The Fabled Folklore of the Robin Redbreast

n There are three kinds of birds that regularly feed in myngarden. There are a pair of blackbirds that come and eat the berries from thenRowan tree – they leave their droppings on the brick wall near the door. Therenis a wren that comes early in the morning and hops from bough to bough in thenbushes. And there is the Robin, who comes and sings by the kitchen window,nsitting in the Firethorn, his breast as red as its berries.

Robin Postman

nWe see a lot ofnrobins at this time of year, particularly on Christmas cards, because in thenpast the postmen wore red tunics and were nicknamed ‘Robins’, so they appear onnthe kinds in their bird form as tokens of the deliverymen. The Robin wasnoriginally called the Redbreast but as people began to add proper names to thennames of animals and birds they became Robin Redbreast, later shortened simplynto Robin; much the same happened with the Jenny Wren and the Jackdaw. InnLancashire there is a rhyme,

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n“The robin and wren

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nAre God’s cock and hen.

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nThe spink and the sparrow

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nAre the deil’s bow and arrow.”

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n(The spink is a dialect name for the chaffinch ornsometimes the yellowhammer).

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Robin Redbreast

nThe Robin is held to be a special bird in Britishnmythology and should never be harmed. Even when egg-collecting was a popularnhobby, it was very rare for anyone to take Robin’s eggs. The reverence comesnfrom the way in which the bird got its red breast. In some legends, it was annall-brown bird until it was touched with the blood of Christ as he hung on thenCross, in some versions singing into his ear to alleviate the agony of hisnfinal moments, in another version attempting to pluck out the nails or thenthorns from the crown, and another version has the Robin trying to staunch thenwound in Christ’s side made by the legionary’s lance. Another legend says thatnthe Robin scorched its breast in the fires of Purgatory, mercifully takingndrops of water in its beak for the lips of the parched souls in torment, innWales this act has earned the bird the name of brou-rhuddyn –n‘breast-burnt’.

The Robin

nA variation of this is that the wren stole fire from heaven andnreturned to earth aflame, so the other birds all contributed one feather eachnto replaced those burnt away, but the Robin was anxious and came too close tonthe poor wren thus he also caught fire, the remains of the burn remains on hisnplumage. Yet another legends tells that if the Robin and the Wren find thenunburied body of a dead person, they will work together and cover it withnleaves. This act of kindness is mentioned in the old English ballad of thenBabes in the Wood,

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n“And when they were dead.

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nThe robins so red

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nBrought strawberry-leaves,

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nAnd over them spread.”

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The Babes in the Wood

nThere is a folk legend that says if a Robin dies in yournhand, that hand will always shake uncontrollably.

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n“‘How badly you write,’ I said one day to a boy in ournparish school; your hand shakes so that you can’t hold the pen steady. Have younbeen running hard, or anything of that sort?’ ‘No,’ replied the lad, ‘it alwaysnshakes: I once had a robin die in my hand; and they say that if a robin dies innyour hand, it will always shake.”

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nC A Federer – Notes and Queries April 4^thn1868.

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Notes and Queries – April 4 1868

nOf course, the most famous of the rhymes about the Robinnmust be ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’. The rhyme in print dates to about 1744nwith the form familiar to use coming from about 1770, although it may be a muchnolder tale.

Death of Cock Robin c1860

nIt is a favourite nursery story and is used in early readingnlessons as it follows a repeated, familiar pattern. The short verse form allowsnample opportunity for illustration, giving some delightful period versions.nClaims that the rhyme is an allegory for some actual historical event arenunfounded and are another example of the present applying hindsight to thenpast.

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