Saxon Bird of Prey Tattoo Design cornwall and Irish girls know there

and Irish girls know there is a horse born of the mists of the Western sea that can carry them to Tir n'Og

Created around 700 AD

Chosen for its Danish wearer because of the star pattern formed where the knotwork meets

as does the way the pattern spreads out into the woven branches representing the Tree of Life

Like our mortal lives

Saxon Bird of Prey Tattoo Design cornwall and Irish girls know thereThis 7th c. design shows a bird of prey wielding its talons and vicious beak. Totem animals such as these were often used to decorate armor and shields. To the Anglo Saxons the birds embodied strength and courage and they believed that those carrying these symbols into battle would inherit these virtues. This particular pattern was found on the shield of King Raedwald, one of the greatest of the early English warrior kings. He ruled over what is now