From: Our Bird Friends By Margaret Coulson Walker in a book called Prairie Gold I found on Google Books.
In Norse mythology Odin the greatest of all the gods the raven's God had for his chief advisers two ravens Hugin and Munin (Mind and Memory) who were sent out by him each morning on newsgathering journeys and who returned to him at nightfall to perch on his shoulders and whisper into his ears intelligence of the day. When news of unusual importance was desired, Odin himself in raven guise vent forth to seek it, and when the Norse armies went into battle they followed the raven standard, a banner under which William the Conqueror fought. When bellied by the breezes it betokened success but when it hung limp only defeat was expected.
Norse navigators took with them a pair of ravens to be liberated and followed as guides; if the bird returned it was known that land did not lie in that direction; if they did not, they were followed. The discoveries of both Iceland and Greenland are attributed to their leadership.
Prairie Gold By Hamlin Garland, Iowa Press and Authors' Club, Iowa Authors and Artists, Reilly & Britton Co
In Norse mythology Odin the greatest of all the gods the raven's God had for his chief advisers two ravens Hugin and Munin (Mind and Memory) who were sent out by him each morning on newsgathering journeys and who returned to him at nightfall to perch on his shoulders and whisper into his ears intelligence of the day. When news of unusual importance was desired, Odin himself in raven guise vent forth to seek it, and when the Norse armies went into battle they followed the raven standard, a banner under which William the Conqueror fought. When bellied by the breezes it betokened success but when it hung limp only defeat was expected.
Norse navigators took with them a pair of ravens to be liberated and followed as guides; if the bird returned it was known that land did not lie in that direction; if they did not, they were followed. The discoveries of both Iceland and Greenland are attributed to their leadership.
Prairie Gold By Hamlin Garland, Iowa Press and Authors' Club, Iowa Authors and Artists, Reilly & Britton Co
The North American native people had marvelous legends about ravens that I learned about in Bernd Heinrich raven books. I can't remember if he spoke of these legends but I don't remember that he did. They are magnificent birds and once you learn about them you can understand why the legends would be created about them.
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