FOLKLORE ON FRIDAY - The Robin and Christmas

As a non-migratory species, robin redbreasts are found all the year round in the British Isles, although Highland robins will often travel a little way down south to escape the worst of the Scottish winter. However despite being a frequent visitor to our gardens all the year round, this little bird is inextricable entwined with  the Christmas season.

And as we already seen in previous articles in this series, there is a great deal of folklore about the humble robin.We have already looked at their ominous reputation and connections to other folk beliefs, but there are also a many stories telling how this little bird came to get its distinctive redbreast.

In Wales the little bird has the name of brou-rhuddyn which mean literally ‘breast-burnt’, and there are is a Welsh folk tale that account for this. The story goes that Robin being an amicable little bird had took pity the sinners burning in Hell. And so he scooped up water in his beak and flew down into the pit of Hell. There, the brave and kind little bird took the water to the tortured souls to give them some respite for the eternal flames of damnation. However in doing so got his face and chest burnt red. And there is a variant version of this which has Robin taking water to the Pit with even bolder plans or extinguishing Hell itself!  

Fire and the robin's kindly nature features in other such origin tales too. In an ancient Irish fable, when there was only two people in the world and only one fire, one day while the folk slept a wolf crept up and kicked earth on the flames to put them out. Seeing the fire dying, a brave little robin gathered up twigs and kindling and placed them on the embers, and then perched close by and fanned the embers back into flame with its wings. Hence once again Robin's kindness resulted in him getting burnt bright red! 

In a story very similar to the Irish tale, we have our first festive folkloric link, with robins visiting the Nativity of Christ. In this story, after Jesus was born the night grew bitterly cold, the small fire in the drafty Bethlehem stable began to dwindle. Joseph ventured out the find more wood but while he was away gather winter fuel, the fire started to go out.  However just as the flames started to die, a group of little brown birds flew into the stable and began circling the fire and fanned the flames once more. These compassionate little fellows were of course robins and to commemorate their kindness from that day onward they have sported bright red breasts.

Another tale also links the bird getting its distinctive plumage with Christ too. This story comes in several variations but all feature the robin's traditional compassion and kindness. It was said that while Jesus was dying on the cross, the robin came to give him comfort. In one version the robin perches on Christ's shoulder and sings to give him comfort. Another variation has the little bird attempting to staunch the flow of blood from the great wound in Jesus's side made by the spear of the centurion Longinus. However the best known incarnation, has the kind little robin attempting to pluck away the crown of the thorns. And so in all three variants, the robin is stained with the blood of Christ and its kindness is forever remembered in it vivid red plumage.  

These stories that associate the robin with Jesus have been mooted as explanations for why these little birds are part of our Christmas iconography. However all these tales are fairly obscure, and have never been exactly widely known. And hence scholars who have studied the development of Christmas customs believe the robin's link with the festive season comes from far more recent events. David Lack, author of The Life of the Robin (1972) traces our present day association of robins with Christmas from a modern Yuletide custom - the sending of Christmas cards.

Now you may think robins on Christmas cards merely comes from them their red plumage making them stand out in winter. And artistically speaking, this makes perfect sense, for their plumage makes them the perfect bird to adorn Christmas scenes. For aside from their redbreasts being appropriately festive coloured, the scarlet feathers also form a vivid contrast to the whites of the snow and the green sprigs of holly and ivy that usually adorn Christmas cards.

But the story further than that. In 1840, the United Kingdom established the modern Royal Mail and the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. And so the Penny Post was born, meaning letters could be sent anywhere to any corner of Britain  for the princely sum of a single penny. And a few years later, one of the the fellow involved in designing the new postal scheme, Sir Henry Cole, had a capital idea. He hired artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card conveying Christmas best wishes, and thus the first Christmas card was born.

