Herla

According to the twelfth century writer Walter Map, Herla was a legendary king of the ancient Britons who became the leader of the Wild Hunt after a visit to the Otherworld, only to return some two hundred years later, after the lands had been settled by the Anglo-Saxons.

Map's tale occurs in two versions in his "De Nugis Curialium". 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 King Henry II. (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 himself is not mentioned there; instead, Map refers to the entire host as "the troop of Herlethingus" ("familia Herlethingi").

Origins and Etymology

"King Herla" is a modernisation of the Old English form "Herla cyning", a figure that is usually said to be Woden in his guise as leader of the Germanic Wild Hunt, the name is thus thought to be related to the French Harlequin whose Old French form was "Herlequin", and is also possibly related to the German Erlkönig of Goethe's poem (which was however mistranslation of the Danish "Ellekonge" ("elf-king"), usually thought to mean "alder-king". See Der Erlkönig).

This would imply the connection of King Herla with the pre-English inhabitants of the British Isles seems to be a later addition to an old pre-Christian belief.

ynopsis of the legend

Herla, a king of the Britons, meets with an unnamed dwarven king with a great red beard and goat's hooves, 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 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 untouched. The otherworldly king then reminds Herla of his promise, and departs.

A year later, the pygmy king sends for Herla, who summons his companions and selects gifts to take to the other'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 pygmy king's realm, was 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 a King Herla, who had disappeared with a pygmy king into that very cliff and was never seen again. The shepherd also added that currently the Saxons 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 can barely 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 during the first year of the reign of King Henry II (the year 1133), 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 is an example of the widespread belief that time in the elfin realms passed more slowly than that on Earth.

Herla in popular culture

The legend of King Herla figures prominently in the historical fantasy novel "Mortal Love" (2004) by Elizabeth Hand.

References

* "De Nugis Curiallium" by Walter Map, Edited by F. Tupper & M.B Ogle (Chatto & Windus, London 1924)
* "British & Irish Mythology" by John & Caitlĺn Matthews (Diamond Books, London 1988) (ISBN 0-261-66651-7)
* "The Enchanted World: Dwarfs" by Tim Appenzeller (Time-Life Books, New York 1985) (ISBN 0-8094-5224-3)

External links

* [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/map1.html English translation of "De Nugis Curiallium"]