HERNE THE HUNTER, a legendary huntsman believed to haunt Windsor Great Park at night, especially near an aged tree, "Herne's oak." This was blown down in 1863, and a young oak was planted by Queen Victoria on the spot. Herne's French counterpart is the Grand Veneur of Fontainebleau. Herne is mentioned in The Merry Wives of Windsor and in Harrison Ains worth's Windsor Castle. The Herne legend is probably a variant of the "Wild Huntsman" myth, descended (E. B. Tylor, Primi tive Culture, 4th ed. pp. 361-362) from a prehistoric storm-myth.