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==Messenger-ravens== |
==Messenger-ravens== |
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| − | Ravens are uncommonly intelligent animals and can be trained to serve as messengers. They can fly great distances at speed, and are used by the [[maesters]] |
+ | Ravens are uncommonly intelligent animals and can be trained to serve as messengers. They can fly great distances at speed, and are used by the [[maesters]] of [[Westeros]] to pass messages between the castles and cities of the [[Seven Kingdoms]]. Through complex training methods, the maesters are able to send messages from almost any castle in Westeros to any other. |
[[File:WhiteRaven.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Pycelle]] presents a white raven to the Small Council]] |
[[File:WhiteRaven.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Pycelle]] presents a white raven to the Small Council]] |
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Although most messages brought by ravens are standard and innocuous, they are also linked to ominous tidings, giving rise to the phrase "Dark wings, dark words". |
Although most messages brought by ravens are standard and innocuous, they are also linked to ominous tidings, giving rise to the phrase "Dark wings, dark words". |
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[[File:Winterfell ravens.jpg|thumb|Dozens of ravens are released at Winterfell to call in the bannermen, in "[[The Pointy End]]".]]In the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' novels, ravens are depicted as being identical in appearance but somewhat smarter than "real" ravens. They are used essentially the way [[Wikipedia:Carrier_pigeon|carrier pigeons]] were in real-life. Most ravens can only be trained to fly back to a specific castle when they are released. They usually have to be transported back to their point of origin by land. A small handful can learn to travel between two different castles, and these birds are greatly prized. Only very rarely do ravens occur who are so intelligent that they can be trained to fly to the locations of four or even five castles; ravens this intelligent occur only once a century. |
[[File:Winterfell ravens.jpg|thumb|Dozens of ravens are released at Winterfell to call in the bannermen, in "[[The Pointy End]]".]]In the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' novels, ravens are depicted as being identical in appearance but somewhat smarter than "real" ravens. They are used essentially the way [[Wikipedia:Carrier_pigeon|carrier pigeons]] were in real-life. Most ravens can only be trained to fly back to a specific castle when they are released. They usually have to be transported back to their point of origin by land. A small handful can learn to travel between two different castles, and these birds are greatly prized. Only very rarely do ravens occur who are so intelligent that they can be trained to fly to the locations of four or even five castles; ravens this intelligent occur only once a century. |
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| − | + | In the books the messenger-ravens of Westeros often replicate simple human speech in the manner of parrots. Real-life ravens can ''actually'' do this, they just aren't coaxed to do it as frequently as pet parrots are. As opposed to parrots, which have high-pitched voices, real-life ravens have a much deeper vocal range and can thus (if given sufficient training) make surprisingly accurate replications of human speech. It is also stated that ravens can speak the "True Tongue", the language of the [[Children of the Forest]], a tongue no human can speak. |
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The white ravens used by the maesters of the Citadel are not albinos, but a separate sub-species bred and maintained by the Citadel. This is evidenced by the fact that their eyes are black, not red as in albino animals. White ravens are larger and generally more intelligent than normal ravens, thus why they are bred and used for only the most important messages, particularly notification that the erratic years-long seasons are changing. |
The white ravens used by the maesters of the Citadel are not albinos, but a separate sub-species bred and maintained by the Citadel. This is evidenced by the fact that their eyes are black, not red as in albino animals. White ravens are larger and generally more intelligent than normal ravens, thus why they are bred and used for only the most important messages, particularly notification that the erratic years-long seasons are changing. |
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| − | King |
+ | King [[Baelor Targaryen]], in one of his pious [[Targaryen madness|delusions]], tried to replace all the messenger ravens with doves, but this was unsuccessful. Maester [[Aemon]] says at one point that while doves or pigeons can be trained to carry messages, the maesters don't use them because ravens are larger and more clever: they have the physical strength to fly longer distances as well as the intellectual capacity to accurately remember the longer path they must take; they are also able to fend off attacks from hawks much better than smaller doves or pigeons can. |
| + | Ravens and crows are both members of the genus ''Corvus'' in real life, but a raven is not a kind of crow. In-universe, Maester Aemon says that "the crow is the raven's poor cousin". There are several differences distinguishing them: ravens are somewhat larger (almost the size of hawks) and have larger bills; crows have a more rounded tail, ravens have a more pointed tail; crows make a high-pitched "caw" sound, while ravens make a low "croak" sound; crows live around 8 years, while ravens can live for 30 years. The collective noun for a group of crows is "a murder of crows", but the collective noun for a group of ravens is actually "a conspiracy of ravens". Both crows and ravens will eat corpses on a battlefield, but euphemistically "crows" are more often spoken of as carrion-eaters, i.e. that a battle will make "a feast for crows". |
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| − | In the books the ravens sometimes imitate human speech (like parrots in the real life). It is also stated that ravens can speak the "True Tongue", the language of the [[Children of the Forest]], a tongue no human can. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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[[Category:Animals]] |
[[Category:Animals]] |
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[[Category:Culture & Society]] |
[[Category:Culture & Society]] |
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| + | [[de:Raben]] |
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| + | [[ru:Вороны]] |
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| + | [[zh:渡鸦]] |
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Revision as of 17:03, 5 August 2015
- "Grand Maester Pycelle... send a raven to Casterly Rock."
