Brân the raven not the breakfast cereal

As my new print is still very much a WIP I thought as a tribute to the four new babies at the Tower of London (first time in 30 years) I would post my raven print.

There are always seven ravens in residence in the tower,  six and one to spare. Their presence is clouded in myth and legend but it is a strongly held belief that if there are ever less than six, then the tower and the monarchy will fall. We are a very superstitious lot.

Brân the blessed was a giant. A king of Britain in Welsh mythology. There are so many confusing stories involving battles, marriages, a magic cauldron that brings the dead back to life, presumably after being boiled in the same pot, but, the one reoccurring myth is that Brân, when mortally wounded in battle, insisted that his followers chop off his head and carry it back to London to be buried in the White mound, his face towards France, where he could continue (who knows how exactly) to protect his country against invasion. The Tower would eventually be built upon the white mound.

If by now you are wondering how the ravens fit in. The name Brân is translated from the Welsh to mean raven or crow. For those of you that watched the Game of Thrones, you will remember Brandon (Brân) Stark and the raven connection.

So there you go, a little mythology, superstition and my carving of Brân the Raven King....