Saxon Bird of Prey Tattoo Design

This 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 East-Anglia and was also overlord of all the English kingdoms. When he died in around the year 625 he was placed in an Anglo-Saxon war ship along with his armor, shield, weapons and other fine treasures. He was covered by a burial mound where he lay undisturbed until the site was excavated in 1939.