Meet Herne the Hunter: Fact, Fiction, or Folklore?

To some, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Great Park. He haunts the tree where he did, rattling his chains and raging against...well...something.
Elsewhere, Herne is portrayed as a demonic force tearing through the forest at speed, scooping up souls in the Wild Hunt. Some tales see him riding a coal-black horse with burning eyes. Others see him as a phantom stag that prefers to chase than be chased.
Is he simply an invention of Shakespeare, or does he have a basis in reality? And why do the legends about him vary so wildly?
Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore.
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[@shawnvogt888]

Ooohhh. I'm about to go to bed, it's 0500 local time for me, but I'm saving to watch later. Herne is a favorite, and your videos are always excellent.

[@FabulousFolklore]

Enjoy later!

[@witchothewest]

Herne the Hunter appeared as a character in John Masefield''s story "The Box of Delights" - that version has more of the mythical character attributes associated with a forest spirit (and the story has lots of hunting and fairytale themes throughout).

[@FabulousFolklore]

I had to look that one up - it's funny how his "forest spirit" persona seems to have lived on so much in fiction!

[@Nyctophora]

I always remember him from Robin of Sherwood, the 80s series, where he was a kind of shamanic figure :)

[@FabulousFolklore]

I definitely need to track that down!

[@electrogrim]

I think the first (and perhaps almost only) time I have heard of Herne was in the mid 80s TV series Robin of Sherwood.

[@FabulousFolklore]

I never saw that but I feel like I need to check it out.

[@Nyctophora]

@@FabulousFolklore Oh you definitely should! I think you would like it. Be warned though, I think the music has "stretched" a little as the tapes aged and now it can play a bit warbly.

[@DMU555]

Two things: 1) The quality of your research is refreshing, a lot of the content with similar subject matter is... Not as reliable. 2) It's good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks of Miranda Richardson when they think of Mab. I'm the only person I know who grew up watching that adaptation of Merlin lol

[@FabulousFolklore]

I am nothing if not thorough! And I love Miranda Richardson in everything but as Mab? *chef's kiss*

[@johnrobinson3905]

Quite a few people have already mentioned this, but for me, Herne was the mystical interest in 'Robin of Sherwood'. I have to say, he made quite an impression on me, because the programme's producers kept him as a suitably vague character. He was a god who could, at times, become human, and therefore vulnerable. He was also an extension of the Green Man trope which often worms its way into modern interpretations of the Robin Hood story. Beyond that, Herne isn't really there in folklore, unless we equate him with Cernunnos.

[@FabulousFolklore]

Well Herne has become folklore through the evolution of his legend from that first appearance in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

[@Ivftinianvs]

First I ever heard of him was in the early 1980s production of the Box of Delights.

[@FabulousFolklore]

The novel of that has been a popular response!

[@kathleenmcconaha5608]

there's a reference to Herne in "The Dark is Rising " series by Susan Cooper

[@FabulousFolklore]

He gets about a bit, doesn't he?

[@YorkyOne]

We see the same process of modern myth creation with the 'Green Man' who prior to 1939 was simply a mediaeval carved decorative feature found mostly in churches and known (if at all) as a 'foliate head'. 'He' has now become 'The Spirit of the Greenwood' with supposed links to Robin Hood, Cernunnos (inevitably) and the Jack-in-the Green. And to some he is a living entity - they have seen him whilst out walking in the woods.

[@FabulousFolklore]

I have a whole episode about that!

[@YorkyOne]

@@FabulousFolklore I will check that out.

[@FabulousFolklore]

@@YorkyOne Just to save you time, it's this one! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mV6voIZodp2qgacsi=QGdZZlLoZTADWfzT

[@YorkyOne]

@@FabulousFolklore 👍

[@Nyctophora]

@@FabulousFolklore Thank you, my next watch! I wonder if he has anything to do with wodewoses?