[kj] A Letter from Jaz to the Gathering

[fluw]

That's pretty cool to be able to say Bob!

 

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From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of Bob Barathy
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 7:22 AM
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] A Letter from Jaz to the Gathering

 

I used to look after a raven that ended up going there!

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net]On
Behalf Of folk devil
Sent: 12 February 2010 02:37
To: gathering at misera.net
Subject: Re: [kj] A Letter from Jaz to the Gathering

For those who don't know the reference (from wiki)


..At least six Ravens <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven>  are kept
at the Tower, at all times, in accordance with the belief that if they be
absent the kingdom will fall.[18]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-17>  To be on the
safe side ten ravens (6 on duty and 4 young spares) are actually housed at
the Tower of London at the expense of the British government. A Yeoman
Warder, or Beefeater, has the specific role of Ravenmaster at the Tower and
takes care of their feeding and well being. The Ravenmaster builds this
relationship with the ravens as he takes the fledglings into his home and
hand rears them over a period of about six weeks. Ravens live up to an
average of 25 years, but have been known to reach the age of 45 years. To
prevent the birds from flying away one of their wings is clipped by the
Ravenmaster. This does not hurt or harm the raven in any way. Clipping their
wing unbalances their flight ensuring that they don't stray too far from the
Tower. Ravens are members of the crow family, Corvus, and are eaters of
carrion and live mainly on dead flesh. The Raven's lodgings are located next
to the Wakefield Tower and are kept at the Tower of London at the expense of
the British government.
It was said that Charles II
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England>  ordered their removal
following complaints from John Flamsteed
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Flamsteed> , the Royal Astronomer.[19]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-18>  However, they
were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the
ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the monarchy
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy> , and the entire kingdom
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy>  would fall (the London Stone
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stone>  has a similar legend). Charles,
following the time of the English Civil War
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War> , superstition or not, was
not prepared to take the chance, and instead had the observatory moved to
Greenwich <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich> .
The earliest known reference to a tower raven is a picture in the newspaper
The Pictorial World in 1885.[20]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-19>  This and
scattered subsequent references to the tower ravens, both literary and
visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century place
them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly
known as the "scaffold." This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are
notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales
of imprisonment and execution at the tower told by the Yeomen
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeomen_Warders>  Warders to tourists.[21]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-20>  There is
evidence that the original ravens were donated to the tower by the Earls of
Dunraven <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Dunraven_and_Mount-Earl>
,[22] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-21>  perhaps
because of their association with the Celtic
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_mythology>  raven-god Bran.[23]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-22>  However wild
ravens, which were once abundant in London and often seen around meat
markets (such as nearby Eastcheap <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastcheap> )
feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the tower in earlier times.[24]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-jerome-23> 
During the Second World War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War>
most of the Tower's ravens perished through shock during bombing raids,
leaving a sole survivor named 'Grip'.[24]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-jerome-23>  There is
evidence that the ravens were used as unofficial spotters for enemy planes
and bombs during the Blitz.[25]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-24>  Before the
tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure
that a new set of ravens was in place.[26]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-25> 
The ravens' names/gender/age are (as of June 2009):[27]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-26> 

*	Gwylum (male, 18 years old) 
*	Thor (male, 15 years old) 
*	Hugin (female, 11 years old) 
*	Munin (female, 11 years old) 
*	Branwen (female, 3 years old) 
*	Bran (male, 3 years old) 
*	Gundulf (male, 1 year old) 
*	Baldrick (male, 1 year old) 
*	Fleur (female, 4 years old) 
*	Colin (male, 2 years old)

The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow,
who died at the age of 44.[28]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London#cite_note-27> 
In 2006, during the H5N1 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H5N1>  avian
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_influenza>  influenza scare, the ravens
were moved indoors for some months.




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Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:34:24 +0100
From: nortonfelix at googlemail.com
To: gathering at misera.net
Subject: [kj] A Letter from Jaz to the Gathering

 

 

The Ravens flown and left the Tower


and Albion feels all abandoned


A desecrated cenotaph - surveillance state and waning choices


Guarded by warriors we knew


Guided by our ancestral voices
 

 




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