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NikosBoukouvalas β Comicdom Project WIP 2 (Let's play a game)
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Published: 2019-03-11 21:46:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 2726; Favourites: 32; Downloads: 0
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UPDATE: This is part of a short comic of mine, which you can purchase here for 5β¬:Β gum.co/VbCWKLet's play a game. The first one to tell me which event of Byzantine History this page is about wins!
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Comments: 30
There were too many foreign invasions in Byznantine history, so it's not very obvious
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Time to ring some bells!
I wish I knew what this was.... It's one of those things I regret never knowing. But now you've got me looking. 
I love this comic page! Those guys on horseback don't stand a chance!
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Of course they don't xD
The answer is down in the comments. It's a story from Skylitzes. The protagonist was a priest named Themel.
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Alas, I can't see the images since the link is broken (at least on my computer, though clearly others can see it).
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Nevermind, I see it now!
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Themel Smash!!!!
But I guess beat me to it thought, so congrats to her!
This page works so good without needing a single word, especially the last 3 panels!
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That monk is about to kick ass and take some names...
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"I kick ass for the Lord!"
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Um ok, let me have a go: I think this might be the scene when Themel the priest defends his congregation from some marauding Arabs with a semantron (that said, I always thought that the point of a semantron is that it is not a bell?Β But then, I don't see how he would be able to use it to fight...so...I'm confused!)Β
Either way, I just LOVE the way you draw faces! Theyβre so expressive! And I do hope you will give us a glimpse of what happens next. Especially that if Iβm right, we are about to see some badassery!!!Β
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Dindindin!!! We have a winner!
Yeah, the semantron is actually a long piece of wood. But firstly, the word is now so strongly associated with bells (to everyday people at least) that portraying it accurately might be confusing to the audience and secondly, beating up people with a bell is far more creative that just using a long club.
As for how you would use it in a fight, it was said to be deadly in church brawls but truth be told, I can see the handle making it quite awkward to, erh...handle.
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Heh well wielding a heavy bell on a long chain would definitely look much more impressive! XD In my stories I have an Orthodox vampire-hunting nun who wields a heavy Thurible. .Β
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Sorry, I meant to comment but I replied to your comment instead!Β Β
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I don't remember learning about this event, but I like how the priest is going to use the bell as a weapon. Reminds me of how the Bishop of Chartres lead an mob of peasants to drive out an invading viking army.
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In the original source (Skylitzes) it was a semantron, so I kinda cheated.
The event is similar, though the priest's heroism wasn't so warmly received by the clergy later.Β
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Hm, I got nothing. Never heard of a Roman folktale about a bell-wielding priest.
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Well I kinda cheated, since it was a semantron in the original source (Skylitzes).
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Epic. ΞΞ±ΞΉ ΟΞ± ΟΟΟΟΟΟΞ± ΟΞ±Ξ½ΟΞ±ΟΟΞΉΞΊΞ¬!
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Ediacar Β : From you I expect you to tell me that
a) the semantron in question does not refer to the bell but to a long piece of wood.
b) that the event is probably bogus and didn't actually happen
c) something else I don't know that will make me feel inadequate
You will probably be right on all of the above though
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Hey! Are you implying that I am some sort of buzzkill?!
Hum... I won't forgive myself if I don't point it out so...
The iconostasis behind Themel... In the 10th century, they weren't a thing yet... Because they appeared around the 12th century... Before that they just used a templon with a curtain behind which occurred the "unbloody sacrifice" in the words of Skylitzes, so the faithfull couldn't actually see it... Yeah...
Sigh, when I'll stand before the judges of the infernal tribunal, the charge will probably go something like: "you are found guilty of being ATROCIOUSLY OBNOXIOUS AND BORING!!!!!!!!!".
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Woah, very interesting. This sort of just led me down a rabbit hole as I was looking into this more. 
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It is fascinating isn't it? ^^
It highlights a trend in the evolution of the Byzantine rites, with the rituals performed by the priests more and more hidden from the audience, for instance in the early centuries, the priests first stood in the diakonikon (in the south nave), then crossed the entire church to fetch the sacrament in the prothesis (in the north nave), then back again to finally reach the altar, so the worshipers were intimately integrated in the rite as the priests crossed their ranks several time. But later, the diakonikon and the prothesis were centered in the east apse and that's when templons start to appear to isolate even more the clergy until the eventual creation of the iconostasis.
It's especially interesting in regard to how things went back to the way they were back in pagan times, with the crowd forbidden to enter inside the more sacred part of the temples and actually witness the rites performed there, it's kinda like returning to your roots
(wow, so many ciboria! whish I knew of that article earlier for drawing refs for drawing byzantine throne rooms XP thanks!)
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Thanks! There is one scene in my comic for which these will prove useful.
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Wish I knew the part about the templon... Would be easier to draw
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