CHAPTER III 



THE RAVEN IN POETRY, HISTORY, HAGIOLOGY, AND 

 FOLK-LORE 



THE raven, as I have already pointed out, has 

 a right to be considered the king of birds, and 

 in view of the large part he has played in history, 

 ancient and mediaeval ; in literature, especially in 

 poetry, ancient, mediaeval, and modern ; in art, in 

 religious legend, and in folk-lore, it may be well, 

 before I relate some of my own experiences with 

 him, to devote a separate chapter to the thoughts 

 which men have had about him, and the influence 

 which he has, in turn, had over them. It is a sub- 

 ject which is full of interest in itself and has never, 

 so far as I know, been dealt with in detail before. 

 Poets are often the creators as well as the best 

 exponents of popular beliefs, and in gathering up, 

 as best I may, the widely scattered threads of the 

 subject, from so many different centuries and 

 countries and languages, I shall have frequent 



