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Markgrafin Henrike von Onolzbach of Kaiserreich

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Description

A Concept Drawing of a Carolingian Southern German (Bavaria/Swabia) Woman Warrior in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited, which is roughly based on the Middle ages covering 800s AD to 1400s AD. She represents the powerful duchy of Bavaria and to a lesser extend, Swabia, though technically speaking, the representation fits better for east-francia during the Carolingian era of 8th-9th century.

Follow me at facebook for wips, sketches and other historically related works :) (Smile)

Inspired by the Music: Legends of Destiny by Audiomachine


INTRODUCTION

The dynasty founded by Charlemagne was one of the most prestigious in the european history, if not one of the most powerful during the middle ages. It was in this era that Germania proper was united under a single ruler, Charlemagne, who ruled the Carolingian empire which covered modern day France, Germany and many of its neighbors. However, a large empire meant that it has a large border to protect from its neighboring foes, something that was plenty during the reign of Carolingian dynasty. One of the most region that saw many battles fought was southern germany, who shared borders with Italy to the south, as well as being one of the most picked target for incursions from the people that settled in carpathian basin, starting with the Avars, Moravia and later on, the Hungarians. It was in this turbulent era that the Duchy of Bavaria was born in early 10th century, filled with brave and warlike Bavarian that saw countless of battle fought in and outside their homeland for the next millenia.


DRAWING COMMENTARIES

The creation of this drawing is one of the most lengthy process that I have encountered during the making of the HWS series. It is the final representation of the various Germanic culture in the medieval world and as such, I wanted to portray one unlike any other in the series. After long brainstorming and discussion, I settled for the Carolingian era, which is technically part of the medieval history, one where southern Germany faced many battles against both internal and external foes.

Unfortunately, it's been more than a month since I completed my last drawing, so i think i might be a bit rusty with my skill. Nevertheless, it's a good refreshing start on my artistic hobby, since I have been really under pressure and a lot of stress from the new job =P

Meanwhile, One of the biggest challenge was depicting the army during the Age of Charlemagne, since historical pictures are pretty rare. Though mail armor would have probably been common in those time, the reconstructions of the helmets and weapons are based on mix match sources from both Byzantine, Italian and Roman fashion. This can be clearly seen in the drawing of Henrike von Onolzbach, a powerful lady of the southern march of the empire. Her helmet is a richly adorned modified version of the german spangehelm, with the exclusion of nose guard. The decorated cloak/cape is typical germanic fashion which was common amongst the german nobility and even in the depiction of Charlemagne himself. On the other hand, her mail hauberk is typical of the 8th-9th century, while her weapons are based on the ones found in Western Francia.

Her retainers behind are dressed in similar fashion, though the one that is holding a stylized banner is depicted in a scale armor, possibly of eastern/Muslim influence from Iberia/Sicily or trades. Overall, there's plenty of stylization with the drawing, but I'm pretty confident that I have done justice with the improvisation :D


REFERENCES AND OTHER RELATED MEDIA


Maybe related to the following:

The Magyars/Hungarians Haraszt-Hazi Orsolya of Karpati Kiralysag (Magyar) by Gambargin, the Bohemians (Czech) Zdislava of Velke Kravlotsvi (Bohemia) by Gambargin, And Other Germans Herzogin Agnes von Bamberg of Ostarrichi (Austria) by Gambargin, Reichsfrau Oda von Meissen of Kaiserreich (German) by Gambargin

A Part of the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited - You can find more on the various faction on the map here:

HWS Medieval Revisited - Faction Map v.1.32 by Gambargin



Image size
2800x4019px 3.13 MB
Shutter Speed
1/14 second
Aperture
F/2.2
Focal Length
5 mm
© 2015 - 2024 Gambargin
Comments14
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ugiel's avatar
Hm, although You highlighted that she's a German, she actually reminds me Slavic warriors from the 10th-11th century.