The New Murrey and Blue blog

Meet Branwen, the Tower’s new raven….

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Baby ravens at the Tower, March 2021 – from https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/adorable-baby-ravens-hatched-tower-20521148

The new raven at the Tower of London is to be called Branwen!

According to Wikipedia  : “….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.[5]….”….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.[7]….”

It therefore seems that Branwen is an entirely appropriate name for the new acquisition! See also this site, from which the above illustration is taken. One of them is Branwen. The other her brother Edgar.

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  1. Derek Hyde Avatar
    Derek Hyde

    Here in The Yukon, we are lucky enough to have thousands of ravens. Big ravens. They are known as Yukon Budgies. Now the birds are swooping about in threes, as it’s close to mating time. Where I live, Raven’s Ridge, the bald eagles and ravens coexist, share perches and eve play together. In early summer when the thermals twist up into the sky, a huge column of birds seems to disappear into the blue. Our dog chases the ravens and always seems surprised when they take off with an angry croak. I’ve visited the Tower on several occasions over the years. Now it’s time to bring my 3 granddaughters to do the rounds. My love to the feathery ones.

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  2. Does the name Jack Broom indicate the hero of a new children’s book is one of the princes…? – murreyandblue

    […] broom flower). The story (the first in a series by author Andrew Beattie) is about the boys in the Tower, but is Jack Broom one of them? Or is he an illegitimate Plantagenet? Richard III’s son, perhaps? […]

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