In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is an equestrian ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. His appearance is notable in the fact that he has antlers upon his head.
The first literary mention of Herne is in William Shakespeare's play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, though there are several theories attempting to place the origins of Herne as predating any evidence for him by connecting his appearance to pagan deities or ancient archetypes.
Herne has appeared in various other books, TV series and other media since his first mention by Shakespeare.
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Herne is said to have been a huntsman in the employ of King Richard II (reigned 1377-1399) in and around Windsor Forest. He saved the King's life when he was attacked by a cornered white hart, but was mortally wounded himself in the process. A local wizard brought him back to health using his magical powers, which entailed tying the dead animal's antlers on Herne's head. In return, however, Herne had to give up his hunting skills. The other king's huntsmen framed him as a thief. As a result he lost the favour of the king. He was found the next day, hanging dead from a lone oak tree. That same oak tree is in the Home Park at Windsor Castle.
The earliest written account of Herne comes from Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597:
This records several aspects of Herne's ghost which is said to have haunted Windsor Forest (covering all of East Berkshire and parts of south Buckinghamshire, northeast Hampshire and northwest Surrey) and specifically the Great Park ever since his death. Further details have entered local folklore from reported sightings , such as those in the 1920s[1]. He appears antlered, sometimes beneath the tree on which he was hanged, known as "Herne's Oak", but more often riding his horse, accompanied by other wild huntsmen and the captured souls of those he has encountered on his journey. He is thus a phantom of ill omen, particularly for the country and, specifically, the Royal Family. He has a phosphorescent glow and is accompanied by demon hounds, a horned owl and other creatures of the forest.
The supposed location of Herne's Oak was, for many years, a matter of local speculation and controversy. Some Ordnance Survey maps show Herne's Oak a little to the north of Frogmore House in the Home Park (adjoining Windsor Great Park). This is generally believed to be the correct site from which the oak of Shakespeare's time was felled in 1796. Queen Victoria, unfortunately, had a replacement planted on a different site. This new tree fell in a gale in 1863 when carved mementoes were made from the timber, including a cabinet for the Queen. The bungle was, however, corrected by her son, King Edward VII, who planted the current Herne's Oak in 1906.[2]
Various theories have been proposed to account for the origin of the character, none of which has been proved conclusive, and the source for many of the tales told of Herne remain unknown.
In his 1929 book The History of the Devil - The Horned God of the West Herne R. Lowe Thompson suggests that "Herne" as well as other Wild Huntsmen in European folklore all derive from the same ancient source, sighting that "Herne" may be a cognate of the name of Gaulish deity Cernunnos in the same way that the English "horn" is a cognate of the Latin "cornu" (see Grimm's Law for more details on this linguistic feature).[3]
Some neo-pagans such as Wiccans consider Herne to be derived from Cernunnos (and connected to the Greco-Roman god Pan)[4]. However Herne is a very localized figure not found outside Berkshire and the regions of the surrounding counties into which Windsor Forest once spread. Conversely, evidence of belief in Cernunnos has been recovered only in the region near what is now Paris and not in Britain at all. [5].
In the Early Middle Ages, Windsor Forest was settled by heathen Angles who worshiped their own pantheon of gods, including Woden, who was depicted as horned [6] [7], rode across the night sky with his own Wild Hunt and hanged himself on an ash tree in order to learn the runic alphabet. The name Herne is not unlikely to be derived from the name Herian [8] a name used for Woden as leader of the slain (Old Norse "Einherjar") and of the Wild Hunt.[9] [10][11][12] Another Wild Hunt-associated folkloric figure, King Herla, started as the Old English Herla cyning, a figure that is usually said to be Woden, but was later re-imagined in literature as a Brythonic king (see Herla article), has a name that has also been connected to Herian and thus also possibly to Herne[13].
It is possible that the name Herne may originate from the Old English hyrne or herne, the O.E. for 'horn' or 'corner' [14] [15] [16]
Another view is that Herne is connected to one Richard Horne, a yeoman during the reign of Henry VIII who was caught poaching in the wood. [17]
and the Earl of Surrey, in Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle, illustrated by George Cruikshank, c.1843.]]
