Editing Wild Hunt (section)

=== Germanic tradition ===
Based on the [[Comparative method|comparative study]] of the [[German folklore]], the phenomenon is often referred to as {{Lang|de|Wilde Jagd}} ([[German language|German]]: 'Wild Hunt/chase') or {{Lang|de|Wütendes Heer}} ('Raging Host/army'). The term 'Hunt' was more common in [[northern Germany]] and 'Host' was more used in [[Southern Germany]]; with however no clear dividing line since parts of southern Germany know the 'Hunt', and parts of the north know the 'Host'.{{Sfn|Kershaw|1997|p=29}} It was also known in Germany as the {{Lang|de|Wildes Heer}} ('Wild Army'), its leader was given various identities, including Wodan (or "[[Wōden|Woden]]"), [[Knecht Ruprecht]] (compare [[Krampus]]), [[Berchtold]] (or [[Perchta|Berchta]]), and [[Holda]] (or "Holle"). The Wild Hunt is also known from post-medieval folklore.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wild Hunt |url=https://norse-mythology.org/the-wild-hunt/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Norse Mythology for Smart People |language=en-US}}</ref>

In England, it was known as {{lang|ang|Herlaþing}} ([[Old English]]: '[[Herla]]'s assembly'), ''Woden's Hunt'', ''Herod's Hunt'', ''Cain's Hunt'',<ref>{{cite book |title=The Witch Figure: Folklore Essays by a Group of Scholars in England Honouring the 75th Birthday of Katharine M. Briggs |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-41533-074-9 |editor-last=Newall |editor-first=Venetia |page=103f |chapter=The Jew as a witch figure |doi=10.4324/9781315018058 |quote=In the Middle Ages the wild hunt was also called Cain's hunt, Cain being another progenitor of the [[Wandering Jew]].}}</ref> the ''Devil's Dandy Dogs'' (in [[Cornwall]]),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Devil's Dandy Dogs |encyclopedia=The Encyclopaedia of the Celts |url=http://www.isle-of-skye.org.uk/celtic-encyclopaedia/celt_d2b.htm |isbn=87-985346-0-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028090823/http://www.isle-of-skye.org.uk/celtic-encyclopaedia/celt_d2b.htm |archive-date=2006-10-28 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Gabriel's Hounds'' (in northern England),<ref>{{cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Robert |title=Salty Words |date=1984 |page=78 |quote=Gabriel's hounds are wild geese, so called because their sound in flight is like a pack of hounds in full cry.}}</ref> and ''[[(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend|Ghost Riders]]'' (in North America).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Houston |first=Susan Hilary |year=1964 |title=Ghost Riders in the Sky |journal=[[Western Folklore]] |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=153–162 |doi=10.2307/1498899 |jstor=1498899}}</ref>

In Scandinavia, the Wild Hunt is known as {{lang|no|Oskoreia}} (commonly interpreted as 'The [[Asgard]] Ride'), and as {{lang|da|Oensjægeren}} ('Odin's Hunters').{{Sfn|Kershaw|1997|p=29}} The names {{lang|no|Åsgårdsrei}} ('[[Asgard]] Ride' as attested in parts of [[Trøndelag]]),<ref>{{Cite web|title=oskorei|url=https://alfa.norsk-ordbok.no/?men=noob&mc0=no&mc1=ah&q=oskorei&but=oskorei&scope=e|access-date=2023-07-13|website=norsk-ordbok.no}}</ref> {{lang|sv|Odens jakt}} and {{lang|sv|Vilda jakten}} ([[Swedish language|Swedish]]: 'the hunt of [[Odin]]' and 'wild hunt') are also attested.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} At the very front of Oskoreia rides [[Gudrun|Guro Rysserova]] ('Gudrun Horsetail'), often called ''Guro Åsgard'', who is ''"big and horrid, her horse black and called Skokse (...)"''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Åsgardsreia – heimskringla.no|url=https://heimskringla.no/wiki/%C3%85sgardsreia|access-date=2021-08-31|website=heimskringla.no}}</ref>

There is disagreement about the etymology of the word {{lang|no|oskorei}}. The first element has several proposed sources: ''Åsgård'' ('[[Asgard]]'), ''oska'' ('thunder'), or Old Norse ''ǫskurligr'' ('dreadful').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asgaardsrej|url=https://ordnet.dk/ods/ordbog?query=Asgaardsrej|access-date=2023-07-13|website=ordnet.dk}}</ref> The hypothetical ''Ásgoðreið'' ('Æsir God Ride') was also once proposed. Only the second element, {{lang|no|rei}} ('ride') from Old Norse {{lang|non|reið}}, is uncontroversial. The word was popularly perceived to be connected to Asgard, as seen in the folk ballad of Sigurd Svein, who is taken to [[Asgard]] by Oskoreia and [[Guro Rysserova]].<ref>V. Espeland, L. Kreken, M. Dahle Lauten, B. Nordbø, E. Prøysen, A. N. Ressem, O. Solberg, E. Nessheim Wiger (2016) Kjempe- og trollballadar</ref>

In the [[Netherlands]] and [[Flanders]] (in northern [[Belgium]]), the Wild Hunt is known as the [[Buckriders]] (Dutch: Bokkenrijders) and was used by gangs of [[highwaymen]] for their advantage in the 18th century.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}