our father's flock in the field when we heard a great noise like bells, as when, at St. Edmunds, they all peal together. And on a sudden we were both caught up in the spirit and found ourselves in your harvest-field. Among us no sun riseth, nor is there open sunshine, but such a twilight as here goes before the rising and setting of the sun. Yet there is a land of light to be seen not far from us, but cut off from us by a stream of great width." |
Not only does this quote fail to add anything new, but it also appears to be a mix of the English translations of Ralph's and William's accounts. More notable still, this exact quote is in Wilkins' book; and, though Davies doesn't list 'Strange Mysteries of Time and Space' in his bibliography, he does have Wilkins' 'Mysteries: Solved and Unsolved'... which appears to be the exact same as Wilkins' earlier book, but with a different title.
There are other suspicious similarities between Wilkins' version of Gervase's alleged account and those of Ralph and William. Wilkins says that Gervase's account states that the girl married at man at Lynn, and Wilkins then quotes, "where she was said to be living, a few years since." Compare this to a line from William of Newburgh's account: "Afterwards, as it is reported, she was married at Lynne, and was living a few years since, at least, so they say."2 Wilkins is clearly giving a simple paraphrase of William's line as a supposed quote from Gervase.
Actually, Wilkins' version of Gervase of Tilbury's alleged account offers only one detail different from both Ralph's and William's accounts of the Green Children; the claim that in Gervase's account, the beans were given to the children while they were still sitting in one of the wolf-pits.
So Harold Wilkins is the only actual source I've found for a claim that Gervase of Tilbury wrote anything about the Green Children, and the evidence leans towards the conclusion that Wilkins created the alleged account. Though Wilkins implies that the story may have come from Gervase's famous historic text, the 'Otia Imperialia', he never clearly states this as a fact; and I have found no other indication that the Green Children story is in said text. For this reason, and the others already mentioned, I will need to see more evidence before I'll believe that a third ancient source for the story exists. I'll keep digging until I can either confirm or deny Gervase of Tilbury's alleged account.
But, for now at least, this investigation is done.
