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The Tower of London is the focal point of the sovereignty of Britain, and
is inextricably linked to the power of the monarchy. It has long been the
royal fortress, and is today the home of those modern symbols of sovereignty,
the crown jewels.
The history of the Tower of London began in Norman times when the White
Tower was first built, but before then the hill on which the tower was built
was already a sacred place: the white mount, where Bran's head was buried.
The Romance of Branwen describes the event:
As Bran lay dying, he commanded his companions
to cut off his head. "And take you my head," said he, "and
bear it even unto the White Mount, in London, and bury it there, with the
face towards France." After the entertainment of the noble head, his
companions journeyed to London, and "they buried the head in the White
Mount, and when it was buried, this was the third goodly concealment; and it
was the third ill-fated disclosure when it was disinterred, inasmuch as no
invasion from across the sea came to this island while the head was in that
concealment."
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The Romance of Branwen
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The Welsh Triads
One of the Welsh triads explains the three goodly concealments and
ill-fated disclosures:
First the head of Bendigeid Vran ab Llyr
[Bran], which Owain the son of Maxen Wledig buried under the White Tower in
London, and while it was so placed no invasion could be made upon this
Island;
the second was the bones of Gwrthevyr the
Blessed [Vortimer], which were buried in the chief harbour of the Island, and
while they remained there hidden all invasions were ineffectual.
The third was the dragons buried by Lludd ab
Beli, in the city of Pharaon, in the rocks of Snowdon.
And the three closures were made under the blessing of God and his
attributes, and evil befell from the time of their disclosure. Gwrtheyrn
Gwrtheneu [Vortigern], disclosed the dragons to revenge the displeasure of
the Cymry against him, and he invited the Saxons in the guise of men of
defence to fight against the Gwyddyl Ffychti; and after this he disclosed the
bones of Gwrthevyr the Blessed, through love of Ronwen [Rowena], the daughter
of the Saxon Hengist. And Arthur disclosed the head of Bendigeid Vran ab
Llyr, because he chose not to hold the Island except by his own strength. And
after the three disclosures came the chief invasions upon the race of the
Cymry.
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The Ravens
The legend of Bran's head is now nearly forgotten, yet a reminder of his
guardianship remains in the form of the Tower ravens, for the raven is Bran's
bird. For many centuries, ravens have guarded the Tower of London, and legend
has it that if the ravens should ever leave, then the Tower would crumble and
a great disaster would befall Britain.
The fortunes of the Tower ravens reached their lowest point after the
second world war, when only a single raven remained. There is a tradition
that Winston Churchill arranged that young ravens should be brought to the
Tower from Wales and Scotland. In any case, the ravens were soon restored,
and a complement of six birds still guard the Tower.
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The Treasures of
Britain
The crown jewels are not just for rich display, but are the symbols of
Britain's sovereignty, modern-day equivalents of the thirteen sacred treasures
of Britain. In the coronation ceremonies, the crown jewels are used, in
effect, as magical instruments to bind the monarch to the land and to the
people.
It is only appropriate that these sacred instruments are guarded by Bran
at the Tower of London, for like all gods with a connection to the
underworld, he is a guardian of the treasures of the earth.
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