- ―Ned Stark
Ravens are a species of large, black-feathered birds native to Westeros.
Messenger-ravens
Ravens are uncommonly intelligent animals and can be trained to serve as messengers. They can fly great distances at speed, and are used by the maesters of Westeros to pass messages between the castles and cities of the Seven Kingdoms. Through complex training methods, the maesters are able to send messages from almost any castle in Westeros to any other.
Pycelle presents a white raven to the Small Council
Although most messages brought by ravens are standard and innocuous, they are also linked to ominous tidings, giving rise to the phrase "Dark wings, dark words".
There is also a cleverer but much rarer species of white raven, which the Conclave of the maesters dispatch from their headquarters at the Citadel in Oldtown only when they agree that the season has turned.[1]
Behind the scenes
Live ravens are used in most shots in which the animals appear in cages, though more complex shots of them flying around often need to use CGI ravens. The rare white raven which Pycelle presented to the Small Council in Season 2 had to be brought in all the way from Austria.[2]
In the books
Dozens of ravens are released at Winterfell to call in the bannermen, in "The Pointy End".
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, ravens are depicted as being identical in appearance but somewhat smarter than "real" ravens. They are used essentially the way carrier pigeons were in real-life. Most ravens can only be trained to fly back to a specific castle when they are released. They usually have to be transported back to their point of origin by land. A small handful can learn to travel between two different castles, and these birds are greatly prized. Only very rarely do ravens occur who are so intelligent that they can be trained to fly to the locations of four or even five castles; ravens this intelligent occur only once a century.
In the books the messenger-ravens of Westeros often replicate simple human speech in the manner of parrots. Real-life ravens can actually do this, they just aren't coaxed to do it as frequently as pet parrots are. As opposed to parrots, which have high-pitched voices, real-life ravens have a much deeper vocal range and can thus (if given sufficient training) make surprisingly accurate replications of human speech. It is also stated that ravens can speak the "True Tongue", the language of the Children of the Forest, a tongue no human can speak.
The white ravens used by the maesters of the Citadel are not albinos, but a separate sub-species bred and maintained by the Citadel. This is evidenced by the fact that their eyes are black, not red as in albino animals. White ravens are larger and generally more intelligent than normal ravens, thus why they are bred and used for only the most important messages, particularly notification that the erratic years-long seasons are changing.
King Baelor Targaryen, in one of his pious delusions, tried to replace all the messenger ravens with doves, but this was unsuccessful. Maester Aemon says at one point that while doves or pigeons can be trained to carry messages, the maesters don't use them because ravens are larger and more clever: they have the physical strength to fly longer distances as well as the intellectual capacity to accurately remember the longer path they must take; they are also able to fend off attacks from hawks much better than smaller doves or pigeons can.
Ravens and crows are both members of the genus Corvus in real life, but a raven is not a kind of crow. In-universe, Maester Aemon says that "the crow is the raven's poor cousin". There are several differences distinguishing them: ravens are somewhat larger (almost the size of hawks) and have larger bills; crows have a more rounded tail, ravens have a more pointed tail; crows make a high-pitched "caw" sound, while ravens make a low "croak" sound; crows live around 8 years, while ravens can live for 30 years. The collective noun for a group of crows is "a murder of crows", but the collective noun for a group of ravens is actually "a conspiracy of ravens". Both crows and ravens will eat corpses on a battlefield, but euphemistically "crows" are more often spoken of as carrion-eaters, i.e. that a battle will make "a feast for crows".
See also
References
- ↑ "The North Remembers"
- ↑ Making Game of Thrones blog, April 17th, 2013
Template:Creatures