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Ravens of the Tower of London
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Ravens of the Tower of London
The ravens of the Tower of London are a group of at least six captive ravens (eight in 2025) resident at the Tower of London. Their presence is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a belief holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it." Local legend puts the origin of the captive raven population at the time of King Charles II (reigned 1660–1685). Some historians however, including the Tower's official historian, believe the "Tower's raven mythology is likely to be a Victorian flight of fantasy". The earliest known reference to captive ravens at the Tower is an illustration from 1883.
Historically, wild ravens were common throughout Britain, even in towns; the Tower was within their natural range. When they were exterminated from much of their traditional range, including London, they could only exist at the Tower in captivity and with official support. The Tower ravens are tended to every day by the Ravenmaster of the Yeomen Warders heading a team of Yeoman Warders known as Ravenmaster's assistants. Some of the ravens at the Tower were specially bred in Somerset.
The earliest legend that connects the Tower with a raven is the euhemerised Welsh tale of the war against the Irish leader Matholwch who had mistreated the princess Branwen. Branwen's brother Brân the Blessed (King of the Britons) ordered his followers to cut off his head and bury it beneath the "White Hill" (upon which the Tower now stands) facing out towards France as a talisman to protect Britain from foreign invasion.
Brân is the modern Welsh word for raven and the magical and protective qualities of ravens are attested throughout Celtic mythology. The knowledge that Brân's head was buried beneath the White Hill would have served as protective reassurance in the Celtic tradition, just as modern ideas about the presence of ravens does. As such, it is likely to have its origins in British folklore.
Sir George John Younghusband wrote that at the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, "Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene. A Queen about to die!" According to American author Boria Sax, the ravens of the Tower behaved much worse during the execution of Lady Jane Grey: in 1554, "pecking the eyes from the severed head" of the queen.
In his article "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London", Boria Sax came to the conclusion that "the ravens were originally brought in to dramatise the alleged site of executions at the Tower".
One legend attributes the start of the tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings in the Tower of London to Charles II and to his royal astronomer John Flamsteed, although there are versions of the legend that differ in their details. According to one legend, John Flamsteed complained to Charles II that wild ravens were flying past his telescope and making it harder for him to observe the sky from his observatory in the White Tower. Flamsteed requested that the birds be removed, but Charles II refused to comply with this request.
Another variation of this legend says that it was Charles II himself who disliked the wild ravens' droppings falling onto the telescope. The conversation with his astronomer that supposedly followed decided the fate not only of the ravens, but also of Greenwich, where the Greenwich Observatory was commissioned by the King in 1675. In this version of the legend the King complained:
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Ravens of the Tower of London
The ravens of the Tower of London are a group of at least six captive ravens (eight in 2025) resident at the Tower of London. Their presence is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a belief holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it." Local legend puts the origin of the captive raven population at the time of King Charles II (reigned 1660–1685). Some historians however, including the Tower's official historian, believe the "Tower's raven mythology is likely to be a Victorian flight of fantasy". The earliest known reference to captive ravens at the Tower is an illustration from 1883.
Historically, wild ravens were common throughout Britain, even in towns; the Tower was within their natural range. When they were exterminated from much of their traditional range, including London, they could only exist at the Tower in captivity and with official support. The Tower ravens are tended to every day by the Ravenmaster of the Yeomen Warders heading a team of Yeoman Warders known as Ravenmaster's assistants. Some of the ravens at the Tower were specially bred in Somerset.
The earliest legend that connects the Tower with a raven is the euhemerised Welsh tale of the war against the Irish leader Matholwch who had mistreated the princess Branwen. Branwen's brother Brân the Blessed (King of the Britons) ordered his followers to cut off his head and bury it beneath the "White Hill" (upon which the Tower now stands) facing out towards France as a talisman to protect Britain from foreign invasion.
Brân is the modern Welsh word for raven and the magical and protective qualities of ravens are attested throughout Celtic mythology. The knowledge that Brân's head was buried beneath the White Hill would have served as protective reassurance in the Celtic tradition, just as modern ideas about the presence of ravens does. As such, it is likely to have its origins in British folklore.
Sir George John Younghusband wrote that at the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, "Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene. A Queen about to die!" According to American author Boria Sax, the ravens of the Tower behaved much worse during the execution of Lady Jane Grey: in 1554, "pecking the eyes from the severed head" of the queen.
In his article "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London", Boria Sax came to the conclusion that "the ravens were originally brought in to dramatise the alleged site of executions at the Tower".
One legend attributes the start of the tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings in the Tower of London to Charles II and to his royal astronomer John Flamsteed, although there are versions of the legend that differ in their details. According to one legend, John Flamsteed complained to Charles II that wild ravens were flying past his telescope and making it harder for him to observe the sky from his observatory in the White Tower. Flamsteed requested that the birds be removed, but Charles II refused to comply with this request.
Another variation of this legend says that it was Charles II himself who disliked the wild ravens' droppings falling onto the telescope. The conversation with his astronomer that supposedly followed decided the fate not only of the ravens, but also of Greenwich, where the Greenwich Observatory was commissioned by the King in 1675. In this version of the legend the King complained:
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