Lombard Trial by Sunstare by EthicallyChallenged on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

EthicallyChallenged on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/ethicallychallenged/art/Lombard-Trial-by-Sunstare-514382023EthicallyChallenged

Deviation Actions

Published: Feb 16, 2015

Description

The illustration depicts a spearman, an officer and an archer of the Lombard army that conquered and ruled Italy. As per their tradition, the ability to lead was determined by the titular Trial by Sunstare. The candidate was made to look directly into the sun. If he managed not to sneeze, he was deemed a competent and worthy commander. Other factors were not considered, as was the case of the officer depicted here. In spite of not being able to locate the sun by himself (the spearman has to point it out for him), he managed not to sneeze and was thus considered an excellent leader.

Image size

848x1200px 1.13 MB

Amazing work! Love the historical details.