Early modern attitudes to the ravens and red kites of London

Raye, Lee ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6001-9916 2021. Early modern attitudes to the ravens and red kites of London. London Journal 46 (3) , pp. 268-283. 10.1080/03058034.2020.1857549

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Abstract

Ravens (Corvus corax) and red kites (Milvus milvus) were commonly seen in London in the early modern period. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the diversity of attitudes towards these birds. Previous historiography on the subject has failed to contextualize its sources. The excited accounts of travellers like Schaseck, the Venetian Ambassador’s amanuensis and Lupold von Wedel need to be counter-balanced by considering the bored antipathy common amongst the British naturalists; William Turner, Francis Willughby and John Ray and the descriptions of sanitation services provided by European naturalists and local poets. The final part of the paper reconstructs the patchwork of legislation and custom relating to the species from early modern London.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain Q Science > QH Natural history
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Corvus corax; Milvus milvus; Early modern animal history; Urban wildlife; Fauna of London; Early modern London
Publisher:	Maney Publishing
ISSN:	0305-8034
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 February 2021
Date of Acceptance:	26 November 2020
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 06:09
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/138499

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