The Wild Hunt: Origins, Leaders, and Procession

The Wild Hunt, its leader, it procession, all parts of an ancient story but academics disagree on its origins and who originally led it. Here we take a look at the work of Hutton, Lecouteux, Grimm, Liberman, de Vries, amongst others, and compare their views, and explain some of the gaps in their thinking.

The conclusion to this is that we can find an ancient leader of the hunt, even if we can't recreate the original story.

I tell some tales of the Wild Hunt, stories of Kings and Gods, giants and other supernatural and mythological beings. And look at what these mean. I also edited this video down from over 2 hours, and so there is so much I have taken out so let me know if you would like to hear more details on anything.

Bibliography and Papers Cited

Adolphi, Gustavi. 1998. Masks and mumming in the Nordic area, Acta Academiae Regiae
de Vries, Jan. 1931. Contributions to the Study of Othin, Especially in His Relation to Agricultural Practices in Modern Popular Lore, FFC 94
de Vries, Jan. 1954. “Über das Verhältnis von Óƒr und Óƒinn,” Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 73 (1954), 337–353
Eike, Christine. 1980. Oskoreia og ekstaseriter, Norveg 23, 229-309
Endter, Alfred. 1933. Die Sage vom Wilden Jäger und von der Wilden Jagd: Studien über den deutschen Dämonenglauben. Germany, Druck von F.W. Kalbfleisch
Flasdieck, Hermann. 1937. Harlekin. German Mythos in romanischer Wandlung, Anglia 61
Grimm, Jacob. 1882. Teutonic Mythology. Translated by James Steven Stallybrass. Bell
Gundarsson. 1992. The Folklore of the Wild Hunt and Furious Host, Mountain Thunder, Issue 7
Lecouteux, Claude. 2011. Phantom Armies of the Night: The Wild Hunt and Ghostly Processions
Lecouteux, Claude. 2016. Encyclopaedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic
Liberman, Anatoly. 2016. In Prayer and Laughter: Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture. Moscow: Paleograph Press
Lincoln, Bruce, et al. 1991. Death, war, and sacrifice: studies in ideology and practice. Chicago, University of Chicago Press
Map, Walter. 1923. De Nugis Curialium, ed. & trans. M. R. James, The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
Olrik, Axel. 1901. Odinsjægeren. Dania 8, 139-173
Pócs, Éva. 1989. The Night Battles. Translated by John and Anne Tedeschi. Routledge, Ginzburg
Procopius. De Bello Gothico (The Gothic War). Heinemann, (edited by H.B.Dewing), 1914
Schmitt, Jean-Claude. 1994. Ghosts in the Middle Ages, Chicago University Press
Thorpe, Benjamin. 1851. Northern Mythology Volume II, Scandinavian Popular Traditions and Superstitions
Tomoaki. 1999. Othin who presides over the raging army, Iris 18

Unwerth, W. von. 1911. Untersuchungen über Totenkult und Ódinnverehrung bei Nordgermanen und Lappen: mit Excursen zur altnordischen Literaturgeschichte. Breslau: M. & H. Marcus

Anglo Saxon Chronicles. Phoenix, James Ingram, 2012
Germania, Claredon, Tacitus, edited by Anthony Birle, 1999
Fairies and Witches at the Boundary of South-Eastern and Central Europe. Academia Scientarum Fennica,
Notes on the Folk Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders, pp. 103-104, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1866

Chapters
====================================
0:00 Introduction
3:10 Orderic Vitalis's Infernal Hunt
5:56 The Wild Hunt has become complex
8:41 The Differing Views to what made up the Hunt
11:32 The Wild Hunt's different Leaders
14:30 King Herla's Hunt
18:38 More Wild Hunt Themes
19:38 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and Pre-Christian origins
20:37 What was in the procession or army of the dead?
27:30 The problem with Odin being the leader
29:28 What do other historical texts infer?
31:36 An Old Norse version of the hunt
33:49 The Evolution of the Gods
38:42 The Proto Indo European Leader of the Wild Hunt
40:45 The Evolution of Odin
42:14 Summerising the Evidence
46:05 But there is an older story still...

[Crecganford]

Would you like to hear about the specific Wild Hunt stories, or would like me to go deeper into any of the information I talk about?

[the_mowron]

"But I'll make a video about that soon" has become your signature phrase. You must have a hundred videos coming out "soon" by now. I'll watch them.

[FoxBatinaHat]

How about Cernunnos "Lord of Wild things", associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs, bulls. I would believe that (as a Celtic / Pagan) religious deity, which was prevalent in the countries mentioned were Wild-Hunt stories were told. I would certtainly attribute this particular archaic being as the (Dark/tall, figure) in Wild Hunt stories. A Celtic pre-Christianity deity of hunting and fertility.
Cernunnos is also interpreted as both a god of death, but also life; As a cycle. Depicted sometimes with a female deity consort (fertility goddess.

