Herla or King Herla ( ang, *Her(e)la Cyning) is a legendary leader of the mythical Germanic

Wild Hunt The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...

and the name from which the Old French term ''

Herlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian '' commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionall ...

'' may have been derived. Herla often has been identified as

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

and in the writings of the twelfth-century

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Walter Map Walter Map ( la, Gualterius Mappus; 1130 – 1210) was a medieval writer. He wrote '' De nugis curialium'', which takes the form of a series of anecdotes of people and places, offering insights on the history of his time. Map was a court ...

, he is portrayed as a legendary

king of the Britons The title King of the Britons ( cy, Brenin y Brythoniaid, la, Rex Britannorum) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to the most powerful ruler among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norma ...

who became the leader of the

after a visit to the

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

, only to return some three hundred years later, after the

Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic peoples, Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, ev ...

. Map's tale occurs in two versions in his ''

De nugis curialium ''De nugis curialium'' (Medieval Latin for ''"Of the trifles of courtiers"'' or loosely ''"Trinkets for the Court"'') is the major surviving work of the 12th century Latin author Walter Map. He was an English courtier of Welsh descent. Map claimed ...

''. The first and longer account, found in section 1.12, provides far more detail; it tells of Herla's encounter with an otherworldly being, his journey to the latter's homeland, his transformation into the leader of the Hunt after his return to the human realm, and, finally, the disappearance of Herla and his band during the first year of the reign of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

(a synopsis of this longer version appears below). The second account, found in section 4.13, includes only the ending of the earlier version. Herla is not mentioned in the second account by name; instead, Map refers to the entire host as "the troop of Herlethingus" (''familia Herlethingi'').

Origins and etymology

''King Herla'' is a modernisation of an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

form reconstructed as *''Her(e)la Cyning'', a figure that usually is said to be Woden in his guise as leader of the Germanic

and thus the name is thought to be related to the French

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

(variant form of ''Herlequin'', ''Hellequin''), the leader of the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

tradition. The same figure in

Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...

was described first by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

in terms of the Harii who fought at night taking the appearance of an army of ghosts. The later Germanic tribe of the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...

are also related to Herla. Also, King Herla possibly is related to the German

Erlking In European folklore and myth, the Erlking is a sinister elf who lingers in the woods. He stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them by a single touch. The name "Erlking" (german: Erlkönig, lit=alder-king) is a name us ...

(best known from Goethe's ballad '' Erlkönig'').''More words ancient and modern'' By Ernest Weekley

Synopsis of the Walter Map story

Herla, a king of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

, meets with an unnamed dwarven king with a great, red beard and goat's

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

, who is mounted on a goat. They make a pact: if the latter attends Herla's wedding, Herla will reciprocate precisely one year later. On the day of Herla's marriage, the dwarf king attends with a vast host, bringing gifts and provisions. The dwarf king's followers attend to the wedding guests so efficiently that Herla's own preparations are left untouched. The otherworldly king then reminds Herla of his promise, and departs. A year later, the dwarf king sends for Herla, who summons his companions and selects gifts to take to the dwarf king's wedding. The party enters an opening in a high cliff, passes through darkness, and then enters a realm seemingly lit by lamps. After the wedding ceremony, which lasted for three days in the dwarf king's realm, is over, Herla prepares to depart. The dwarf gives him hunting animals and other gifts; in particular, he presents Herla with a small bloodhound, advising him that no man should dismount his horse before the dog leaps down. After Herla and his band return to the human realm, they encounter an elderly shepherd, whom Herla asks for news of his queen. The old man, astonished, replies, "I can barely understand your speech, for I am a Saxon and you are a Briton." The elderly shepherd described a legend of a very ancient queen of the Britons bearing the name mentioned, the wife of King Herla, who had disappeared with a dwarf king into that very cliff and was never seen again. The shepherd also added that currently the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

had been in possession of the kingdom for the last two hundred years, and had driven out the native Britons. Herla, who thought he had been away for just three days, is so amazed he barely could stay in the saddle. Some of his men jump down from their horses, only to crumble quickly into dust. Herla warns his remaining companions not to dismount until the dog alights, but the dog, Map says wryly, has not yet alighted, and Herla and his host have become eternal wanderers. Map notes, however, that some say Herla's band plunged into the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...

during the first year of the reign of King Henry II (the year 1154), and has never been seen since.

Moral and reasoning

This folk tale is supposed to illustrate the trickery of the elder races, such as the dwarves. That, for ignorant men, their miniature kingdoms harboured dangers which could bring even a king to his knees. It also is an example of the widespread belief that time in the

elfin Elfin may refer to: * ELFIN, a CubeSat developed by University of California, Los Angeles * Elfin (steamboat), a steamboat that ran on Lake Washington from 1891 to 1900 * Elfin of Alt Clut, ruler of Alt Clut, seventh century Scotland *Elfin, a cha ...

realms passed more slowly than it did on Earth. The story bears strong resemblances to the Welsh tale of Preiddeu Annwn or the "Spoils of the Otherworld" and the First Branch of the Mabinogi to which it may be connected, with Herla replaced by

Pwyll Pwyll Pen Annwn () is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi. Meaning ''wisdom" he is the eponymous hero of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the first branch of the Four ...

Herla in popular culture

The legend of King Herla figures prominently in the historical fantasy novel, ''Mortal Love'' (2004), by Elizabeth Hand. Another interesting book is 'The True Annals of Fairyland in The Reign of King Herla' (ed. Ernest , Rhys, illust. Charles Robinson). http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/28103/C_Fairy_tales.pdf

References

Sources

* ''De Nugis Curiallium'' by

, Edited by F. Tupper & M.B Ogle (Chatto & Windus, London 1924) * ''British & Irish Mythology'' by

John and Caitlin Matthews John Matthews (born 1948) and Caitlín Matthews (born 1952) are English writers. Together, they have written over 150 books and translated into more than thirty languages. Their work also includes Tarot packs, a card-based storytelling system, ...

(Diamond Books, London 1988) () * ''The Enchanted World: Dwarfs'' by Tim Appenzeller (Time-Life Books, New York 1985) ({{ISBN, 0-8094-5224-3)

External links

English translation of ''De Nugis Curiallium''
Legendary English people History of Herefordshire People from Herefordshire Medieval literature Harlequin Odin