Now the early Christmas cards weren't exactly like the one we know today - for example, early designs had spring flowers rather than winter scenes.And furthermore, cards were just part of a range of Christmas themed stationary that flourished in what would be come the golden age of the postal service. Hence while folks on modest incomes would sending the usual cards we have, the more well off had envelopes, calling cards and paper for letter writing with illustrated headers. And a common feature of the matching designs on these festive stationary items was a robin, often with a letter in its beak.

However somewhat curiously, the same robin designs also feature on cards and stationary celebrating for New Year and Valentine's Day. And the reason for this is that from the 18th century up until 1861, the British postman dressed in red coats or tunics. Even after a dark blue coat was introduced in 1861, the  red was retained in on the collars, cuffs and piping on the coats, and the stripes on the trousers. Hence the humble postman had gained the nicknames 'redbreast' or 'robin'. For example, Anthony Trollope - who actually had worked for the Post Office - wrote in his novel Framley Parsonage, first published in 1860 -

"Oh, but it's mortial wet," said the shivering postman as he handed in that and the vicar's newspaper. The vicar was a man of the world, and took the Jupiter.

"Come in, Robin postman, and warm theeself awhile," said Jemima the cook, pushing a stool a little to one side, but still well in front of the big kitchen fire.

Naturally, with the whimsy typical of greetings card art, soon robins were regularly being depicted as postmen on various cards, even after the uniform changes detailed above. And with New Year and Valentine cards developing their own iconography, soon the robin redbreast would be left to rule the Christmas card alone. Furthermore, soon any kind of robin, whether undertaking postal duties or not, was seen as a suitable subject for a Christmas card.

And oddly enough, while the association with the Royal Mail which had got them onto the Christmas scene in the first place was forgotten as the slang name for postmen died out with the uniform changes, it has been the other folkloric associations of the robin that has kept them on our cards. For the custom of sending Christmas cards gained in popularity throughout Victorian and Edwardian times in parallel with the rise of the pantomime, and in previous articles we already seen how important the tale of the Babes in the Wood is to redbreast folklore.

More generally however, the robin of folklore fits perfectly with Christmas. Symbolically with their red feathers bringing colour and light to our frosty gardens, the robin parallels the joy and warmth Christmas brings to the middle of our winter. The ancient beliefs that they were omens and harbingers makes them a suitable magical bird for Yuletide, and the fact that we have long believed that both they are to be treated with kindness and that the robins themselves are compassionate birds means the redbreast is very much the embodiment of the real spirit of the Christmas season.

FOLKLORE ON FRIDAYS: Robin in the Woods

Last week we explored the folklore surrounding Britain's favourite garden bird, the humble robin redbreast. And we discovered a wealth of superstitions sharing the the common belief that of all the wild birds, the robin was not to be harmed. As A. E .Bray put it in 1838, "Very few children in this town would hurt the redbreast, as it is considered unlucky to do so; this bird being entitled to kindness... above every other". However why the robin has this folkloric reverence is something of a mystery, and one that has been much pondered for many centuries. Indeed in 1709, a somewhat angry sounding gentleman queried the readers of the British Apollo thus - 

Q. The Robin Red Breast is as malicious and Envious a Bird as any that flies... 

  I desire to know why many People should have so good an Esteem of this Bird,

as to account it a Crime to do it any  Injury

Sadly there is no recorded reply, however a few years later in 1713 the topic was raised again in the pages of the Guardian newspaper. And on May 21st the following theory was proposed - "As for Robin-redbreasts... 'Tis not improbable they owe their Security to the old Ballad of The Children in the Wood ". And that opinion was echoed by a later essayist writing in September 1735 in the Gentleman Magazine who remarked -

And thus the Robin Redbreast hath been the cause of great superstition among the common people of England ever since the silly story of The Children in the Wood. One great instance of this is their readiness to admit him in to their houses and feed him on all occasions; though certainly he is an impudent and as mischievous bird as ever that flew.

Now then, for those of you familiar with traditional British pantomimes, all of this will be ringing a Christmassy bell. And for those of you who are not, briefly allow me to explain. Pantomimes are a unique form of British theatrical entertainment performed over the Christmas season. They present versions, full of music and comedy, of well-known children's tales; traditionally fairy stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Sleepy Beauty, and over the years tales from legend and childrens' classics have become pantomime staples too, such as Aladdin, Peter Pan and the Wizard of Oz .

