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==A history of Anarawd== The Anarawd [[heraldry]] is remarkable in that it is not based in deep history, legend or family roots shrouded in metaphor. That is not to say that is entirely lacks such, but the Anarawd as such are a family borne of consensual union between the [[Belgae]] and [[Durotriges]] as late as the reign of [[Magnus Maximus]], mid- 4th century. Indeed, before [[Edern]] ap Neillyn the family had no distinguished [[mark]] of their own. After the battle of [[Carlion]] [[Edern]] was given the honour of choosing his own banner as recognition of his deeds. The meaning of that [[heraldry]] is a topic of debate among specialized scholars to this day, and several theories are prevalent. The most popular theory, and one that has been thoroughly debunked by and in the opinion of yours truly, is the so called “spur of the moment” model. Stubborn tales abound of [[Edern]] simply describing the first notable things he saw, a long red mantle and four silver clasps strewn about. This seems entirely unlikely. Red was an extremely uncommon colour of the day other than in roman troops, and none such were present in that battle. Furthermore, the odds of four such silver pins laying in close proximity is close to nil. More importantly [[Edern]], in Wirets’ tragedy “The life and sorrow of [[Elad]] of the Gweir” [[Edern]], as he trains his young squire and shapes his destiny, is described as a surprisingly thoughtful man, even a philosophical one. This image is further reinforced by accounts from Somerset, then [[Summerland]], of a fantastic storyteller and accomplished envoy. I contend that, unlike the popular image of a brutish [[warrior]] borne, [[Edern]] was actually an uncommonly intelligent and thoughtful man. Nonsensical and impulsive choice therefore seems a faulty theorem, despite what that overblown windbag Coriseus claims in his “Codex Vitae Britannia”. Far more likely, in this authors’ humble opinion, is the adopted symbolism theory. Through the Anarawd line runs clear foundations, notions and events that shape the very core of that noble house. Firstly, the red colour represents blood and classically love, both of which shaped the family into what it became. The love story of Neillyn and Anna should be familiar to most scholars of the subject. Blood, through the fighting where [[Edern]] won his family status, and which flows in their own veins. The clasps are the ties between concepts that bind the blood together. Anna and Neillyn are the first two pins, the founders improbably love, echoed in [[heraldry]] as the love that always bound each generation to the next and to other kindred souls. Another pin is the close ties and love the Anarawd always held for the common men, accounts of their largesse and cooperation survive to this day. The last is the [[heartblade]], even if it never existed it is clear that the Anarawds of the day believed it did, and that was enough. The story of that blade, and its ties to the family, make clear its integral connection to the core foundations of the Anarawd, but thst tale will not be recounted here. Reccomended reading on the subject would be Baranads more critical accounting “The heart blade, a metaphor of the Anarawd” The honour gift theory, the least supported of the three, holds that [[Edern]] received four silver pins and a honorary red cloak from emperor Contantine himself after the battle, and modelled his banner after that in gratitude. Not only is [[Edern]] not commonly described wearing such, which would otherwise surely be the case, but the other heroes of that day are not reported to have been given such gifts. As magnanimous a man as Constantine was, they surely would have. A further point of contention, which I now aim to put to rest, is the thorny pins problem. Yes there were four pins, not three. Sometime after the death of [[Edern]] during the night of long knives, in the long interim where [[Britain]] lay in chaos and war raged between the returning [[Aurelius]], the [[Saxons]] and [[Vortigern]] the Usurper, one pin vanished from the Anarawd [[heraldry]]. When [[Gamond]] Ap [[Edern]] received his [[shield]] at his knighting by Count [[Roderick]] in 482, [[heraldry]] given by leave of [[Uther]] himself as payment for old services, only three pins were emblazoned upon the red. Whether this is simply an omission by accident – the royal herald having only heard of the [[shield]] and forgetting the fourth pin – an omission by style, – a judgement made by aesthetic necessity due to the new shape of shields introduced by this time -, or a deeper issue of moral or metaphorical foundation is the further subject of this treatise. <hr> Pages missing - refer archive #40B35C97 [[Category:Tudwall's a history of the Anarawd]]
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