The Wild Hunt is a mythic narrative common to many cultures. It involves a spectral horde of hunters that hunt on winter nights. They can be heard howling during windy and stormy nights. Anyone unfortunate enough to be spotted by the horde is carried away and dropped off in a different location or meets a worse fate. The Wild Hunt is also said to wreak havoc in communities, stealing food and drink from nearby homes. The leader of the hunt varies from story to story, but often, it is Odin, the Norse god of wisdom and knowledge. The hunters that follow him are his Valkyries and warriors from Valhalla.
The story of the Wild Hunt has its roots in Nordic and Germanic culture and was used to explain the cold and brutal winter winds and storms. The story was a way of preserving the old religion post-Christianization, with some seeing the hunt as the Norse god refusing to be forgotten and even trying to back at humanity for replacing them. Another reason for these tales to survive is the need for a shared cultural identity among the Nordic countries. When the stories were codified, the Norse nations conflicted with one another, and a shared history was seen as a possible solution.
A lot of surviving Norse myths sound suspiciously Christian in nature, especially those regarding Ragnarök (the "final battle") and what is said to happen after. Today it is extremely difficult to know which stories are authentic and which were changed or added to fit a Christian narrative. It is heavily debated among historians what is actual Norse mythology and what is Christian input. The two main sources for Norse mythology are the Poetic Edda published in the 1200s and the Prose Edda in the 1300s, both of which were written near when the Norse religion was being replaced by Christianity. Norse mythology is not the only religion to be given a Christian spin, as many were translated by Christian writers long after they were created. Contemporary reader's must therefore look at these stories with a critical lens, respecting the intersections of time and culture.
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