Quoth the Raven....

Today's post is not about Edgar Allen Poe and his famous Raven, but rather about a conspiracy of ravens and the man who watches over them.  The man is Christopher Skaife, Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress The Tower of London, and he has one of the most unique and, quite frankly, amazing jobs that exist.  He is the Ravenmaster of the Tower of London and his charges are the seven ravens who call the  Tower their home.

Legends say that if the ravens leave the Tower, the Tower will crumble and the throne of Britain with it, so the birds are permanent residents of the fortress.  Where this legend came of is unclear as Skaife tells readers in one chapter of his book, but they began their tenure at Tower in the late 1800's.  The Ravenmaster: My Life With the Ravens at the Tower of London is a mixture of Skaife's day as a Yeoman Warder with tours, a day in the life of caring for the Ravens, a history lesson, and a mini biography of the man himself, and it was a quick and very interesting read for me.  I would have read a book twice as long with no complaining.

Skaife's day starts by feeding, watering, caring for and releasing the Ravens, of which their are seven.  In the book, he introduces us to Munin, Merlina, Erin, Rocky, Jubilee II, Gripp II, and Harris, but not included in the book is Raven Poppy, who joined the Tower in May 2018 as a six week old bird.  It makes sense that the book does not include Poppy--it was published in October of this year and therefore would have been at the publishers before Poppy's introduction. 

As he goes about his day, Skaife tells of Merlina's tricksy nature, Munin's black widow nature and crazy adventures, how to care for the birds, how to become a Yeoman Warder (to start you need 22 years of good service in Her Majesty's military, so I'm out.  Drat), some of the typical questions Yeoman Warders' get asked (HINT:  DO NOT ask for the bathroom.  Ask for the toilet.  It's not rude and you'll save some embarrassment.  Speaking from real life experience, not just the book), and funny stories of day to day life. 

Finally, he calls the birds in to bed, one by one, pair by pair, until everyone is settled for the night.  Merlina stays high on the Tower walls, watching over it all.

I've had my own run ins with the Tower ravens, and I've added a couple of those pictures here.  It's Merlina, I think, hanging out with one of the others.  I'm not sure who.  But when I visited in December 2013, I had a fabulous time and I was asking a few questions of one of the Warders--I'm not sure who.  For all I know, it was the Ravenmaster himself. 

I've also included one of my all-time favorite pictures from my semester abroad in my favorite city in the world.