This legend dates back to the reign of Richard II (1377-1399), when a man named Herne was keeper of the royal domain known as the Great Park at Windsor.
Hunting with the King one day, Herne saved his Master’s life when he was attacked by a wounded stag, but in doing so, Herne was injured by the animals antlers. He seemed to be fatally wounded. At that moment, a mysterious stranger walked out of the trees and told the King that if he agreed to his magical treatment he could save Herne’s life. The King gave his assent and the stranger, a wizard who lived alone in the forest, removed the stag’s antlers, bandaged them to Herne’s head and said he must be taken to his hut to recover. Before Herne was moved, the King promised him that as soon as he was well again, he would be appointed head huntsman.
The royal huntsmen were determined that their order of promotion should not be altered to suit Herne, and when they reached the forest hut they threatened the wizard with death if he allowed him to recover. The wizard replied that Herne was under his protection and he would not harm him, but if they dared to risk Herne’s curse, he would ensure that he did not remain hunt leader for long. When Herne returned to Windsor Castle to take charge of the hunting, his memory failed him as far as the Great Park was concerned. It was as though he had completely forgotten the geography of the forest and its deer tracks, and thus each hunt he led was a failure. Finally, the King lost his temper and dismissed him.
Herne committed suicide the same night, hanging himself from the branch of a huge oak tree, which was known as Herne’s Oak until 1863, when it was blown down during a gale. A hunter found the body, but when he returned to the spot with his fellow huntsmen it had vanished. From then on, the memory failure that had befallen Herne, afflicted them, and soon the King was so angered by their seeming ineptitude that they were in danger of dismissal. In desperation they sought the wizard, who told them that until they had made atonement to Herne’s earthbound spirit, they would have no luck with the chase. Following his instructions they congregated at Herne’s Oak after nightfall. At midnight, the phantom of Herne, complete with antlers, appeared. Leaping onto a ghostly horse, he commanded them to follow him through the forest. For the rest of the night, the wild hunt combed Windsor Great Park for deer and was so successful that when the King next went hunting, he did not glimpse a single animal. Finally he forced the truth from his huntsmen and that night went to the oak where the phantom duly appeared. The ghost promised the King that if those who had betrayed him were punished, he would cease to haunt the forest for as long as he reigned. The King agreed, and the next morning ordered the conspirators to be hanged, after which he had no trouble in finding game.
Following King Richard’s deposition in 1399 and his subsequent murder, the ghost of Herne was seen again in the Great Park, and a story circulated that whenever England was faced with troubled times, the spectral hunter would appear. When Herne’s Oak was blown down, Queen Victoria ordered that a new one should be planted in its place to keep the tradition alive.
Herne appears in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ and in Harrison Ainsworth’s novel ‘Windsor Castle.’
