For an English translation of ‘Inferno, canto XIII’, translated by the Rev. H. F. Cary, see: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dante/d19he/canto13.html
]]>This photographic artwork by Australian artist Fiona Hall belongs to a series titled ‘Illustrations to Dante’s Divine Comedy’. It is held by The National Gallery of Australia and depicts a scene from canto XIII of Dante Alighieri’s ‘Inferno’, the first part of his famous medieval Italian poem The Divine Comedy. Written between 1308 and 1321, The Divine Comedy tells of Dante’s journey through hell, purgatory and paradise respectively, guided at first by the Roman poet Virgil and then by his ideal woman, Beatrice. In canto XIII, Dante and Virgil descend into the second ring of the seventh circle of hell, where people who committed suicide were cast. They come across a thorny, tangled forest of gnarled trees that bleed and cry in pain when they are broken. One of the trees, who identifies himself as Pier della Vigna, a prominent figure at the imperial court of Frederick II, explains to Dante that people like himself who committed suicide were sent by Minos to the wood where they would grow into trees, all the while being wounded by harpies (half woman/half-bird creatures) who would tear and feast on their leaves. They are then disturbed by the sight of two figures running frantically through the forest. The slower of the two, subsequently identified as Giacomo of Sant’ Andrea, takes refuge in a bush, only to be pounced upon by a number of black female mastiffs who ‘rent him piecemeal’.
For an English translation of ‘Inferno, canto XIII’, translated by the Rev. H. F. Cary, see: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dante/d19he/canto13.html
The logo for the group is a heraldic lion rampant on a shield, and their website features images from medieval illuminated manuscripts.
For their website see http://www.knightsorderlionrampant.com/index.html
]]>Knights Order of Lion Rampant is a living history group based in the Brisbane suburb of Lutwyche. The group were founded in 1991 and focus on the culture of chivalry, especially that surrounding tournaments, that existed in western and central Europe at the end of the fourteenth century. Although there is a focus on the clothes, weapons, and combat associated with tournaments, the group also engage in other activities and have staged a Latin Mass and conducted research into medieval cosmetics. They have also collaborated with the Queensland Museum and The Abbey Museum on a museum exhibition. Knights Order of Lion Rampant performs at various Queensland events.
The logo for the group is a heraldic lion rampant on a shield, and their website features images from medieval illuminated manuscripts.
For their website see http://www.knightsorderlionrampant.com/index.html
For their website see http://www.eslitedcorps.com/index.html
For more information on their founder see http://www.sirjustyn.com/home.htm
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Eslite d’ Corps: Premier 14th C Reenactment are a living history group based in the outer Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe North. The group were founded in 2006 and are headed by ‘Sir Justyn Webb’. Eslite d’ Corp is based on a quote attributed to the courtier composer Guillaume de Machaut to King Philip VI of France, advising him to only accept the best men into his army for the war against Edward III of England. The group concentrate on the period 1340-1380 and re-create the art, combat, music, costume, craft, dance, food, and tournaments of that era. Eslite d’ Corps perform at various Queensland events.
For their website see http://www.eslitedcorps.com/index.html
For more information on their founder see http://www.sirjustyn.com/home.htm
For more on the artist, see Simon Reynolds, ‘Riviere, Briton (1840–1920)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35766].
]]>This oil on canvas painting by English artist Briton Rivière was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales (from the artist) in 1897-1898. Completed in 1888, it depicts an armoured medieval knight lying supine on top of a wooden bed and blue floral-patterned bedspread while a dog (usually identified as a bloodhound) gazes up at him. A wreath on the knight’s chest suggests that he is dead, as does the title of the painting: “Requiescat”. Based on the role of the requiem mass in Catholic burial rites, the term “requiescat” (which literally means "rest") refers to a prayer for the repose of the dead, as expressed in the common epitaph “rest in peace”. The knight in this painting is wearing a chain mail byrnie (or hauberk) and various pieces of plate armour, including a breastplate, pauldrons to protect the shoulders, rerebraces and vambraces on his arms, cuisses, poleyns and greaves on his legs and metal shoes known as sabatons. Plate armour began to replace mail armour from the fourteenth century.
For more on the artist, see Simon Reynolds, ‘Riviere, Briton (1840–1920)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35766].
The group is named after Rognvald Ingvarson, a commander of the Varangian Guard (who fought for the Byzantine Empire) from Sweden. The club’s banner is based on the serpent design of a eleventh-century runic inscription in Uppsala that Rognvald had made. Their website includes photographs of the runestone, as well as other designs based on Viking Art, including the ‘gripping-beast’ motif.
For their website see http://www.rognvaldslith.com/
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Rognvald’s Lith: Lismore Medieval Re-enactment Society is a re-enactment group founded in 2003 and based in Lismore, New South Wales. The group concentrate on the period 700-1200 and such peoples as Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Rus, and Vikings. Combat and weapon training with swords, spears, axes, staves, shields, javelins, archery, chain mail, and helmets is carried out. Rognvald’s Lith (Rognvald’s troop) do public performances, including educational performances for schools.
The group is named after Rognvald Ingvarson, a commander of the Varangian Guard (who fought for the Byzantine Empire) from Sweden. The club’s banner is based on the serpent design of a eleventh-century runic inscription in Uppsala that Rognvald had made. Their website includes photographs of the runestone, as well as other designs based on Viking Art, including the ‘gripping-beast’ motif.
For their website see http://www.rognvaldslith.com/