HERNE THE HUNTER

                                 

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records 1127 ` Let no one be surprised at what we are about to relate.   It was common gossip up and down the countryside that after Feb. 6th, many people both saw and heard a pack of huntmen in full cry.  They straddled black horse and black bucks, with pitch black hounds with hideous staring eyes.`

The phantom huntsmen were an old Saxon legend which goes back into the mists and myths of European folklore.  Herne`s story has been told and retold for over a thousand years, and still his ghost appears,  wearing the antlers of a stag,  riding a phantom black stallion, at the head of a pack of baying black hounds.  Legend has it that he appears to warn of times of trouble, and gallops through Windsor Great Park, only to disappear into thin air.

Herne was a young huntsman in the service of Richard 11, King of England from 1377 to 1399, when he was deposed by Henry 1V, the son of Hungerford`s most famous benefactor, John O`Gaunt.

Like most of the aristocracy, Richard`s favourite occupation was hunting, and he kept professional hunters to make sure of consistantly good sport.  Herne was a particularly good woodsman and was a favourite of the King, who always chose him to join his hunting party.  Herne rode a beautiful black horse and was accompanied by two black hunting hounds.  They were a good team and the other hunters could not conceal their envy.

One day,  Herne led the hunters on the track of a large stag with a spectacular set of antlers.  The animal took to its heels, and the king and Herne galloped after it.  As Richard was riding hard behind the fleeing stag,  the animal turned to gore him.  Herne saw in an instant the danger to his royal master, and flung himself into the path of the charging stag.  He thrust his dagger into the animal`s neck and the king was saved.  Herne was badly wounded, and the stag lay dying from Herne`s dagger thrust.

The king was deeply shocked, and called for the hunting party to dismount to see what they could do for his injured huntsman.  Richard did not want to lose the man who had served him so well, and offered a large reward to anyone who could save him.  The other huntsmen , secretly pleased that this young upstart had got his come-uppance, merely suggested putting him out of his misery.

At that point, a mysterious figure appeared and told the king he was Philip Urswick, a physician, and that Herne would die unless treated immediately.  The hunting party looked at the newcomer with suspician.  The king asked him if he was a poacher, and the huntsmen promptly claimed that he must be, as no one had ever seen him before.  But the man was well dressed and riding a fine horse, so Richard decided his only option was to give the Urswick a chance.

The stranger took out a large hunting knife and set about cutting the antlers from the dead stag.  He removed them and to everyone`s surprise, plced them on Herne`s head.  The he ordered the huntsmen to make a stretcher out of branches and carry Herne to his hut in the forest.  He told them his patient would recover under his care,  and would be back at the king`s side in one months time.

The keepers were not pleased.  The chance of getting rid of their rival was slipping away and they rounded on Urswick .  He asked them what they could do for him if he took their part, but they were poor men and had nothing to offer him.  The wily Urswick told them his prophecy would come true,  but he would cast a spell which would cause Herne to lose his mastery of woodcraft.  In return, the keepers would perform the first task Urswick asked of them.   Urswick proved right, and a month later a fully recovered Herne was provided with rooms at Windsor Castle.  The king, delighted at his swift recovery, gave him a silver hunting horn and a purse of gold.

But Herne had lost his touch, and was now a failure on the hunt.  His former magic had left him,  and the king soon became irritated with Herne`s inability to provide a good day`s sport.  he was dismissed,  much to the delight of the jealous keepers.  The distraught Herne,  robbed of the only life he knew or wanted,  rode off in a mad gallop into the forest,  wearing the antlers which Urswick had used to save his life.  Later that day, his lifeless body was found.  He had hanged himself from an oak tree.

The man who found him went to the castle for help, and returned with the keepers of the forest.  But when they got to the tree, the body was gone.  A storm was brewing, and as they wondered what to do, a bolt of lightening split the tree almost in half.

The curse of Herne was then transferred to the other keepers.  King Richard was mightily displeased with their lack of results on hunting trips, and the keepers felt the lash of the royal tongue.  They decided to consult Urswick again.  He told them to go to Herne`s Oak, as it quickly and permanently became known, and follow whatever instructions they recieved.

The unhappy band arrived at midnight to find the ghost of Herne, wearing his antlers.  He ordered them to return the next night with horses and hounds ready for the hunt.  They duly complied and, and Herne galloped of at their head.  Deep in the forest, the hunting party stopped and Urswick appeared as if by magic.

Urswick greeted the hunters and reminded them of their promise to pay him.  Now was the moment of truth, when they must pay the price for their wicked jealousy,  and for Urswick`s collaboration with their dastardly plot.

He commanded them to follow Herne to the ends of the earth.  They would become his hunting party, condemned to follow him , night after night , slaughtering the deer of the forest.  Mesmerized,  they did as they were bid, and soon the tale came to the ear of the king, who was told of the strange, night-time zombies who were depleting the royal forests at an alarming rate.

Richard called the head keeper to him and demand an explaination.  The poor man was terrified out of his wits.  What the keepers had initially seen as a bit of strange magic which had turned to their advantage had backfired badly and now they had no option but to obey.The frightened keeper blurted out the truth to the king, expecting the royal wrath to be swift and unmerciful.

But Richard thought carefully before taking action, and consulted his Queen, Anne of Bohemia, whose upbringing was steeped in the magical forests around her home in Prague.  Herne had saved his life and Richard, in good faith had allowed the mysterious Urswick to become involved.  Richard concluded that Herne could justifiably claim that he had been wronged , and commanded the the keepers to take him with them on the next night`s hunt.

Midnight came, and the king stood at the head of his keepers to where Herne`s oak stood with it`s coat of mistletoe.  The ghost of Herne was silent, astride his black horse, with his two black hounds at his feet.  King Richard approached and asked Herne why he was acting in such a violent and destructive way.  Herne said he was entitled to revenge for such bad treatment at the hands of his fellow keepers.  They were responsible for his death, and now he would be responsible for theirs.  He told the king they must be hanged from Herne`s Oak, or the dreadful hauntings would continue as long as Richard reigned .  Then the ghost of herne disappeared.

Richard returned thoughtfully to the castle,  pondering his response to Herne`s demand, he was not disposed to lose his entire band of keepers, but he could not see any alternative.  The next day he had every one of them hanged on the oak tree,   exactly as Herne had commanded.  Herne never troubled King Richard again.

Ghosts of Berkshire by Ian McLoughlin

Herne was specifically mentioned for the first time in William Shakespeare`s `Merry Wives of Windsor`  The character of Mistress Page describes Herne thus :

`There is an old tale goes that Herne the Hunter,

Sometimes a keeper here in Windsoe Forest,

Doth all the wintertime, at still midnight,

Walk around about an oak, with great ragg`d horns;

And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,

And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain

In a most hideous and dreadful manner.

You have heard of such a spririt, and well you know

The superstitions idle-headed eld

Received, and did not deliver to our age,

This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth`

I was first told this story by my Dad when I was a child.  He knew how to tell a story well and he succeeded in scaring me half to death with his descriptions of Herne !   Whilst driving through Windsor Great park today I looked about  just in case Herne and his hunters came riding past. But then I thought, it`s daytime so he won`t be around.  But I would never drive through there at night !