The Wild Hunt by Kimber Flory

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

The ancient belief in the Wild Hunt, Fairy Raed, or Furious Host, a phantasmal procession of riders and hounds that rampaged clamorously across fields, woodlands, and skies, was at one time widespread across Northern and Central Europe. Wherever it took root, it became very much a local phenomenon, its details shapeshifting to suit the angst and concerns of the locale, with the result that the details of the Wild Hunt vary widely from place to place.
It was mainly in the British Isles that the legend became associated with fairy lore, and William Butler Yeats, for one, wrote about a version of it in his The
Hosting of the Sidhe.

Common Themes

The Wild Hunt
by Jane Yolen

One theme is common to almost all regions: sightings of the Hunt foretold calamity, at times even such great events as war, and were to be avoided at all costs. Travelers in lonely places, on hearing the ghostly host approaching, would throw themselves upon the ground, quaking and averting their eyes until the fearful procession had passed.

Other common features include a spectral leader, a band of followers, horses, and hounds, an elusive quarry, and the accompaniment of a great din, such as the belling of the dogs, a shrieking of wind or voices, and thunderous hoofbeats.

The Wild Hunt Across Europe

The Wild Hunt has more association with fairy lore in some areas (most notably the British Isles ) than others, and I've touched only lightly upon the phenomenon as it occurred in some regions and mythologies, to give a quick overview.

Norse and Germanic Mythology

The Wild Hunt (or Wilde Jagd in German) was usually led by the god Odin, or Wotan, who preferred to hunt in the cold winds of autumn or winter. The quarry might be a boar, a wild horse, or an ethereal woman known as a Moss Maiden.

Some German legends also have the Wild Hunt led by female deities, and these are the exception to the rule of the spectacle as a fearful omen, as the fields the goddess-led Hunt passed by would double their crops in the next year.

France

King Arthur was most often considered to be the leader of the Hunt in France, where it is known as la Chasse Artu or Mesneé d'Helequin.

England

In England the Hunt's quarry is chiefly a stag of purest white. This country has many elaborate variants of the legend.

The Legend of King Herla's Curse

The Wild Hunt in England was referred to as Herlathing, after the mythical King Herla.

King Herla had attended the wedding of the Fairy King's child. As Herla mounted his horse to leave Fairyland, the Fairie King presented him with a small hound, and advised him that none of his entourage must dismount until the pup had of its own will leaped to the ground. This would insure that the travelers had safely emerged from Fairyland, and did not set foot on enchanted soil.

After the group had traveled for for some time, before they could stop him, one man in the procession grew weary, dismounted -- and instantly turned to dust.

The riders pushed on, until some time later, they met a man upon the road, who informed them that the name of Herla had not been heard in those lands for centuries.

The dog never did leap to the ground, and thus Herla became the Lord of the Hunt, and his entourage his band of hunters.

Other British Hunt Leaders

Another widely-known leader of the Wild Hunt was Cernunnos, the great antlered Celtic Lord of Animals, whose name is still found in place names such as Cerne Abbas in Dorset.

In Southern England, there is a tradition that the hunt was led by another stag-horned entity, Herne the Hunter, aka Lord of the Wildwood. An appearance of Herne was believed
to portend great tragedy or disaster. In this region, the Hunt was also was said to be led by King Arthur.

The historical figure Edric the Wild, who fought the Normans from 1067-1070, and who was said to have taken a fairy wife, at times also leads the Wild Hunt, appearing whenever England is threatened with invasion. Edric and the Hunt were widely reported as having been seen riding in the months prior to the Crimean War, the First World War and the Second World War.

Wales

In Wales, Gwynn ap Nudd, who served both as the Lord of the Dead and of the Fairy realm, rode, wearing a flowing grey cloak, upon a pale horse, following his shining white hounds with red-tipped ears.

Ireland

In an Irish version of the Wild Hunt, the Aes Sidhe -- the hosts of the Sidhe -- ride out from their hollow hills on the eves of the four
great fire festivals, Samhain, Oimelc, Beltane and Lughnasadh.

Orkneys

In the British Orkney Islands, the fairies or trows occasionally are seen on Yule, Halloween or New Year's Eve, galloping through the air on white horses.

 

If you've ever heard the haunting song "Ghost Riders in the Sky", you might recognize a western version of the Wild Hunt. It refers to the devil, but when you remember that the old Horned God was called the devil by the Christians, you can see the origon of this song. The red-eyed cattle in the song is a variation of the red-eyed hounds in some variations of the Wild Hunt. It's also one of the best songs for Halloween out there.

This webpage tells about it and how it has influenced pop culture--

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Ghost)_Riders_in_the_Sky:_A_Cowboy_Legend

This webpage has the lyrics--

http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/GHOSTR...

And for the version sung by the late Johnny Cash (R.I.P.)--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvGk0rNp1Yc&feature=related