Wild man
![Wild men support coats of arms in the side panels of a portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1499 (Alte Pinakothek, Munich)](/Images/godic/202502/21/ADurerWoodwoses14990621.jpg")
![Late 15th century tapestry from Basel, showing a woodwose being tamed by a virtuous lady](/Images/godic/202502/21/Tugendreiche_Dame_zähmt_Wildmann0621.png")
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![Pontus and his train disguised as wild men at the wedding of Genelet and Sidonia. Illustration of a manuscript of a German version of Pontus and Sidonia (CPG 142, fol. 122r, ca. 1475)](/Images/godic/202502/21/Pontius_und_Sidona_cpg142_122r0622.png")
The wild man (also wildman, or "wildman of the woods", archaically woodwose or wodewose) is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.