Now one of the oldest pantomimes is Babes in the Wood, which is derived from the afore-mentioned old ballad. Like most pantomimes, Babes in the Wood is a story told in two acts. In the first we learn of two children, a boy and girl, who are orphaned and fostered with a guardian - sometimes a Wicked Uncle, sometime a baron, and sometimes even the Sheriff of Nottingham. Anyhow, this villain plots to dispose of the pair and steal their inheritance. Hence he arranges for the children to be taken into some woods by a pair of robbers and murdered. However one of the ruffians takes pity on the children, fights with his more coldblooded compatriot, and allows the children to escape into the forest.

Deep the woodland the children hide and as they fall asleep, robins fly down and cover them with leaves to keep the babes warm, and thus the curtain falls on Act One. In Act Two, the children, often with the help of a good fairy, are discovered by Robin Hood and Maid Marian, who naturally not only look after the pair but help to restore their fortunes. There's various retellings of traditional stories of his cunning and bravery, and of course at last Robin and his merry band triumph over the wicked folks, and the children are restored to their rightful home and fortune.

Given the traditional basis of pantomimes and coupled with the appearance of that other old favourite Robin, Hood and his Merry Men, many have assumed Babes in the Wood to be an old English folk tale. And that is partly true, as the panto tale derived from an old ballad. However in the earlier versions of the tale, Robin Hood does not appear to find the children, or indeed appear at all. The familiar pantomime version is actually a hybrid creation, wedding the Robin Hood legends onto the tale of the Children in the Wood. More shockingly, in the original ballad, the tale of the Babes actually ends like this  - 

Thus wandered these two prettye babes,

Till death did end their grief;

In one another’s armes they dyed,

As babes wanting relief.

No burial these prettye babes

Of any man receives,

Till Robin-redbreast painfully

Did cover them with leaves.

Yes, in the original story, there is no rescue for the children! After being turned loose by the kinder of the two ruffians, the children wander the forest, and despite finding a few berries, end up starving to death. And rather than providing a leafy blanket, the robins provide a rustic shroud.

Now robins covering the dead in this curious fashion appears to have been a prevalent belief in the early 17th century. In John Webster's celebrated play The White Devil from 1612, Cornelia says -

Call for Robin-Red-brest and the wren, 

Since ore shadie groves they hover, 

And with leaves and flowres doe covre 

The friendlesse bodies of unburied men

Before Webster, Shakespeare himself referred to the funereal habits of robins - under their old English name of the ruddock - in Cymbeline in 1611. The bard of Avon has Arviragus weeping over the supposed dead body of the disguised Imogen, saying: 

The Raddocke would 

With Charitable bill — O bill, sore shaming 

Those rich-left heirs that let their fathers lie 

Without a monument! — bring thee all this ; 

Yea, and furr'd Mosse besides, when Flowres are none. 

To winter-ground thy coarse. Say, where shall 's lay him? 

A little earlier in 1604, the poet Michael Drayton wrote in his satirical verse The Owle:

Covering with moss the dead's unclosed eye, 

The little redbreast teacheth charitie. 

Certainly this belief that robins would attend to the unburied dead does seem to chime well with the death omens that are associated with this little bird. However no earlier mention than the first publication of Children in the Wood in 1595 can be discovered. A tome from 1889 - Myths of the Robin Redbreast in Early English Poetry - mentions two other ballads that have the robins burying the dead The Soldier's Repentance and The West Country Damosel's Complaint, that have been claimed to be older than The Children in the Wood. However both were actually printed after 1595, with only their original collectors' speculating that their origins lie earlier in the 16th century.

However that being said, the Classical poet Horace does make reference to doves doing the same kind of rustic burials, and it is not usual to find these kind of folkloric beliefs being transferred between different species and the belief migrates over time to different regions. For example, much of what we have heard about it being ill luck to harm robins has in other regions and at other times been said of wrens and swallows too.

