The Crow In Popular Culture

The big crow is an iconic species that belongs to the corvids, a group of highly intelligent birds. This species is the one with the widest distribution of all the corvids, as it develops in the Arctic, Europe, North America, Africa, England or Everest.

The fault of this is his strong intelligent and opportunistic character, which has made him  approach human settlements to take advantage of our remains, which makes him an animal close to various cultures throughout the globe. This has allowed the raven to find its place in legends, stories and books known to all of us over the centuries.

This bird appears mentioned in many religious books, mainly in the Bible. In it Noah uses this bird to search for land or check the receding waters, and additionally it is the ravens who save the prophet Elijah from famine. They are also quite a deity for the Eskimos.

Ravens in Norse mythology

However, it is the Viking peoples that have made the most references to this species. One of the most famous, Ragnar Lodbrok, had this species as his banner ; It appears on many flags and coats of arms, as it was associated with one of its main deities, Odin.

In Norse mythology Odin is accompanied by two ravens : Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents memory. These ravens informed the lord of the Norse gods of everything that happened in their kingdoms.

It is believed that they were also identified as a representation of the Valkyries, who had to take the fallen in battle to the warlike paradise of the Norse known as Valhalla. And it makes a lot of sense given that, as scavengers, crows would crowd the battlefields.

Other European Raven Legends

For the Celts, ravens were also associated with battlefields and war, and especially Morrigan, the goddess of death, who could take the form of a raven. This power was also possessed by Badb, goddess of war, who could also transform into a wolf. They both took advantage of men’s wars, just as ravens do.

These birds appear in many legends and myths of European cultures. One of the most striking is that of Frederick Barbarossa, a former German king who was asleep in the mountains of Thuringia (Germany), and who will wake up when the crows stop flying around the mountain.

For the Greeks Apollo is the culprit of the raven’s black cloak. According to them, before the ravens were white, but after failing in the vigilance of Coronis, Apollo’s lover, he dressed them in black forever.

The British monarchy, in danger from crows

One of the most curious legends is the one that says that England and its monarchy will fall the day there are no crows in the Tower of London. The truth is that behind this there are many legends. Some say that they approached there because of the presence of corpses and, in fact, they are mentioned in historical executions, such as that of Ana Bolena or Juana Gray.

Another legend says that its wings were clipped so that an astronomer could work without his flights preventing him from seeing the sky. And it is even said that Charles II himself pardoned them and kept them in the Tower of London after a great fire.

The truth is that there have been no wild crows in London for a long time, and those in the tower are kept in captivity. In fact, in World War II only one survived the bombing, and Winston Churchill himself ordered more to be brought in. The ravens of the Tower of London were then enlisted as if they were soldiers of the Kingdom. They could be demoted, kicked out of the military, and possessed their own certification cards.

Kings of literature

Ravens appear in multiple literary works. They are the protagonists of a poem by Allan Poe, fables by Aesop or stories by Dickens. They are part of the Erebor symbology in The Hobbit and have a central role in the Game of Thrones series, in which they become a communication channel and represent the Night’s Watch.

To top it off, the raven also  appears in books by Stephen King, Asimov or is even the animal of one of the Harry Potter houses. Without a doubt, it has earned this role by hand.

Image source: Brocken Inaglory, Diego Delso and Sigurður Atlason.