HOME | DD
HelevornArt — Guess Who: Merwyn
#anglosaxon #medieval #painting #portrait #woman #octraining #guesswho #watercolor
Published: 2019-11-04 21:39:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 445; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
~ Guess Who: Merwyn ~The first round of for Merwyn! I'm not going to say anything more about her, but I'll be happy to see your guesses about her
Edit: I'm loving the guesses so far, even though I can't really answer them
One mention: I didn't mean for the crib to look empty (sorry about that) Media: watercolours
Related content
Comments: 57
She seems to be a mother, and maybe she likes gardening?
Perhaps she has an interest in weaving, too?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
She looks like a rich/noble woman in either medieval times for a medieval-inspired world. She's wearing a cross which tells me she is probably religious, or at the very least in an area where that is common. She looks like a caring mother
I think she prefers to work in the garden in the fresh air where it's quiet..
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
She looks like a princess hiding in a tree house somewhere with her baby. Who likes to read books from her little library.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What a lovely guess, thank you! She is in a garden, but I love the idea of the tree house (I might actually use that, thank you 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You're welcome! Books are the beessst. What's her fave?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yess, even in the 10th century 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
OOo that sounds like a good book for sure. I'd probably read that too.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I'm guessing she is a doting mother set in the medieval time period. It seems to me she is opening the gate to a visitor. Her face shows a bit of worry , perhaps she is afraid the visitor is here to give her bad news. She is not poor judging on her style of dress but she is not rich either or else she would have servants to look after the child and not have to do it her self.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What an interesting guess, thanks for much for your insight! Indeed, Merwyn is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and a young mother - here she is weaving (but the threads aren't visible so I see why that's misleading 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It looks like Merwyn is a wealthy lady who is very well put together. The cross on her necklace suggests she's a Christian, and based on the crib I'd guess she's a mother. It seems that she's and artist and craftswoman who has skill in weaving. She takes her art seriously and puts a lot of time and energy into it. She seems to like to work outdoors surrounded by beautiful flowers. Perhaps she's also a gardener and planted them herself.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the great guess! Merwyn is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, a mother and a devout Christian who loves weaving in her free time and spending time in her garden with her baby.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
She seems very nice. I wonder if she'd teach me how to weave if I asked nicely...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Totally, she'd love to
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Merwyn is a Christian noble lady with a baby in a more medieval setting. I’m not really sure what she’s doing with her hands, but I’m sure there’s useful information there. Unless… is the pattern in front of her a tapestry and she weaving? The positioning looks right, but I can’t see any strings. (though in watercolor, that’s hardly surprising).
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You're very right, thank you! Merwyn is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and a mother and yes, she is weaving here (there was supposed to be string but, as you said, watercolours ftw ^^)
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Wow, I love the attention to details here! The border is a lovely touch and adds to the Medieval age feel of this! You also did a great job on the composition of this piece too! You work so well with watercolours!
Merwyn looks to be a seamstress in the Medieval age. I'm guessing creating tapestries is her means of supporting herself and her newborn baby. She's depicted alone with her baby close beside her, and her husband is nowhere in sight, which makes me think she's a widow, or her husband is a knight, who is away fighting in a war.
Her clothing and gold jewellery indicates that she's wealthy, and she looks to be a devout Christian going by the cross around her neck, and the crucifixion of Christ on the tapestry. The red roses in her garden could also be a symbolism that ties into her religion. Maybe she has an important role in the church?
Her demeanor seems peaceful and calm, like the calm blues of her clothing. She also seems to be passionate about what she does too, which the red roses and reds in the border could symbolise! Excellent work! I look forward to seeing more of her!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the wonderful comment and the great guess, you're totally right!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Ooooooh, I'm liking the take on illuminated manuscripts
Merwyn looks to be a modest woman and loving mother, as signified by the crib
I'm guessing she's from the middle ages of Europe, or a universe based on that time period, given by the clothes, the type of weaving, and again, the reference to illuminated manuscript designs
I'd specify she's Irish/western european, given the Christian symbols, but I could be wrong haha
Given the time period and the symbols, I'd maybe take a step and say her husband is a knight gone during the Crusades. Definitely would be interesting to see that time period from the perspective of a wife back home
Great job!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the wonderful comment and insight!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I am guessing that Merwyn is a religious and rather devout Christian mother and she appears to be a noble lady or at least rather wealthy. She is also a skilled weaver. I wonder if the thing she is weaving is for her baby. I'm also curious as to where her husband has gotten off to and if she has any other older children. Beautiful work on the painting here, btw!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very much for the great guess! Now you know that you're right in your insight
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's very sad for her 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
A young mother who also works as a seamstress?
The painting technique for this picture is lovely!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you so much 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
He story takes place around Christmas time and she is working hard on sculpting and painting a master piece before Christmas so she can get paid and give her baby an amazing first Christmas. Marwyn is a dedicated mother as she is working so hard dispite just having a baby, but this makes me wonder where the father is, did he abondon her and the baby? does he even know about the baby? or maybe hes just away right now?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you! This is a really interesting guess! Merwyn is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and a young mother, and you are very right in considering the father's absence significant - Merwyn and her husband have a very distant relationship (theirs was an arranged marriage and they are very incompatible). The baby's biological father might be a man that Merwyn did actually love and who was forced to leave the country - so you were actually very right in your guess! She is weaving as a hobby though, and the tapestry represent the Crucifixion scene.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Merwyn appears to be a noblewoman from medieval periods and it appears she is also a mother.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You're very right, thank you! Merwyn is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and a young mother.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ooh Merwyn looks like a queen or princess who recently got a young child and creating a tapestry for the newborn!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the great guess! Indeed, she's an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and a young mother.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Amazing work with the painting, always love your watercolors and this one is just so lightweight and pretty!
