Eagles and Ravens
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Ravens and Eagles
are hard to distinguish from each other in the old pieces. The
bottom line is that some claim these images are eagles, and others,
ravens. Whatever the species, however, the bird motif is pervasive in Germanic art. Different types of birds had their own symbolic meanings. The eagle is a bird of Odin, it symbolises nobility, prowess, high flight, battle, and power. Odin carried the Mead of Poetry to Asgard in eagle form. The raven is also Odin's, and stands for intellect, cunning, magic, the ability to fly into all the worlds (shamanic journeying) and death. Odin has two familiar Ravens, Huginn and Muninn; their names mean "Mindful and Desirous", or "Thought and Memory". Here are some links about the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial: The Sutton Hoo Society Sutton Hoo: Burial-Ground of the Wuffings What is the Nature of the Cemetery at Sutton Hoo? |
