#mediaeval aesthetic

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

~ John Byam Shaw, "Hist! -- said Kate the Queen," from Poems by Robert Browning (1897)

via internet archive

[vox-anglosphere]

Dublin

[gulmancer]

Slippery Sword

[voluptuarian]

13 days of witches: witch of the holy spring

"…a still, bright pool. To men I may not tell / The secrets that its heart of water knows… / Yet this I say to cliff and close-leaved dell: / A fitful spirit haunts yon limpid well." — Henry Kendall

Culture after culture has found the spring, faith after faith, recognizing its power in a thousand dialects and by a hundred titles, time and again declaring it sacred, divinely touched. One after another those cultures pass from the land, those faiths fade into memory, yet the spring remains. Time alters its outlines, changes the notes of its bubbling music, but it is never erased. Just as constant is the spring's attendant witch. Some have called her a fairy, others a ghost, some even believed her the spirit of the spring itself. She is part guardian, part caretaker, part priestess, called to serve and protect the spring until the end of her life when another will take her place. In return the spring grants its keeper a share in its power, an ever-renewing spark of energy from which the witch may always draw. Invigorated with its power the witch serves the spring, the land, and its people for ages beyond her own paltry mortal span. Her days are spent in purification and healing, easing pain, fostering the life of forest and field, and tending to the many pilgrims who come to her for aid or to partake in the spring's life-giving waters-- and in denying all such offerings to any who would threaten the spring or hoard its gifts.

[tyrannuspitch]

atom diagram and radiation symbol as mediaeval knotwork

[katiajewelbox]

Dynamic artwork from 100 years ago. I wonder if anyone has written an Escaflowne fanfic that involves jousting? Jousting with Guymelefs or the other exotic beast people ride on Gaea would be quite thrilling to behold.

Illustration from the book "The Boy's King Arthur", a retelling for young readers of Thomas Malory's Le Morte D' Arthur. Art by N. C. Wyeth , 1922.

[megadusa]

‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿

you're spinning me around

my feet are off the ground

I don't know where I stand

do you have to hold my hand?

...

divider made by me! reblog if u use it <3

[vox-anglosphere]

For its day, Ely Cathedral was a staggering architectural achievement.

Catedral de Ely U.K.

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

~ Averil Mary Burleigh, illustration for John Keats' poem "Ode on Melancholy" (1911)

via meisterdrucke

[vox-anglosphere]

Plantagenets

[esamastation]

Here's the prologue of what I'm currently writing which I'm calling

Gamer girl gets transmigrated into a farm boy Ao3 link

-

If you could choose a world to be isekaied into, you probably wouldn't choose the videogame Age of Tales. It's not that it's too dark or gritty or dangerous, quite the opposite. Age of Tales is boring.

It's a painfully generic mediaeval RPG with a very generic "farm boy becomes a hero" storyline. Or farmgirl, if you go that route. There's some moral choices, but overall the story is very linear from start to finish, and no matter how evil you try to play it, the game inevitably ends with the chosen farmboy (or girl) saving the world. Age of Tales has a very generic cast of characters with very generic backstories, even more generic villains with very basic evil plots, and side quests right out of early free to play mmorpgs. Overall the game is just very… mid.

It flopped within a week of being launched, deservedly so. It landed without a splash and was forgotten within the month, and its only saving grace was that at least it wasn't a live service and as such didn't have to go through the indignity of being shut down on top of being a failure. All in all, the game was a massive flop.

And Katie had sunk nearly six hundred hours into it. 

She would have explained the appeal, if she knew what it was. The weirdly cosy art design in a game where you eventually end up leading armies in hopeless battles? The character creator that let her create a beautiful two meter hundred kilo blue-eyed wall of muscle as her player character? The weird charm of 80' and 90's fantasy novels, as depicted by the game's story? The glitch that let her literally duplicate gold bars in the tutorial section? The way you can trip the big bad down a staircase if you just happen to fill the boss arena with chairs, benches and barrels?

Katie has hundred percented the game twice, found all known Easter eggs and best glitches, and she still couldn't say why she loved it so much. Why, even as Valthor the Vile generically monologues about how he would fill the world with darkness before the final boss fight, she's already planning to play the game again from the start.

Van the Valorous - as her character this time is called - met the big bad with a big sword in one hand and tall shield in the other, his build a pitch perfect Paladin this time. Katie has played through the final battle so many times that she knows all of Valthor's moves, and Van is fully leveled at 120, so the battle isn't exactly a challenge. She spends most of it admiring the battle arena and Valthor's design. He's a classic long-haired pretty boy, with a rapier and elaborate long coat with enormous shoulders. 

Valthor takes the coat off for the final phase of the battle, which Katie had always rather appreciated. She usually takes the opportunity to take Van's clothes off for the final round too, just for the aesthetic. It's not like Van needs the defence offered by clothing at that point anyway. 

"So this is what you have chosen," Valthor says on the screen. "These people, with their puny concerns and petty squabbles. You, who like me, could've been a God!"

Katie is offered a final choice of dialogue. "You are no God, Valthor - a devil, at most," Van says and points his sword at Valthor. "And your evil reign ends now!"

"Fine. Let's end it," Valthor answers, and off goes the coat in a completely unnecessary bit of theatrical dramatics. "Have at thee!"

