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The Wild Hunt (and variations)

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    The Wild Hunt (and variations)

    Because I *do* think it makes a cool topic all on its own!

    pertinent parts (from me) from the other thread (I'll let anyone that wants to repost (via quote) their thoughts here handle that themselves):

    Originally posted by thalassa View Post


    "When the winter winds blow and the Yule fires are lit, it is best to stay indoors, safely shut away from the dark paths and the wild heaths. Those who wander out by themselves during the Yule-nights may hear a sudden rustling through the tops of the trees - a rustling that might be the wind, though the rest of the wood is still.

    "But then the barking of dogs fills the air, and the host of wild souls sweeps down, fire flashing from the eyes of the black hounds and the hooves of the black horses"
    Kveldulf Hagen Gundarsson (Mountain Thunder)
    I'm not precisely sure whose mythology it really "belongs" to (in origin, I mean, though it seems it might have started out as a tale of Odin) since it shows up in several different mythologies and folktales and attirbuted to different gods, heroes and historical figures (and under different names)...but its basically a supernatural hunting party that won't quit (until they ride their quarry down to the ground). I've seen said to be "'lead" by Odin, Herne, King Arthur in a French tale, King Herla in some English tales (who's story may be a derivative of Odin). Derivatives also show up in several different fantasy novels--The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, as the Starry Hunt (great books, BTW--and what made me learn more about it),some urban fantasy series that attributes it to Cernunnos...and in LOTR, where Aragon summons the Army of the Dead:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r622O7Kh4B4


    ...there is even an American version, from an old cowboy song (of which Johnny Cash did a version).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmxB2BwVufA


    An old cowpoke went ridin' out one dark and windy day,
    Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
    When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
    Come rushin' through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw.

    Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
    Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel
    A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
    He saw the riders coming hard... and he heard their mournful cry

    Yipie i oh Yipie i ay
    Ghost riders in the sky.

    Their face is gaunt their eyes were blurred their shirts all soaked
    With sweat
    They're ridin' hard to catch that herd but they 'aint caught 'em yet
    'cause they've got to ride forever in the range up in the sky
    On horses snorting fire as they ride hard hear them cry

    The riders leaned on by him he heard one call his name
    If you want to save your soul from hell a riding on our range
    Then cow - boy change your ways today or with us you will ride
    Tryin' to catch this devil herd... a - cross these endless
    Skies.

    Yipie i oh Yipie i ay
    Ghost riders in the sky.
    Ghost riders in the sky.
    Ghost riders in the sky.
    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
    sigpic

    #2
    Re: The Wild Hunt (and variations)

    I did think of another one that I had forgotten about, with some help from a dear friend of mine today...

    The Flying Canoe is a voyageur folktale, that I first heard from a gentleman descended from an old voyageur family...there is a short, animated version that tells one version...in the version I've heard, its a bit more Wild Hunt-like, with Baptiste being condemned to the canoe to hunt for souls and being accompanied by the sinners he collects.
    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
    sigpic

    Comment


      #3
      Re: The Wild Hunt (and variations)

      Since fictional references (Aragorn) were mentioned. The Wild Hunt shows up as a force of Wild Magic in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence. They're led by a Lord of High Magic that may or may not be Arthur (it's implied but never stated) and on two occasions ride against the Dark. The first time, they chase the Dark to the ends of the Earth and beyond. The second time, they're more of an obstacle to give the protagonists a chance to fulfill a prophecy that ends the conflict.
      life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

      Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

      "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

      John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

      "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

      Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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        #4
        Re: The Wild Hunt (and variations)

        That song done by Johny Cash is incredible. It's largely his voice, which, in this song, shows off his best vocal qualities, but also the imagery. If you ever want to get a bunch of rednecks to settle down and be quiet, put that on - the room gets quiet immediately. I love it, and I don't even believe in damnation.

        Would the Flying Dutchman (the legend, not the squidley guy in the movie) be an example of this kind of thing?
        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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          #5
          Re: The Wild Hunt (and variations)

          Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
          Would the Flying Dutchman (the legend, not the squidley guy in the movie) be an example of this kind of thing?
          I don't wholly understand The Wild Hunt, but I love any reference to Wagner I can get.
          No one tells the wind which way to blow.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: The Wild Hunt (and variations)

            In Slovenian folklore, there is a version of it. The "divja jaga" or wild hunt. I'm having trouble finding much info on it though.
            If you want to be thought intelligent, just agree with everyone.

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