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.......Curiosity Corner ....... |
THE RAVEN "The gloom of death is on the raven's wing, This has always been a bird of ill omen, a warning of impending
death, of plague, of misfortune. As the largest of the crows it
belongs to a highly intelligent family, and in earlier times was
known to follow armies in expectation of rich feasting. It followed
the Vikings too, one of their more belligerent leaders being known
as Eric Ravenfeeder. The raven was consecrated to the Danish god of war, Odin, and
was emblazoned on the Danish Standard, Landeyda ("the enemy's desolation"), in use from very early times. Ravens were in ancient times as big and as white as swans until
the day one told Apollo that Coronis, the Thessalian nymph he
loved, was unfaithful to him. He then killed Coronis with a dart,
but in his hatred of the whistleblower ~ He blacked the raven o'er, The chough (or Cornish chough as it is now termed) also is a crow
and differs from the corbie only by having its beak and legs red
(as do the real choughs). Although the red beak and legs are essential
to the chough, often blazons will perversely specify, for example,
Argent three Cornish choughs Sable beaked and legged Gules, where Argent three choughs is sufficient. The original name for a chough was a beckit, which allowed canting
heraldry for the City of Canterbury (right) with its commemoration
of its martyr Saint Thomas à Beckett.
The song of death is in the raven's cries ..."
And bid him prate in his white plumes no more.
Gruenenberg's vigorous, dynamic raven (left) makes the modern
artist's work (right) look comparatively weak and feeble, but
this may be influenced by the same device having to represent
the raven and the rook and the common crow, all of which bear
the heraldic name of corbie (from the French corbeau). The Corbet coat, Or a raven Sable, is canting heraldry, and the first known of the family bore
the Norman nickname of Le Corbeau, The Raven.
Sadly, the real chough is under threat, modern agriculture having
reduced its food supply, and nest robbers (who profit the more
as birds become rarer) having reduced the number of chicks. The
bird King Arthur's spirit entered at his death flies no longer
in England, not even in Cornwall to where it is eponymously supposed
to belong, and in the Celtic fringes it is still in some danger.
Year-round grazing by cattle is beneficial, for this keeps the
grass short-cropped and fosters the supply of the soil and dung
insects that form its diet, and it is now hoped that the Government
will reward farmers who maintain suitable habitats.
The Martlet featured in Curiosity Corner ~ 1
The Gryphon (of Griffin) featured in Curiosity Corner ~ 2
The Cockatrice (and Basilisk) featured in Curiosity Corner ~ 3
The Dragon featured in Curiosity Corner ~ 4
The Baronage Content Page January-February 2000
© 2000 The Baronage Press and Pegasus Associates Ltd
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