This to me, is very much on-the-money.

[sirseigan]

I was really suprised that the Rig Veda story about the god Indra and his retinue of of dead warriors turned into storm spirits was not mentioned in this video. In that story Indra and his host of warrior-storm-spirits restore the order of time, get the monsune going and restart the year. The paralells to the European Wild Hunt is striking. That also puts an age and a geographic range to the myth.

I was also suprised that the detail that the female entity infront of the hunt is sometimes leading the hunt, so etimes being the hunted. In a Danish version she is a Troll-hag that have so long saging breasts that she throws them over her shoulders to be able to run faster. That in turn is a detail that is common in other tales as well.

It would also have been interesting to have heard some reflections around the subject of it being part of ritual of a PIE warriorband that in turn can have connections to what became known as Berserker (which would tie in to the slavic "Wolf Sheperd" mentioned in othe comments). The author Dan Davis has done some good videos here on YT about the subject.

Still this were a video full of gold nogets for me. Thank you!

[Mydrums]

Interesting video. 👍 I am from Norway and wanted to let you know Oskorsreia is something which was told about and experienced by people only a couple of generations ago. I personally know of old people who claimed to have experienced oskorsreia. Oskorsreia is also called jolereia or lussireia. Jol being the the Norwegian word for midwinter or Christmas and Lussi being a word which means light. The tradition tells Oskorsreia is dangerous for people who haven’t done all the preparations around Christmas or similar important days. These people could loose their soul when Oskorsreia came.
In Norway Oskorsreia is not only an old tale but something which was alive in our culture until not very long ago. In some rural areas older people still believe in Oskorsreia.

[wernerlemp]

In my opinion, some should also remember the time of the year, the wild hunt appaers. Here in Austria it is in the "Raunächte" the days between the years at modern days christmas. It is the time when the winterstorms blows and people easily freeze to death, when they cant find shelter. It connects with another believe, that some must not hang white Bedgarment out for drying, because he is the damned die be buried in them, because he will die when doing so. So in my opinion, the wild hunt is older than Indoeuropean myth. Wotan or anybody else was then incorporated in this warning of the hazards of wintertime, but the myth itself is about the power of nature an all its animated spirits thät dwell within.
Btw, Thanks for all your videos and lectures. This old storys must be kept alive when we dont want to loose our heritage forever!

[Valdagast]

_An old cowboy 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_
_Plowed 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_
_For he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry_

[DavidLightbringer]

Okay so I’ve watched all of your videos about Odin now, and I’m fascinated by the facet of his composition that originate outside the standard PIE pantheon. Agree it make sense to see Odin as taking the place of Manu; I believe Odin’s primary characteristic is that of shaman, and that’s the same as priest. In fact I believe that shamanism is the link and origin of all these ideas, wild hunt included. Shaman and psychopomp are the same role - traveller between worlds, bridge between living and dead, intercession for the living - so when you talk about the original leader of the hunt, be it human horse rider, therianthropic horse man or wild man, or whatever, as playing a psychopomp role, I’m saying that’s the same as Odin’s role as shaman. Since Odin has not one but two astral projection horses - Sleipnir and Yggdrasil - it’s easy to speculate that all of this horse riding goes back to shamanistic beliefs about spirit horses being the mount of the shaman. A spirit man or wild man riding a horse leading the precession of the dead is too similar; that’s just the shaman communing with the dead, which he does by riding the spirit horse into the sky. Even Heimdallr is really a symbol of Yggdrasil, and so here is another horse man, guarding the crossing over point between realms (psychopomp themes) and blowing the horn, like a leader of a hunt. Really I think the core of all this old mythology is psychedelic usage and spirit travel, meaning, shamanism. Isn’t there a part of your reconstructed PIE creation myth where they use a root of some sort to make potion which is offered to the gods before the dragon slaying?

Also relevant are the Santa Claus shamanistic connections. He’s doing a wild hunt in the sky with his reindeer, heavily associated with mushrooms, rides as horse as Sinterclaus, etc etc

[xciefmf]

the story of King Herla is very interesting and shares a similarity with some ancient Chinese stories, one of them was like that, once upon a time a man went into mountains to chop some firewoods, he encountered two immortals playing go, he watched the game and by time when the game was over, he found the handle of his axe already rotten, and when he returned from the mountains to the village, he found that decades had passed and his home deserted and none of those he knew was alive

[christinawendorff]

In parts of Germany you are not allowed to wash your clothes during the 12 holy nights when the "wild Hunt" is under way. Because when the horses trip over the line somebody of your household must join the hunt. And when my grandmother was a child the farmers would let stand some grain (I think it was on the west corner of the field) as fodder for the horses.

[ML-HS]

It's intresting how I always used to link the wild hunt to Norse mythology and never thought it could reach anywhere near the Balkans. Thank you for this video. Splendid work.