So then it is possible that this bit of folklore does date back further than its first printed reference. And it should be noted that it is commonly agreed by scholars that ballads printed in chapbooks and on broadsides would have been in public circulation long before its publication. Indeed, the fact Children in the Wood did make it into print is a measure of how well-known and popular the tale already was. And there is a curious and dark history to the ballad that we will investigate next time...

FOLKLORE ON FRIDAY - Who Killed Cock Robin?

The humble Robin Redbreast, or Erithacus rubecula melophilus if you're given to outbreaks of Latin, is one of Britain's favourite birds, making its home in woods and hedgerows, and is a frequent visitor to our gardens. Unlike their European cousins, British robins are rather tame, having forged a friendship with humankind many centuries ago. When a garden is being dug, a robin will often be close by, watching for any juicy slugs or worms unearthed by the spade. They soon learn which households will put food out for them, and furthermore will learn what time the food regularly gets placed on the bird table, appearing in good time for the day's offerings. Robins will even come into your house or feed from your hand with very little coaxing. 

And our long friendship with the robin is commemorated in our folklore. To begin with it was considered very unlucky to take robins' eggs or to disturb or damage a robin's nest. In many parts of Britain,  it was said that if you broke a robin's egg, something of your own would be broken soon after, and local lore in many places asserted that it would be not just a beloved item, but your arm or your leg. While in Dorset, it was believed that stealing robin eggs would cause your fingers to grow crooked. 

Not surprisingly then, it was also considered extremely unlucky to kill a robin. To begin with ill fortune would be yours, often taking the form of maladies in your livestock, such as cows giving bloody milk or litters of animals being born dead. In Hertfordshire and other counties it was said that much like breaking an egg,  killing a robin would result in a broken arm or leg. In Ireland, folk belief held that he who killed a robin would never have good luck ever again, even it was said, if they lived to be a thousand years old.

And if such misfortunes weren't enough, it was also claimed that harming a robin would mark you for life. In parts of England, it was said that if you killed a robin, the hand that did the deed would shake forevermore. Over in Ireland, it said that the offended hand would developed ugly red weals or boils, while in the county of Shropshire it was claimed that the hand that did the bloody deed would actually drop off!

And it gets worse. An old English folk rhyme states -

"The blood on the breast of a robin that's caught, 

 Brings death to the snarer by whom it is caught."

In some places it was said that whatever method was used to slay poor robin would become the way you yourself would meet your demise. Therefore the Sparrow who slew Cock Robin with his bow and arrow in the old nursery rhyme could expect death by archery in his near future.

This belief that harming robins was bad luck was very common throughout the British Isles, and furthermore has persisted into modern times. In 1974 when the showjumper Ted Edgar was asked by a reporter why he wasn't having much success that season, Edgar wryly replied "I must have shot a robin, mustn't I".

So why is the robin so revered? Well, it should also be noted that robins were believed to be, quite literally, ominous birds. For across the length and breadth of the British Isles, there are folk beliefs that cast robins as omens or messengers of death. In the northern counties, it was believed that if a robin came and tapped three times at your window pane, death was near for someone in the household. While in other many regions it was said that a robin entering a house foretold a death to come soon within that household.

Even the robin's warbling song could bode ill. While the redbreast's singing is usually cheery and bright, it has been noted that the song becomes more wistful and even sad sounding in the winter months. And so, in some places, to hear a robin singing mournfully was considered to be unlucky, particularly if it came sadly singing to your window or doorway. For example, in Devon it was thought that if a robin lands upon the roof of a cottage and  "utters its plaintive weet", a baby inside was to die.

Hence the folk reverence for robins could well stem from the idea that it would be most unwise indeed to harm a bird that was in touch with, or perhaps is even an agent of, the mysterious forces of fate and destiny. But it has also been suggested that that the reverence for robins is linked to other old folk beliefs, which we shall be exploring in the next few weeks.