*Ø* Blogmanac | St Luke's Day: Horn Fair, Charlton, UK
I remember being there upon Horn Fair Day, I was dressed in my landlady's best gown and other women's attire, and to Horn Fair we went, and as we were coming back by water, all the cloaths were spoiled by dirty water, &c., that was flung on us in an inundation, for which I was obliged to present her with two guineas to make atonement for the damage sustained, &c.
Fuller's Whole Life, 1703
The Horn Fair was held for three days annually from St Luke's Day (October 18) and was named after the custom of carrying horns and wearing them. A foreign traveller in 1598 wrote that there was at Ratcliffe, nearby, a long pole with ram's horns upon it, representing “wilful and contented cuckolds”. The horned man, or Green Man, was a representation of the ancient horned god Herne (who derived from the Celtic horned god Cernunnos), and it is interesting to note that the fair, revived in 1973 and now held at Hornfair Park, was formerly held at Cuckold’s Point, East London.
At the fair there was a procession, which went three times around the church, of people wearing horns. There were many wild practices, such as men dressed as women whipping real females with sprigs of furze, giving rise to the expression “all is fair at Horn Fair”.
Toys made of horns were sold; even the gingerbread on sale had horns. All kinds of goods made of horns were sold at the Horn Fair. There used to be a sermon preached on the day at Charlton Church, but by 1872, "the fair had degenerated into an all-out orgy and was suppressed”. "The practice was created by a bequest of twenty shillings a year to the minister of the parish for preaching it." (Hone, William, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, Vol., 1, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878)
St Luke is represented in art as an ox, or writing with an ox or cow beside him, so it is likely the ancient Herne cult was transmuted into a cult of Luke. The church at Charlton had stained glass windows, though largely destroyed in time of the troubles in Charles I's reign, showing St Luke's ox with wings on its back and horns on its head.
The Legend of Herne
There is an old tale goes that Herne the Hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Receiv'd, and did deliver to our age,
This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.
William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1.iv
More on horned gods
More on the Green Man
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At the Scriptorium: The Horned God and Western saints
I remember being there upon Horn Fair Day, I was dressed in my landlady's best gown and other women's attire, and to Horn Fair we went, and as we were coming back by water, all the cloaths were spoiled by dirty water, &c., that was flung on us in an inundation, for which I was obliged to present her with two guineas to make atonement for the damage sustained, &c.
Fuller's Whole Life, 1703
The Horn Fair was held for three days annually from St Luke's Day (October 18) and was named after the custom of carrying horns and wearing them. A foreign traveller in 1598 wrote that there was at Ratcliffe, nearby, a long pole with ram's horns upon it, representing “wilful and contented cuckolds”. The horned man, or Green Man, was a representation of the ancient horned god Herne (who derived from the Celtic horned god Cernunnos), and it is interesting to note that the fair, revived in 1973 and now held at Hornfair Park, was formerly held at Cuckold’s Point, East London.
At the fair there was a procession, which went three times around the church, of people wearing horns. There were many wild practices, such as men dressed as women whipping real females with sprigs of furze, giving rise to the expression “all is fair at Horn Fair”.
Toys made of horns were sold; even the gingerbread on sale had horns. All kinds of goods made of horns were sold at the Horn Fair. There used to be a sermon preached on the day at Charlton Church, but by 1872, "the fair had degenerated into an all-out orgy and was suppressed”. "The practice was created by a bequest of twenty shillings a year to the minister of the parish for preaching it." (Hone, William, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, Vol., 1, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878)
St Luke is represented in art as an ox, or writing with an ox or cow beside him, so it is likely the ancient Herne cult was transmuted into a cult of Luke. The church at Charlton had stained glass windows, though largely destroyed in time of the troubles in Charles I's reign, showing St Luke's ox with wings on its back and horns on its head.
The Legend of Herne
There is an old tale goes that Herne the Hunter,
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Receiv'd, and did deliver to our age,
This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.
William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1.iv
More on horned gods
More on the Green Man
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
At the Scriptorium: The Horned God and Western saints
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