138 THE RAVEN IN POETRY AND FOLK-LORE 



were harrying and carrying. A certain sea-king, 

 Owain, is said to have had an army of 300 

 ravens. 



" And all around the shadowy kings 

 Denmark's grim ravens cowered their wings." 



William the Conqueror, a descendant of the 

 Vikings, and, in a sense, himself the greatest and 

 most terrible of them all, may be seen to this day 

 on the tapestry of Bayeux, entering into the battle 

 which was to give him his crowning victory at 

 Senlac, behind the sacred raven-standard. 



The title which Odin most valued after that 

 of the " All- Father," father of gods as well as men, 

 was " Hrafna-gwd " or the " Ravens god." Two pet 

 ravens, in particular, he had, Hugen and Munen, 

 " Mind and Memory" "the eyes of the king" the 

 Greeks and the Persians might have called such 

 trusted officials which he let loose, every morning, 

 to collect intelligence as to what was going on in 

 the world ; and which, on returning in the evening, 

 perched upon his shoulder and whispered in his 

 ear whatever news they had to tell. But their 

 fidelity was not always equal to their intelligence. 

 The raven had not proved a trusty messenger 

 when sent out of the Ark by Noah. He had not 



