Raven picture taken by Fernando Losada Rodriguez |
Medieval people were superstitious people. Ravens are often found lurking in the strange beliefs of the medieval people.
Ravens played a large part in history from the beginning of time. There were many superstitions about these intelligent, jet-black birds. Here are some fun and interesting facts, fiction, myths, and superstitions about the raven.
Truth:
Ravens were the first bird mentioned in history. Genesis 8:6 reads, Then He sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.
picture by Copetersen www.copetersen.com |
Another book in the bible you'll find ravens in is I Kings 17 it tells that God told Elijah to leave and travel eastward and to hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. God then directed the ravens to supply Elijah with food. And they did. The bible tells us the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.
In the New Testament God tells us not to worry in Luke 12. "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn' and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
Legends:
(6th century) Saint Benedict of Nursia would have been murdered by a group of jealous monks had the ravens not saved his life by taking away a loaf of poisoned bread before he could eat it.
(4th century) Ravins came and protected the corpse of Saint Vincent after his execution. They were said to have protected his body from wild animals while the birds awaited the return of his followers to retrieve his body. He was taken to southern Portugal and buried where flocks of ravens continued to watch over him.
By Arthur Rackham - Rackham, Arthur: “Some British Ballads” (1919), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=865396
Mythology:
ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who fly around the world gathering information to
impart to Odin. The two birds are known to perch on his shoulders. There are many Viking writings that include the raven. But not only in poems and stories, the raven is depicted on their longships, armor, shields, helmets, and flags. They were seen as a creature of strength and cunning.
Odin, Huginn and Muninn picture By Carl Emil Doepler (1824-1905) - Wägner, Wilhelm. 1882. Nordisch-germanische Götter und Helden. Otto Spamer, Leipzig & Berlin. Page 7., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5251205
Superstition:
Coat-of-Arms picture by Tadeusz Gajl |
The Danish believed when a chieftain lost his life in battle and ravens feasted on his corpse, the birds became a valravne. The valravne that was lucky enough to eat the heart of the chieftain would gain human knowledge, as well as the ability to lead people astray.
A haunting belief is that the ravens are really ghosts of murdered people and they host the souls of the damned.
These are a handful of the bizarre beliefs about ravens from ancient civilizations. If only they had known the truth of these intelligent birds that have received a bad rap from history.
Picture taken by Sarov702 |
Facts:
1) There are white ravens. The lack of black feathers is caused from a rare genetic gene.
2) Ravens don't like cheating birds. If two pieces of food are put down between two ravens and one snatches both pieces before the other can react, that bird will have nothing to do with the cheating bird. Ravens work together so all have equal amounts of food and if another bird is gathering more food than the rest, he is considered a cheater and ostracized.
3) Ravens use hand gestures, or perhaps I should say beak gestures, they use their beaks to point to things. They also hold things up to try to gain another's attention.
4) Ravens are able to think ahead, to prepare for the future.
5) Ravens show empathy for each other, they mourn their dead and they also hold grudges!
6) They love to play.
7) They imitate human voices.
8) Ravens can mimic animal sounds and have been known to call wolves to a dead animal so they will open the carcass, allowing the raven easier access to the meat.
9) Ravens are said to have the intelligence of a seven-year-old.
Ravens mourning. picture taken by Bengt Nyman |
Did you learn anything new about ravens or perhaps have a different opinion of them now?
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Deirdre Mackenzie has spent her life hiding from her father and hating the English. However, when she is caught stealing from an English laird, his unexpected kindness begins to melt away her hatred and strums lonely heartstrings longing for love. Bryce Warwick discovers the “boy” caught with his livestock is actually a young woman. After several attempts to lure the truth from her, he determines she is as deceitful as his late fiancée who nearly cost him his life. But the woman is the least of his worries with the turbulence brought on by threats of another border war and by King Richard's distrust of the nobles.
With old wounds in need of healing and adversaries who would ruin their chances at true love, both must learn to trust in a way they never knew possible.
The stakes are high, secrets prevail, and treason is just a kiss away.
A very interesting post. I didn't know that ravens were the first bird to be mentioned in the Bible. Ravens still live in the Tower of England, and there is a ravenmaster charged with their care.
ReplyDeleteThat’s interesting. Sounds like the Ravens are living the life!
DeleteThank you for posting today! This was very informative, and slightly spooky, lol! I don't know that I want a bird watching me who is as intelligent as a 7 year old!! We have a group of large black birds that visits daily, and we don't know whether they are crows or ravens despite looking at the identification markers every time. Did you know that a group of ravens is called an "unkindness" I didn't take the time to read why that was so. So we don't know if we have an "unkindness" of ravens or a "murder" of crows!!!!
ReplyDeleteI did read that about a group being called an “unkindness”. I didn’t see a reason for it either in all my research. And I wondered why it was called that. They did say they hang out in teenage gangs as well. Maybe that’s why. Lol. The tail feathers of a Raven go down in a V formation where the Crow is straight across. Also, you can go online and listen to audio of both. I was able to tell mine are crows here.
DeleteVery interesting post, Debbie Lynne. I learned a lot about the birds. And we all know that Edgar Allen Poe featured the bird in his eerie poem "The Raven," which would "quoth, 'Nevermore!'" Apparently, he thought ravens were spooky too.
ReplyDelete