Herne’s ghostly powers revolved around the decay of the natural world. In his original Shakespearean appearance, however, Herne’s antlers sprouted directly from his head. Several interpretations have depicted Herne wearing a deerskin hood, upon which the antlers sat. He was known by the rattling of chains and the ghostly moans that preceded him, as well as the giant antlers upon his head. He haunted a particular tree, called Herne’s Oak, and terrorized the wildlife that inhabited the wood. Herne was a specter that haunted Windsor Forest of Berkshire-now called Windsor Great Park. Herne appeared as “Horne” in several early drafts of The Merry Wives of Windsor, possibly referencing a historical yeoman of Henry VIII’s time. It has been suggested that “Herne” was linked to the Gaulish deity Cernunnos, whose own name stemmed form the Latin cerne, or “horned.” Through Grimm’s Law, cerne could have become herne, and thus mean “horned.” Alternately, “Herne” could be a corruption of Hernian, a title born by Wotan, the Germanic god of the Wild Hunt.Īnother theory suggested that Herne was, in fact, a real person whose name was changed by Shakespeare. The origins of the name Herne have remained as shrouded in mystery as the specter himself.
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