An elite group of ravens live at the Tower of London, anxiously monitored and lovingly tended to by a professional ravenmaster. Because according to legend, if these ravens were ever to leave, the crown of England would fall. But it turns out this “ancient” legend is a relatively recent invention.

More on the one historian’s investigations into the legend’s origins can be found in this paper and in the book City of Ravens: The Extraordinary History of London, its Tower and Its Famous Ravens.