xverde999

  Annotations: 1. Position of the Praipositos and Magistros The text states, “The emperor instructs the praipositos and the magistros,” but does not specify whether they stand on the terrace or on the stairs with the senators. In this reconstruction, I placed them beside the emperor on the terrace so that he could give them instructions directly. 2. Divetesia and Parade Leggings Those to be invested as Caesars are described as wearing divetesia and parade leggings. Since the leggings would be concealed beneath the divetesia, I depicted only the straight-cut outer garments. 3. Number of Caesar Candidates For simplicity, I chose to depict only one candidate for investiture as Caesar.

With Imperial Prince completed, the next arc of Palaiologos Interlude will be Morea! The Morea arc will cover more than twenty years, from 1426 to 1449, when Constantine XI became emperor.  Before I start drawing the new arc, I'd like to share some character designs, sketches, architecture studies, and setting illustrations over the next few weeks. Constantine's costume design was partly inspired by the 1987 Greek film DOXOBUS  (ΔΟΞΌΜΠΟΥΣ), which is set during the Palaiologan period of the Byzantine Empire. You can find the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNltSQ875Ac

 

 

Annotations: 1.I have depicted an antimension rather than a fixed stone altar for the portable altar used in the ceremony. The exact form of the portable altar used in this Byzantine ceremony is uncertain. 2. The design of the Caesar’s crown is based on the depiction of John Doukas’s Caesar crown on a Byzantine seal. Source: Dumbarton Oaks, BZS.1958.106.3635.  https://www.doaks.org/resources/seals/byzantine-seals/BZS.1958.106.3635 3.The text repeatedly refers to the “rulers” and later explicitly mentions the senior and junior emperors. I therefore included the co-emperor from this point onward.