Katie sighs fondly, a smile stretched wide on her face as she plays through the final disappointing mini game of quicktime prompts while on her screen two shirtless men slash bloodlessly at each other.

Valthor loses and falls down. "I had… such plans," he rasps, reaching towards Van. "I was going to bring peace…and prosperity…"

"And yet you brought only war and devastation," Van says and kneels beside his fallen enemy - now, mysteriously, clothed again in his armour and cape. "Your reign is over, Valthor. It's over."

"So it is," Valthor sighs and lets his head fall to the floor. "I wonder… What kind of reign will yours be… oh Valorous one…"

And so Valthor dies and the game ends with the victorious player character walking determinately towards the camera with cape billowing behind them in the most dissatisfying sequel bait ending Katie has ever seen. It's supposed to imply what happens next, how the player character, now a General and Saviour, would probably go on to take charge of the land left behind by Valthor or whatever. 

Of course, the game never got a sequel, but there's something endearing about how hopeful they were, making an ending like that. The developers really thought they did something there.

"Ten out of ten, premium trash," Katie sighs with pleasure. "Would not recommend to anyone - except me."

She skips through the final credits and back to the starting screen, intending to start a new game. Maybe this time she'd make Van look older - a huge grizzled old man playing the part of an innocent farm boy should be hilarious.

She stops before hitting [New Game], because the starting screen has changed. There's a new option there, one she's never seen before. 

[New Game��]

"What? I didn't know there was a New Game+," Katie mutters, confused. "Where was this the other times I finished the game, huh?" And why'd they use the infinity sign? Another of Age of Tales' weirdnesses?

Not sure if it would actually be any fun to play the game with a New Game+ but curious about what would actually transfer over with the save, Katie selects the [New Game∞]...

And is promptly sucked into her TV.

-

[Chapter 1>>]

-

Since some people were expressing interest, lmao. Still on a litrpg kick, pretty much everything I've tried to write lately has been litrpg. This one I'm more hopeful than the rest though. It has actual characters and stuff. Edit: replaced with version proofread by @nimadge, many thanks.

[vox-anglosphere]

Chesterfield

[gothiccharmschool]

Music recommendation!

Reposting Cher's "Sanctuary" catalog triggered a sense memory, and I realized many of you may not know about Mediaeval Baebes. Do you need music you to imagine yourself strolling through an enchanted forest at dusk? Do you need music that makes you feel like you're walking through a dusty archive of fairy tales and folklore? Go you want the aesthetic of Gregorian Chants, but more pagan? Go. Go forth and listen to the Mediaeval Baebes. They're wonderful.

[tutanchanup]

I am sad that there's no good contemporary depiction of Vlad III. Draculea with a beard, since he wore one, at least according to his own personal seal (surprising, right?!). But we only have images of him with the iconic moustache.

So I decided to make one myself :D

I used the style of mediaeval icons, inspired by the ones painted in Snagov Monastery, which is connected to Vlad III. As I am no master of this type of art, I used as a base the icon of st. Alexander Nevskij, since he's holding a sword. I also wanted to draw him with a crown, sice that is also on Vlad's seal.

For his face, I used the contemporary description of Vlad from an eye-witness, Niccolò Modrussa, who describes him with aquiline nose, green eyes, long, black curly hair and intimidating, bushy eyebrows. I also tried to imitate the shape of his face from the traditional depictions of Vlad, although these were probably made by people who might've never seen him (and they also depicted him as ugly as part of propaganda against him. It's funny how in the chronicles his enemies always describe him as ugly while his allies described him as beautiful :D).

I was surprised that none of these depictions paint the mentioned strong eyebrows, but then I found out that medieval paintings in general don't really focus on various shapes of eyebrows, they're always more or less the same, so my decision to paint them might be a little bit anachronistic :D

I hope no-one will be offended that I kept the hallo. It looks good aesthetically, and, to be honest, Vlad's cousin Stephen the Great was hallowed, and I feel that if Vlad's name hasn't been dragged through the mud by the horrible propaganda, he might've ended like that as well, as it seems he was quite loved by his people.

Enjoy!

And if you want to know more about the real Vlad III. Dracula, without the distortion of the sensational propaganda against him, I highly recommend the professional team Corpus Draculianum and their illustrious YouTube channel, where they talk about Vlad's fascinating life in engaging and enjoyable form:

The personal seal of Vlad III. Draculea depicting him with a beard and a crown, which I found thanks to Corpus Draculianum and which I used as a main inspiration:

I admit I changed the beard a bit to look more like the royal fashion, and, well, in a hardly preserved 500 year old wax seal there wasn't much room for details, so I took it with a grain of salt.

[katiajewelbox]

A master swordsman and a military general in Fanelia's army, Balgus Ganesha is a mentor figure to both Van and Allen in the anime Vision of Escaflowne. He's a great warrior and selflessly devoted to his country. Although he passes away early in the series in defence of his country, his memory continues to inspire the people he mentored.

My Picmix features an official animation still from the anime Vision of Escaflowne along with digital edits.

[vox-anglosphere]

Minster choristers rehearse beneath the recently restored Great Organ

York Minster

The Minster Choir returns!

We are delighted that our Vicars Choral and Choral Scholars are back with us tonight, following their summer break. A particular welcome to our new Choral Scholars, singing for the very first time with the Minster Choir. The music is rather fitting: 'The First Service' by our own Organist Emeritus, Philip Moore.