Uncommon Folk
The world of folklore is a diverse, thriving mix of ancient traditions, old gods, strange beasts and curious tales.
Every land has their own folk traditions, and while some themes are universal, each has something special about them that makes them unique.
Join stand-up comedian, writer, and folklore PhD candidate Dan Mitchell as he dives into the dark oceans of folk, hoping to find a never before found denizen of the deep. Featuring exclusive interviews with academics, folklorists, scientists, poets, magical practitioners, and many more special guests from around the world, Uncommon Folk hopes to unearth the bones of folklore and resurrect them with incantations long forgotten.
From deep dives to short nuggets, Uncommon Folk will enlighten, enthuse, and entertain the folk community.
Uncommon Folk
Uncommon Folk 31 Days of Winter- The Wild Hunt
Experience the chilling allure of the Wild Hunt, an ancient myth deeply woven into the fabric of Norwegian and Germanic folklore. Imagine a supernatural procession led by the mighty Odin, riding his eight-legged steed Sleipnir beneath the wintry night sky, and accompanied by a host of spectral hunters. This episode uncovers the haunting traditions surrounding this ethereal chase, often associated with Yuletide rather than the more common Samhain or Halloween. We'll unravel how communities once honored their ancestors by leaving earthly gifts in hopes of securing prosperity with the onset of a new year.
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The Wild Hunt. Now there is a very old Norwegian belief that the dead walk the earth amongst the living and that happens at Yuletide. A lot of people associate it more with Samhain or Halloween, because that is also an occurrence, but the story of the Wild Hunt is associated with this, particularly at Yuletide. The Wild Hunt is a gathering, a group, a gathering, a group, a hunting party of gods and spirits who lead their other supernatural comrades in a hunt across the sky. Now, it's associated with many, many sort of religions and places and it's worthy of a couple of hours of research. Maybe I'll look into that some other time, but we're going to quickly dive into the fact that the Norse mythology version of it and the Wild Hunt was led by Odin on his eight-legged horse, sleipnir. Now it can occur at any time. The Wild Hunt it's not just Halloween, but usually times of trial and outbreaks of war. But it is supposed to happen most frequently on winter nights, particularly between Yule and Twelfth Night. So beginning of the new year, the end of the old year, that sort of time. So the ancestors people would honour their ancestors at this time, leave out food for them. They would leave farmers might have harvested grain in their fields, and especially for the horses of the wild hunt. They would show this sort of respect to them. They would put any sort of tokens of respect for them earthly gifts, anything you know. It could be food, it could be carvings, that sort of thing and they would put out these gifts for the spirits that were part of the wild hunt. They were tokens of respect in the hope to get a good harvest the next year.
Speaker 1:In Germanic folklore, the leader of the wild hunt will shout Midden in dem weg, which is middle of the road. So if you hear that when you're in their path, you've got to get out of this the only way. They're so swift you won't be able to jump out of the way, so the best thing you can do is lie down in the middle of the road immediately. You'll still get trampled, but it's going to save you from the middle of the road immediately. You'll still get trampled, but it's going to save you from the worst of the trampling, and you will feel the cold paws of hunting dogs running across your spine. If you're really unlucky, you will be swept up in the wild hunt. You may never return to Earth again and if you do, who knows what state you'll be in, but that's the wild hunt.
