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City of ravens : the extraordinary history of London, the tower and its famous ravens / Boria Sax

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London ; New York : Duckworth Overlook, 2011.

Tower of London (London, England)

Ravens -- England -- London -- History.

Folklore -- England -- London.

9780715640814 (UK)

9781590207772 (US hbk.) :

1590207777 (US)

206 p., [12] p. of plates : ill. ; 19 cm.

Part 1: How the ravens came to the tower and why they stayed. In search of the tower ravens -- Bran and those who followed him -- The earls of Dunraven -- City of ravens -- Around the scaffold -- Pet ravens -- Jackie the lucky raven -- The killing of McDonald -- Mabel and Grip -- A new flock -- Entering the Twenty-first century. Part 2: What the ravens tell us about nature and humankind. Natsume Sōseki -- The terrible secrets of history -- Invented tradition, fakelore, folklore or modern myth? -- Becoming ravens -- The ravens and the crown.

Tales tell of how Charles II, fearful of ancient legends that "Britain will fall" if the ravens at the Tower of London ever leave their abode, ordered that the wings of the six ravens be clipped.But the truth is that the ravens only arrived at the Tower in 1883, when they were brought in as props in tales of Gothic horror that were told to tourists. The legend itself originated from the summer of 1944, when ravens in London were used as unofficial spotters for enemy bombs and planes.

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