I'm pretty sure there is meaning to everything on this picture, including the side decorations reminiscent of medieval illuminations, but I am too uncultured for that 
Can't wait to see what you've planned for Merwyn's round! I'm super excited to see another of your important female characters, they do deserve more stage time
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you again for the wonderful guess, you know how very right you were
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you so much for the wonderful insight and the great guess! It's wonderful that you guessed that she has some Celtic blood! The Anglo-Saxons did have that name, it would be spelled Mærwynn in Old English (there was a 10th century English noblewoman by this name, abbess and was canonized later, and that's where I got the idea, but she was said to have some Irish blood). Merwyn has some Scottish blood from her mother's side. And yes, she is the wife of a nobleman, the Earldorman of Northumbria, and expecting a child.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
They did, Old English mære means something like greatest/sublime (but I see it's almost the same in Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic, már/mór and it appears as a particle is lots of Germanic and Celtic, like the Mórrígan) and wynn means joy. Yes, I think that's right about Tolkien. Merwyn does sound actually sounds like it could be a name from Rohan
It's long after, my story is supposed to happen in the late 10th century when Northumbria isn't a separate kingdom any longer and it's ruled by an earldorman. Some guy called Waltheof of Bamburgh was Earldorman of Northumbria at that time, but I didn't base Merwyn's husband on him.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
What a lovely picture of this beautiful woman I love your watercolor. So what I'm thinking is she is I'm eating I'm going to say she's married she's living in medieval times. She is also a weaver since she's quilting a blanket Maybe and I noticed that there's a crib but no baby. I assume that she is preparing all the small little gifts for a baby coming since she is a mother-to-be soon. She is married to a wealthy family I suppose in a church and she's Christian.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the great guess! Indeed, she's an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who likes weaving in her free time, a mother and a devout Christian
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I'm SO SO SO SO SO curious about her!
Merwyn is an English noblewoman during the Early Middle Ages, as suggested by her clothing as well as the decoration detail to the left, which is reminiscent of the decorations of old English manuscripts. Her rich clothing as well as her golden jewelry (headband, earrings, the golden cross around her neck) suggest that she is well-off. As she already is a mother, this also suggests that her husband also is nobility, and that he takes good care of her. She wants for nothing when it comes to the material world: she has a babe, a garden of roses, and space to create things of her own. As any good English noblewoman does, she's skilled at weaving - she's currently weaving an intricate tapestry depicting the crucifixion, even. This suggests (in combination with the golden cross) that she is a devout christian, and a learned one at that. She knows the Scripture well, and honors it deeply. She appears to be a dedicated, calm, and dutiful woman. She is committed to her crafts, her motherhood (but considering her husband is not depicted, I do not think that they have a very warm family life, just one borne out of duty), and her role within her society.
Now, lets also delve into the possible symbolism of this picture: Merwyn is in a garden, surrounded by walls covered in red roses. Though she and her babe are outside, she's still fenced in - though her life is beautiful as it is (blooming, like the flowers around her), there still is an element of being caged to it. She is held within this garden by duty, by her status. She is weaving, suggesting that she does have a sense of agency over her own life - especially her spiritual (represented by the religious imagery) and perhaps emotional life as well. She's a builder, someone who creates something new from the threads of the old. Her dress is a light blue - not a deep maritime blue, but light, like the sky. This suggests that she has a calm, airy personality, and maybe a dreamy one as well. Merwyn is a lady bound to the earth, with a spiritual mind that is meant to fly.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I wonder where the baby is.... O-O not in the bassinet. very mysterious! Love it!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you! She is expecting a child (or the baby is tucked in and not visible) - sorry if the empty-looking crib was misleading
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Mervyn is a lady from a medieval setting. Her jewellery and the adornments on her dress show she comes from a wealthy family. Or perhaps married into one.
The cross or crucifix around her neck indicates Christian religious beliefs which lead me to think she is another character from your Viking saga.
She is weaving a tapestry which was the province of the rich or the church if I recall as they were the only ones with the resources. The tapestry itself seems to feature the crucifixion.
There is a crib next to her but it appears to be empty. Is this a sign she lost a child? How tragic. But it seems in the wake of this she has turned to the church for a cause to believe in and emotional support.
Do the Rose's in the background intimate that she is also a keen gardener or just that she has a love of those flowers?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you for the wonderful guess, you always have such great insight!
You're very right about almost everything. She is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, part of the same world as my other stories (she is she mother of Aidan, my protagonist monk that I enrolled a couple of rounds ago). She is expecting a child (or the baby is tucked in) - sorry if the empty-looking crib was misleading. She has had some tragedy in her life but thankfully not that. I'm impressed that you realized the tapestry represents the crucifixion, thank you! She's a devout Christian indeed, and the roses suggest both passion and martyrdom, but they are to be taken literally as well since she has a garden where she loves spending time.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hmm... she is from a medieval setting and appears to be working with textiles. She wears a cross, signifying that she is Christian. There is also a baby rocker next to her, which makes me believe that she is either a mother or a caretaker for children.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you!! Yes, she is an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is also a mother, and she likes weaving in her free time. She's also a devout Christian.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
| Next =>