Brewer's: Corvinus

[a raven]. Janos Hunyady, Governor of Hungary, is so called from the raven on his shield. There were two Romans so called- viz. Valerius Maximus Corvinus Messala, and Valerius Messala Corvinus.

Marcus Valerius was so called because, in a single combat with a gigantic Gaul during the Gallic war, a raven flew into the Gaul's face and so harassed him that he could neither defend himself nor attack his adversary.

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