ChristStory Bestiary

NIGHTINGALE

LOVE & DEATH or CHRISTIAN LONGINGS

The nightingale with its beautiful night song is the bird of love, for as long as it sings dark night shelters secret lovers from the eyes of those who would part them. This meaning is illustrated in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when the young lovers debate whether the song they are hearing is that of the lark or of the nightingale. If it is the lark, which Romeo refers to as the "herald of the morn," the young man must leave their love nest and flee for his life (Romeo and Juliet III:V).

Because it sings all night long, the nightingale was once believed to be free of the need to sleep. One legend about the origin of this bird features a fickle shepherdess who kept postponing her wedding date. This habit caused such distress and sleeplessness to her fiancee that he finally turned her into a nightingale and cursed her with the same insomnia which her delays had caused him. It was thought that if this bird's eyes and heart were hidden in a drink the one who drank it would soon die of sleeplessness.

In romantic stories and poetry there is often an association between love and death. The nightingale's link with lovers and the night makes it a perfect symbol of those who would die for love. Oscar Wilde's poem, 'The Nightingale and the Rose,' tells of a bird who, learning that a maiden had promised to dance with a philosophy student if he would bring her a red rose, agreed to trade its heart's-blood for such a prize. All night long the nightingale sang "of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb" with its heart pressed against the thorn of a rose tree so that its life's-blood could stain the rose red. In the morning the bird was dead and the silly girl informed the student that, in spite of the red rose, he was not rich enough for her attentions.

The nightingale's song is praised around the world and in some areas is considered a good omen. Poets, bards, singers, and their works are occasionally referred to as "nightingales." This bird represents the desire to sing, write, or speak beautifully. Eating its heart was once considered an aid to the acquisition of such skills. The parents of this species are credited with teaching their offspring to sing with perfection. Therefore, they are symbols of education and good instructors.

Throughout the ages, people have sought the meaning of the nightingale's song. In medieval times, it was thought that this bird sang all night long with its breast pressed against a thorn to keep itself awake because of its fear of snakes. Christians considered its song a plea for help from the poor souls in Purgatory; a longing for one's heavenly home; or an omen of death.

Classical mythology offers two stories to explain why this bird seems to cry "Itys! Itys!" In the first, Aedon, jealous of her sister-in-law's many children, attempts to kill them, but accidentally ends up killing her own child, Itys. This being her only child, Aedon was overwhelmed with remorse and convinced Zeus to change her into a nightingale.

Another story is told in which King Tereus rapes his wife Procne's sister, Philomela, and cuts out her tongue to keep her from squealing on him. However, the girl weaves the terrible story into a tapestry which is given to Procne. Understanding the meaning of the tapestry, Procne avenges her sister by fixing a special dinner for the king. After he has eaten it, she informs him that he has eaten his own son, Itys. The sisters escape from the castle but Tereus eventually catches up with them and just as he is about to kill them, the gods turn Procne into a nightingale who cries the names of her husband and child when overwhelmed by her memories. Philomela is turned into a swallow who remains silent because she has no tongue, and Tereus becomes a hoopoe crying "Where? Where?" as he continues to search for the sisters.

To early Christians the nightingale was a symbol of the holy joy of the righteous. The Physiologus, noting that the bird sang with increasing joy as dawn approached made it a symbol of the Christian soul singing in the darkness of this world, joyfully anticipating the arrival of Christ, its light. Its song in the night was also an emblem of Christ, the perfect Word; the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament; and those parts of the Divinity which the pagan Gentiles had vague intimations of and sought to reproduce in their laws and mythologies. St. Bonaventure believed the nightingale's last song (similar to the fabled swan song) was always its gladdest and most beautiful because it looked forward with joy to its release from this life. The dying nightingale was thought always to expire during the ninth hour of the day (3 p.m.) as Christ did.

In Aesop's The Labourer and the Nightingale this night bird's song attracts the attention of a labourer who cages it and says, "Now, you shall sing to me." The bird replies that nightingales are unable to sing in cages. So the man threatens to eat it. Slyly, the bird promises to tell him three valuable things if set free. As soon as the labourer opens the cage, the nightingale flies into a tree and dispenses the following pieces of wisdom: "Never believe a captive's promise; keep what you have; and sorrow not over what is lost forever."

All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated.