XCVII. St Anthimus, the Knight of the Holy Trinity

Part mummy, part bare skeleton. Encased in gilded plate armour bedecked with jewels. I haven't developed him much yet, but he will be a patron saint whose remains are thus embellished and venerated as a relic. Miraculous properties are associated with such relics. This practice is not uncommon, it occurs in different parts of the Empire. Each year, on St. Anthimus day a procession is held in his honour. Unlike statues, banners and other bones, the saint is not carried during the procession. He walks. That's all I know about him for now.

An inspiring sight for the faithful.

The Shield of  the Trinity.

The saint's eyes are a pair of rubies, and a golden halo encircles his head.

THE BUILD

The breastplate idea, with windows that show the ribcage underneath, came from the armoured skeleton of St Pancratius. I really enjoyed converting on this one.

 In order to make his pose more awkward and "shambly," I cut off his right leg and slightly repositioned it.

The shield comes from the Blightkings kit. Skulls and spikes had to go.

The rays of the halo are leaves of an etched brass fern.

THE INSPIRATION

St Anthimus was inspired by the catacomb saints phenomenon.

Catacomb saints are skeletons exhumed from catacombs on Vatican's command in order to be dressed up as relics of Catholic saints and sent to German, Austrian and Swiss towns. This was done in response to Protestant iconoclasm, starting in the 16th century and continuing through the 17th and further on. Even though they were presented as saints and clad in finery, gems and gold, the skeletons were in fact anonymous early Christians. Some of them might have been actual martyrs, though.

The skeletons are very visually striking. If you're interested in learning and seeing more, there is a book dedicated fully to catacomb saints: Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, by art historian and photographer Dr. Paul Koudounaris. More about his book in this ARTICLE.

Another source of catacomb saint images is a series of photographs by Toby de Silva. I cannot find the man's official website, but a quick Google search will get you to some more examples of his work.

Photograph by Toby de Silva.

Photograph by Toby de Silva.

Photograph by Paul Koudounaris.

Photograph by Paul Koudounaris.

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The Shield of the Trinity St Anthimus carries came into being when, rummaging through my bits, I found that Blightking shield. I really like that bit, and it instantly reminded me of this:

From Heraldry: Its Origins and Meaning, by M.Pastoureau.

This is the Shield of the Trinity, or the Shield of Faith. In the above image we can see it in the coat of arms of God from Medieval times, and this book is probably where I first encountered it. The Scutum Fidei is a diagram that visually expresses the doctrine of the Holy Trinity:

Making this an actual shield was a great opportunity for some freehand on the miniature. I had to adapt it a bit, due to lack of space in the shield's centre. There was no way I could comfortably fit Deus and three ests there, so I painted that part simplified: with the ests as simple lines. And the Deus got a place on Anthimus's belly plate.

Different versions of the diagram:

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The idea of these dead saints walking as a part of processions in their honor came from a ludicrous article I came across some time ago. This is probably not the exact text I read back then, but it says the same thing: LINK. Basically, is speaks of mummies in Indonesia actually walking to the place of their birth as a part of a funeral ritual, animated by magic of “a witch doctor”; and it presents this photograph as proof of the claim. The photograph in question is indeed real, but it documents a different sort of rite. Anyway, absurd as that story was, I immediately thought it was a pretty neat concept to adapt and use somehow in a fantasy setting.