Narrative Outline of:

City of Ravens: How ravens came to the Tower of London, why they stayed, and what they tell us about nature and humankind

by Boria Sax

 

 

 

Preface by Tony Angell

Compares the ravens in the Tower of London to those in Native American religions of the Canada and the American Northwest Coast.

 

PART ONE: HOW THE RAVENS CAME TO THE TOWER AND WHY THEY STAYED

 

I. Introduction: In Search of the Tower Ravens

Tells how the author was originally intrigued by the legend of the Tower Ravens, realized it was not genuine, and came to write this book.

 

II. Bran, and those who Followed Him

Tells of the Celtic raven god Bran became an archetype for martyrs at the Tower of London

 

III. The Earls of Dunraven

Tells how the Earls of Dunraven had the first ravens sent to the Tower of London as avatars of Bran.

 

IV. City of Ravens

Tells how the people of Britain originally protected ravens, on religious and practical grounds, but later persecuted them as pests.

 

V. Around the Scaffold

Tells how ravens first used as props to tales of Gothic Horror told by Yeoman Warders to tourists about executions at the Tower of London.

 

VI. Birds of London

Tells how wild ravens were driven from London, but pet ones gained in popularity.

 

VII. Jackie the Lucky Raven

Tells of a raven mascot of a London brewery named Jackie served as an unofficial spotter for enemy bombs during World War II, eventually inspiring the legend that Britain will fall if the ravens leave the Tower.

 

VIII. The Killing of McDonald

Tells how incessant tales told to tourists deflected anger against the British Empire on to the ravens, which led to a raven named McDonald being ritualistically beheaded.

 

VIX. Mabel and Grip

Tells how a raven couple escaped from the Tower of London, leaving it without any ravens, and frightening the Yeoman Warders.

 

X. A New Flock

Tells how the Tower of London reopened after World War II, with a new contingent of ravens.

 

XI. Entering the Twenty-First Century

Tells how the ravens have gone from being agents of doom to beloved national pets.

 

PART TWO: WHAT THE RAVENS TELL US ABOUT NATURE AND HUMANKIND

 

XII. Natsume Soseki

Tells how the Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki visited the Tower of London at the beginning of the twentieth century, and first articulated an emerging mythology of the Tower Ravens.

 

XIII. The Terrible Secrets of History

Describes how the ravens were used to represent “savagery,” in the context of Victorian culture.

 

XIV. Invented Tradition, Fakelore, Folklore, or Modern Myth?

Discusses the authenticity of the tales told about the Tower Ravens, and their relation to history, folklore, and myth.

 

 XV. Becoming Ravens

Discusses how the ravens are transcending their role in the Tower, to become totems of Britain.

 

XVI. The Ravens and the Crown

Discusses the importance of the ravens in the construction of national identity in the twenty-first century.

 

Epilogue: Will Britain Fall?

Proposes that a colony of wild ravens, which could fly away and return at will, be established at the tower of London.

 

 

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