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A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks of grain or minerals, usually positioned in markets or toll gates.
The raven (Hebrew: עורב ; Koine Greek: κόραξ) is the first species of bird to be mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, [5] and ravens are mentioned on numerous occasions thereafter. In the Book of Genesis, Noah releases a raven from the ark after the great flood to test whether the waters have receded (Gen. 8:6–7).
Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet ( / ˈ dʒ ɪ b ɪ t / ) was also used as a method of public execution , with the criminal being left to die of exposure, thirst and/or ...
Beyond the veil [2] The mysterious place after death. Neutral. Originally used to refer to the 'veil' that hides the innermost sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sometimes refers to just a mysterious place. Big sleep [2] To die or be killed. Euphemistic. Could be in reference to Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep'.
Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, [1][2] and is one of the few nonmammalian species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. [3]
A small, freely-moving projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds (and a few non-avian dinosaurs)—a bird's "thumb"—the word is Latin and means 'winglet'; it is the diminutive of ala, meaning 'wing'. Alula typically bear three to five small flight feathers, with the exact number depending on the species.
Yggdrasil (from Old Norse Yggdrasill) is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda compiled in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.
Dule tree. Dule trees, or dool trees, in Britain were used as gallows for public hangings. [1] They were also used as gibbets for the display of the corpse for a considerable period after such hangings. These "trees of lamentation or grief" were usually growing in prominent positions or at busy thoroughfares, particularly at crossroads, so that ...