Mystical White Stag - Explored #88, 9 Nov 2022
White fallow stag basking in the Autumn evening sunlight at Charlecote Park. The backlight produced a halo reminiscent of a mythical beast or guardian Patronus from the Harry Potter novels.
Fallow deer are unusual in occuring in many different colour varieties, attributed to selective breeding in deer parks before becoming feral in the UK. Fallow of the white variety are not albinos but have normal eye pigmentation, although their hooves and noses might be somewhat paler than other varieties. White coats in any deer are usually a result of leucism, an under-production of melanin, the chemical responsible for skin pigmentation (over-production results in darker than normal coats).
In Celtic mythology white deer are considered to be messengers from the otherworld and would appear on transgressing a taboo, such as trespassing into sacred hunting grounds. The colour white has long been associated with purity and in Celtic culture the colour also represented the otherworld.
Arthurian legend states that the white stag has a perennial ability to evade capture, and pursuit of the animal represents mankind's spiritual quest. Hunters of old pursued the miraculous stag, not because they expected to kill it, but because it led them in the joy of the chase to new and fresh adventures, and so to capture happiness. In the Arthurian romance of Erec and Enide the story begins with Arthur and his knights riding out for a customary hunt of the white stag for the Easter feast. According to tradition, whoever succeeded in hunting the white stag would be able to bestow a kiss on any noblewoman at court.
Photograph taken with XH2S camera on free trial from Fujifilm.
Mystical White Stag - Explored #88, 9 Nov 2022
White fallow stag basking in the Autumn evening sunlight at Charlecote Park. The backlight produced a halo reminiscent of a mythical beast or guardian Patronus from the Harry Potter novels.
Fallow deer are unusual in occuring in many different colour varieties, attributed to selective breeding in deer parks before becoming feral in the UK. Fallow of the white variety are not albinos but have normal eye pigmentation, although their hooves and noses might be somewhat paler than other varieties. White coats in any deer are usually a result of leucism, an under-production of melanin, the chemical responsible for skin pigmentation (over-production results in darker than normal coats).
In Celtic mythology white deer are considered to be messengers from the otherworld and would appear on transgressing a taboo, such as trespassing into sacred hunting grounds. The colour white has long been associated with purity and in Celtic culture the colour also represented the otherworld.
Arthurian legend states that the white stag has a perennial ability to evade capture, and pursuit of the animal represents mankind's spiritual quest. Hunters of old pursued the miraculous stag, not because they expected to kill it, but because it led them in the joy of the chase to new and fresh adventures, and so to capture happiness. In the Arthurian romance of Erec and Enide the story begins with Arthur and his knights riding out for a customary hunt of the white stag for the Easter feast. According to tradition, whoever succeeded in hunting the white stag would be able to bestow a kiss on any noblewoman at court.
Photograph taken with XH2S camera on free trial from Fujifilm.