# Can anyone tell me what is depicted in this picture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783 "2011-08-06T23:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/1 "2011-08-06T23:23:41Z")
[http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262910\_2063495424833\_1168147687\_31973695\_110770\_n.jpg](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262910_2063495424833_1168147687_31973695_110770_n.jpg) rather, who is depicted and what event ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/2 "2011-08-06T23:28:26Z")
I’m guessing it’s the loser in a fencing match and they’re checking for a heartbeat to see if he’s still alive. Or rather then one with his ear to the guy’s chest are. The other 5 I’d guess are probably either praying for him or giving him his last rights. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/3 "2011-08-06T23:43:19Z")
Everyone but the dead guy looks like their wearing religious garb, so I would guess it wasn’t a duel. My very first thought was “Paul – on the road to…” except I don’t know where he was going to. And I don’t think he died, and I don’t think he was strolling with monks. I’m going with one set of travelers coming upon the victim of a robbery. I’ll give it some more thought. But it cries out “biblical”. ---
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/4 "2011-08-06T23:46:21Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Everyone but the dead guy looks like their wearing religious garb, so I would guess it wasn’t a duel. > > My very first thought was “Paul – on the road to…” except I don’t know where he was going to. And I don’t think he died, and I don’t think he was strolling with monks. > > I’m going with one set of travelers coming upon the victim of a robbery. I’ll give it some more thought. But it cries out “biblical”. That’s what I was thinking. Anachronistic clothing would not rule out a Biblical theme, I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/5 "2011-08-07T00:13:05Z")
The guy on the right appears, from his haircut, to be monk, and is holding a rosary. I think that pretty much rules out a Biblical subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/6 "2011-08-07T00:14:42Z")
And I get a “new testament” rather than “old testament” vibe. Everybody would have been more beardy in the OT. FYI, if you drag the image into the google image search box, it will show you “visually similar” images. It is the worst search outcome ever, including a closeup of a mongrel dog, some kind of monkeys, a WWI photo, etc. Just terrible comparisons! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/7 "2011-08-07T00:18:40Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The guy on the right appears, from his haircut, to be monk, and is holding a rosary. I think that pretty much rules out a Biblical subject matter. Jeez, I would think it would rule it in, but maybe I’m thinking of later times – when was Saint Francis on the road? How much does the new testament go after the death of Jesus? Perhaps the better term for what I’m thinking would be “christian storytelling and myth building times”. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/8 "2011-08-07T00:24:03Z")
The title of the work is “One More Highwayman Regrets His Decision to Ambush the Brothers Of Saint Norris.” ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/9 "2011-08-07T00:25:19Z")
my first thought before reading the thread was a scene from the story of the good samaritan ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/10 "2011-08-07T00:32:56Z")
Paul (Or rather, Saul, as Paul was his christian name and he hadn’t converted yet) was on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared in a shaft of light and exclaimed, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” and struck him blind. Traditionally, Saul is described as being thrown off his horse at this point so I doubt the picture describes that situation. The clothing, monastics and religious accoutrements makes me think it’s medieval and probably a depiction of a saint. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/11 "2011-08-07T00:40:34Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Jeez, I would think it would rule it in, but maybe I’m thinking of later times – when was Saint Francis on the road? Much later times. Monasticism (with the tonsure and everything) originates in about the 6th century AD. [St Francis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi) lived from about 1181-1226 AD. Friars (and he may actually be a friar rather than a monk) originated in about the 12 or 13th century AD. The Christians of New Testament times were not monks or friars, and did not dress or cut their hair like monks or friars (neither did they use rosaries). Most later artists would probably have realized this. Something about the picture did make me think of St Francis, but I am not sure why. In any case, it is almost certainly some medieval event that is depicted. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > How much does the new testament go after the death of Jesus? Maybe a decade or three. It pretty much covers Paul’s lifetime, and Paul died in about 67 AD. _Revelations_ may have been written a bit later, but it is prophecy. It does not even pretend to describe events that have already actually happened. Something about the picture did make me think of St Francis, but I am not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/12 "2011-08-07T00:44:33Z")
It’s a little known fact that St Francis is the patron saint of repetitive speaking. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/13 "2011-08-07T00:54:50Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The guy on the right appears, from his haircut, to be monk, and is holding a rosary. From the [black and white robes](http://www.opne.org/images/Dominicans%20at%20the%20Cross%20House%20of%20Studies.jpg), and the [tonsures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsure) on two of them, they are [Dominican monks.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order) That puts the date of the event after 1216. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/14 "2011-08-07T00:57:14Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Paul (Or rather, Saul, as Paul was his christian name and he hadn’t converted yet) was on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared in a shaft of light and exclaimed, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” and struck him blind. Traditionally, Saul is described as being thrown off his horse at this point so I doubt the picture describes that situation. The clothing, monastics and religious accoutrements makes me think it’s medieval and probably a depiction of a saint. I agree with this , but while the time depicted in the drawing may well be medieval, it was drawn much later, The three dimensionality and shadowing make me think it is at least renaissance and maybe post-renaissance. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/15 "2011-08-07T00:58:24Z")
That would be Dominican _friars_. Francis does not seem to have died violently, so it isn’t him lying there. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I agree with this , but while the time depicted in the drawing may well be medieval, it was drawn much later, The three dimensionality and shadowing make me think it is at least renaissance and maybe post-renaissance. Ah, good point. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’s a little known fact that St Francis is the patron saint of repetitive speaking. 😛 Poor editing, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/16 "2011-08-07T01:10:58Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I agree with this , but while the time depicted in the drawing may well be medieval, it was drawn much later, The three dimensionality and shadowing make me think it is at least renaissance and maybe post-renaissance. I’m sorry, yes I meant that the scene looked medieval. I haven’t the foggiest idea of when the picture itself may date from. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/17 "2011-08-07T01:12:34Z")
Keep in mind that just because the figures are wearing medieval clothing doesn’t mean it’s a medieval scene. Artists often use anachronistic contemporary fashions for historical subjects. So it could be King Saul, who committed suicide by stabbing himself with a sword: > [@](#): > > Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul. The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together. - 1 Samuel 31 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/18 "2011-08-07T01:16:46Z")
The sword is not period for the New Testament. Too modern. That cup handle & crosspiece guard gives it away. Might be a screwed-up version of a Biblical picture, though. Artist that didn’t do his research. ---
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/19 "2011-08-07T01:30:48Z")
We should note that historical accuracy was not paramount for artists of different eras. It was common to portray people of ancient times in contemporary clothing. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783/20 "2011-08-07T01:31:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Keep in mind that just because the figures are wearing medieval clothing doesn’t mean it’s a medieval scene. I agree. For example, in Campin’s Merode Altarpiece, the Annunciation to Mary has Mary as a medieval Dutch girl. Saint Joseph appears to be at work in Amsterdam or some other medieval European city. > **[File:Robert Campin - L' Annonciation - 1425.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Campin_-_L%27_Annonciation_-_1425.jpg)** > > Wie im rechten Flügel des Altars gut zu sehen, erreicht der Maler hier die Tiefenwirkung u.a. durch den Ausblick auf einen Marktplatz. > This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. > This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. > Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-is-depicted-in-this-picture/591783.md?page=2)