and for the Korwin coat of arms has a similar raven, but standing on a log rather than on a horseshoe. Sarmatian Totem For some reason, an old Polish aristocratic clan, of Sarmatian origin, chose the Raven as its symbol - possibly as its "Rodnidze", the "Totem-spirit of the Clan". Such clans, pagans at the time, far predated the conversion of Poland to Christianity and the rise of the Piast Dynasty's kingdom. The 1224 Grant Many centuries later, a raven is attested in a grant of privilege to Warzęta Korwin z Ślepowrony, from Duke Konrad I of Masovia, given at Warsaw in 1224. The "Roman-Hungarian legend" The actual Korwin shield, with the ring in the raven's beak, came to Poland from Hungary, almost two centuries later, via the so-called Roman-Hungarian legend - under the influence of ancient culture and vivid contacts between members of the Polish nobility and the Hungarian Royal Court. The Roman Part According to ancient Roman sources, a distinguished tribune named Marcus Valerius Corvus born 370BC, of the Roman Gens Valerii, had while on the battlefield in 349BC, accepted a challenge to single combat issued to the Romans by a barbarian warrior of great size and strength. Suddenly, a raven flew from a trunk, perched upon Valerius' helmet, and began to attack his foe's eyes with its beak so fiercely that the barbarian was blinded, and the Roman beat him easily. In memory of this event, Valerius got the agnomen Corvinus (from Corvus, "Raven"). Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64BC-8AD) was selected to be Caesar Augustus' colleague in the consulate. The Hungarian/Polish Part In the Kingdom of Hungary, the Wallachian-Hungarian family of Korvin had flourished since the 15th century. They claimed descent from Valerious - who, according to the interpretation of Baroque authors, became a big landowner on the Dacian-Pannonian frontiers, the future Hungary - which is of very doubtful veracity. It is true that Janos Hunyadi and his son, Matthias Corvinus Hunyadi, King of Hungary and Bohemia, called themselves "Corvinus" and had their coins minted displaying a "raven with a ring". The epithet Corvinus was coined by Matthias' biographer, the Italian Antonio Bonfini, who claimed that the Hunyadi family descended from Marcus Valerius Corvinus. This connection, spurious or not, was later taken over by the Polish aristocrats connected with the Hungarian family. History of the distinguished Medonich family is interwoven within the majestic tapestry of Hungary and