In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is an equestrian ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. His appearance is notable in the fact that he has antlers upon his head.
The first literary mention of Herne is in William Shakespeare's play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, though there are several theories attempting to place the origins of Herne as predating any evidence for him by connecting his appearance to pagan deities or ancient archetypes.
Herne has appeared in various other books, TV series and other media since his first mention by Shakespeare.
Contents |
Herne is said to have been a huntsman in the employ of King Richard II (reigned 1377–1399) in and around Windsor Forest. He saved the King's life when he was attacked by a cornered white hart, but was mortally wounded himself in the process. A local wizard brought him back to health using his magical powers, which entailed tying the dead animal's antlers on Herne's head. In return, however, Herne had to give up his hunting skills. The king's other huntsmen framed him as a thief. As a result he lost the favour of the king. He was found the next day, hanging dead from a lone oak tree. That same oak tree is in the Home Park at Windsor Castle.
The earliest written account of Herne comes from Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597:
This records several aspects of Herne's ghost which is said to have haunted Windsor Forest (covering all of East Berkshire and parts of south Buckinghamshire, northeast Hampshire and northwest Surrey) and specifically the Great Park ever since his death. Further details have entered local folklore from reported sightings , such as those in the 1920s[1]. He appears antlered, sometimes beneath the tree on which he was hanged, known as "Herne's Oak", but more often riding his horse, accompanied by other wild huntsmen and the captured souls of those he has encountered on his journey. He is thus a phantom of ill omen, particularly for the country and, specifically, the Royal Family. He has a phosphorescent glow and is accompanied by demon hounds, a horned owl and other creatures of the forest.
The supposed location of Herne's Oak was, for many years, a matter of local speculation and controversy. Some Ordnance Survey maps show Herne's Oak a little to the north of Frogmore House in the Home Park (adjoining Windsor Great Park). This is generally believed to be the correct site from which the oak of Shakespeare's time was felled in 1796. Queen Victoria, unfortunately, had a replacement planted on a different site. This new tree fell in a gale in 1863 when carved mementoes were made from the timber, including a cabinet for the Queen. The bungle was, however, corrected by her son, King Edward VII, who planted the current Herne's Oak in 1906.[2]
Various theories have been proposed to account for the origin of the character, none of which has been proved conclusive, and the source for many of the tales told of Herne remain unknown.
In his 1929 book The History of the Devil - The Horned God of the West Herne R. Lowe Thompson suggests that "Herne" as well as other Wild Huntsmen in European folklore all derive from the same ancient source, citing that "Herne" may be a cognate of the name of Gaulish deity Cernunnos in the same way that the English "horn" is a cognate of the Latin "cornu" (see Grimm's Law for more details on this linguistic feature).[3]
Some neo-pagans such as Wiccans consider Herne to be derived from Cernunnos (and connected to the Greco-Roman god Pan)[4]. However Herne is a very localized figure not found outside Berkshire and the regions of the surrounding counties into which Windsor Forest once spread. Conversely, evidence of belief in Cernunnos has been recovered only in the region near what is now Paris and not in Britain at all.[5].
In the Early Middle Ages, Windsor Forest was settled by heathen Angles who worshiped their own pantheon of gods, including Woden, who was depicted as horned [6][7], rode across the night sky with his own Wild Hunt and hanged himself on an ash tree in order to learn the runic alphabet. The name Herne is not unlikely to be derived from the name Herian [8] a name used for Woden as leader of the slain (Old Norse "Einherjar") and of the Wild Hunt.[9][10][11][12] Another Wild Hunt-associated folkloric figure, King Herla, started as the Old English Herla cyning, a figure that is usually said to be Woden, but was later re-imagined in literature as a Brythonic king (see Herla article), has a name that has also been connected to Herian and thus also possibly to Herne[13].
It is possible that the name Herne may originate from the Old English hyrne or herne, the O.E. for 'horn' or 'corner' [14][15][16]
Another view is that Herne is connected to one Richard Horne, a yeoman during the reign of Henry VIII who was caught poaching in the wood.[17]
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