[gregvondare]

What's fascinating to me is how the purity of the "oldest story" (the hunter, the elk and the sun) becomes baroque in the extreme under the influence of Christianity -- fantastical stories were, after all, the basis of that religion. I believe that giants are a kind of childhood impression of adults who were vastly bigger and taller (and more powerful) than the toddler who looked up at them in awe. Isn't the exact origin of the story beside the point? The "Cosmic Hunt" was probably not told but performed by the tribe's shaman who took on all the parts as well as narrating. I love the detail about the elk's blood coloring the fallen autumn leaves red. That's superb.

[papanomidokoro]

Your research on the origins of ancient myths is fascinating!

[javikus]

The Wolf Shepherd (also Wolf Shepherd, White King, White King, Wolf King) is the leader of wolves and werewolves, according to ancient Slavic folklore. It goes back to the ancient Indo-European cult of veneration of wolves.
According to legend, the wolf shepherd is the ruler of wolves, as well as the lord of stormy thunderstorms. The myths about the wolf shepherd and his retinue are similar to the myths about the Wild Hunt. Also, the figure of the Wolf Shepherd is interpreted as a thunder god. The shepherd uses the wolves as hounds and mounts as he travels to battlefields. According to one of the legends, the wolf shepherd controls the wolves that seek to devour the Sun. So that the wolves obey, he pacifies them with a whip and a club. At its core, it is neither good nor evil, nor even neutral, rather it maintains a balance. The wolf shepherd manages the lives of wolves, protecting them from humans, or humans from them. He assigns tasks and victims to the wolves, he himself often takes part in hunting or battle. It is believed that the victim appointed by the shepherd is inevitably doomed. The shepherd looks different. He can seem like a gray-haired old man, and a wolf. In some legends from Malorossia(little Russia) (one of the names of Ukraine in Russian Empire), the wolf shepherd is the goblin, so one of the incarnations of the shepherd is a goat-like humanoid. Also depicted as a furry man with goat hooves. The shepherd is called in Little Russia and Belarus Polisun, Lesovik. The shepherd was also revered by the Serbs. In some descriptions, the shepherd even has wings. The color of wolf fur is most often white or black for a shepherd.
Based on this, it can be understood that the Slavs also had traces of faith in wild hunting. More facts indicate that it was either a Leshiy or Veles / Volos, the god of cattle, storytellers. There was even a tradition in the north of Russia - to put on a bearskin. This is how the priests of Veles dressed.
I suppose that in Slavic mythology Veles could play the role of Odin, like his ancient progenitor - Wotan, hunt everyone at night, pursuing the Wild Hunt motif

[stevesmith]

I've just come across your channel recently and I'm just binging the hell out of it. This is fantastic content, man! The amount of depth you go into is great. Thanks!

[ScottJB]

The relationship between the Ancient North Eurasian cosmic hunt, the Indo-European ride of the sun (and moon) across the sky (and underworld) pursued by a predator, the Wild Hunt, and the Eternal Hunt are undoubtedly related themes and have deep roots in the Americas, North Asia, and Europe. This motif fascinates me more than most of Indo-European folklore. One thing I don't know if you mentioned, have you come across the idea that Odin uses the Wild Hunt to recruit Einherjar to his ghost army for Ragnarok?

[JackMyersPhotography]

What a wonderful video, I really enjoyed it. Thank you very much. I was looking around to see if there were any great interviews in English, or translated, with Claude Lecoteux and your video turned up among my searches. This video is a fine introduction to the subject of the wild hunt. I wondered if you were going to get around to talking about Hel as the leader of the wild hunt, it’s been years since I’ve read the book, and I can’t recall if maybe she came much later in the history of the hunt?

[ryangriffiths]

Absolutely love your intro and content, your disclaimer is helpful and humble and happy to come across your channel!

[AnnoyedKitten]

Very interesting! Thank you! I am from here on a faithful follower of your channel. This is great stuff! :)
All my books in Swedish has so far said that "Naah, this is probably not origin from Scandinavia, it probably comes from the earlier celtic world/germanic world. But they never dived any deeper than this. A fun fact, that you probably know but might be a fun for others to know, is that the stories about the Wild Hunt survived in Scandinavian folklore up until late 19th cent. And there Odins name was often kept, but in some stories he is not a God anymore just an old Viking warrior from a nearby mound, or he is more of a mythical folklore being, not a God but some kind of other being, that is hunting for the Skogsrå (Mistress of the Forest). I find it fascinating how the old Aesir Gods names, like Tor and Oden, have survived into old folklore hundreds for years after we got Christianized.
Oh, and btw, you are really nailing a lot of the Scandinavian names and words. Which is not always easy. Great job! :)

[janicewolk]

Really beautifully researched. The time and breadth of learning demonstrated by your lectures is a gift to culture. Thank you very much. I studied Slavic Linguistics many, many years ago and the tracing of commonalities in language thru sound changes to Indo-European suppositions is exciting and actually almost mystic. A wonderful area of study.