Nikiforos

Looks just perfect in miniature, Steven. Take a bow.

Thank you, druxey. I wanted to pay tribute to those, contemporary or otherwise, who risk their lives rebuilding after catastrophes such as this particular earthquake or the 2004 Tsunami of Bandar Aceh and similar. Joao is bringing Maria home and he'll need to rely on all manner of nautical details provided by yourself and others because I can scarcely tell the difference between a yacht and battleship. But dioramas, I know. This won't be a complete diorama; rather a funerary boat in a handy 1/25th scale as per AL's San Juan de Nepomuceno's auxiliary 'water vehicle' : )

Setting the scene for the build... = "Maria de Melo", born 15th February 1732, died 1st November 1755 in Lisboa, Portugal in the earthquake of that year. She left behind a sole, elder brother, Joao de Melo. ===

About the coffin. I'd like to do it, on reflection. Let's call the Captain of a merchant vessel Joao. It is the winter of 1755, a couple of weeks after the disaster. Joao has been told that his sister Maria perished in a certain place, her remains have been found and he sails his barge (?) into the Tagus to locate her and give her a Christian burial at the family Estate. He brings with him a coffin quickly bought for this grizzly task as he is a man of money. He is going to fit his coffin onto the barge and sail to his merchant ship. On his barge he has a bell for alerting others of his presence, the coffin shrouded in black nets and flowers (old flowering spikes of the Pelargonium spp. work well for this). His barge could carry a mark for authorisation such as 'negócio oficial' Ne O Which is sensible to me because of allusion of rebirth, 'Neo', new. Keanu Reeves notwithstanding. Now, this is something very morbid, irregular and so on. I intend it to be a dedication not just to those who lost their lives during the seismological event in Portugal and Morocco, but to those who risked disease and deprivation mopping up. Comments sought and welcomed. The build starts this Sunday, after a trip to Penzance (YARR!) hope to share some images at that time. Salut. Edit: Just noticed the nice silk period Spanish jack, above, in the box. There shouldn't be that narrow black edging between yellow and red, AL. But you should know this instead. "Ensign 1506-1670s, thereafter Jack until 1785" (source Flags of the World). If anyone knows different for a merchant jack of the period (blue saltire with white burgundy cross etc.) PLEASE let me know. Thanks.

Sir, there can be no doubt. There is a danger in the modern times that we may lose the greatest architectural testament to, and by, the later Roman Empire via transformation by decree. Every new work of art, and Steven's dromon will be such, meticulously researched and detailed, offsets in some way the erasing and/or forgetting of a 1123 year Empire of Saints and Devils alike that shielded Europe so that it could cherish its own ways and customs. Now I really can sense the moderator's sword of justice being swung. Apologies. Regards,

Yes, thank you for your fascinating link; we wonder is there anywhere on earth so used to near-annhilation, decade after decade, century after century. You tell people about Armenia and they reply "where?". There is so much to write but nothing to forget. Anyway, a moderator will surely come and righteously bop me with the sword of retribution if I derail your post again. Thy dromon shalt carry the 'E' banner with 5 tails, red blue red blue red or similar at thy discretion, and lo! so it was.

Brilliant... : )

With your Lego foreman, you can't go wrong. Hilarious. And you have a plan to work from; I bought two AL kits to start and neither have scale plans. Looking forward to see how you -both- get on in the weeks ahead : )

"Bury the dead and heal the living" -- Marquês de Pombal. === From: http://www.lisbon-and-portugal.com/1755-lisbon-earthquake.html "The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake Devastation The 1755 Lisbon earthquake ...was a catastrophe of the highest order, featuring violent shaking, spreading fires and even a giant tsunami. Because Lisbon was an important cultural, economical and political centre at the time, there is a great deal of information about the quake. Indeed, although (obviously) there are no earthquake photos of the Lisbon earthquake, there are a great deal of depictions of the event in carvings, paintings and drawings of the time. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake left an indelible impression upon the minds of the mid-18th Century. The Lisbon Earthquake and its Impact On November 1st, a great shaking was felt by people in many countries. A great quake, located in the Atlantic ocean, shook a great deal of the land area in Western Europe and North Africa. The earthquake was felt in France, Italy and Switzerland, as well as in Algiers and Morocco. It was Lisbon, however, that was hit most brutally. Not only was the violence of the earth’s upheaval felt, but fires broke out. Great fires raged through Lisbon for five days. Additionally there were many waves, and even a (huge) tsunami. The Lisbon earthquake is thought to be among the most violent in history: estimates measure it at about a 9.0. Even though there were no seismographs available at the time, there is evidence from Finland (and Cornwall, England) that the quake was felt even there. Therefore, the 9.0 seems a likely estimate." ==== I've been making models for many years. Until recently always in plastic, almost always ww2 soviet trucks and ww2 soviet aircraft, GAZ + ZiS and Shturmovik builds respectively in each category were just the fashion. But once fallen out of love for a given subject, what comes afterward? Well, in my case I saw on the interwebs a Sardegna-Piemontese galliot, built from beautiful woods and unpainted except for the splashes of colour offered by those beautiful deep blue and red pennants or ensigns. I'm going to do this build 'backwards' in the sense that here's a particular naval flag, so (Included image by Santiago Dotor and Antonio Martins-Tuvalkin) paraded by Portuguese 'coasters' of the 18th Century and beyond. Certainly just after the time of Lisboa's horrific earthquake of 1755, I'm sure utility boats similar to ALs 'San Juan de N's boat (AL says 'water vehicle'...) could have been used in terms of medical and practical relief, locally, under this flag for such a disaster. If they didn't, well, let us conspiratorially pretend otherwise but we can be sure human kindness prevailed. So that's the idea; take ALs San Juan de N boat and firstly researching what sort of outright or smaller modifications might a similar Portuguese small vessel of the day have, if any. Then onwards with the cold sharp Stanley knife and lashings of stinky wood filler and AL brass-coated nails like mediaeval pikes. Fill her with barrels of water, textiles to the brim. The occupant of this ship intends to save lives (I've considered a roughly constructed coffin, but rejected the idea; its too disrespectful). I have generic miniature modelling skills in plastic and brass but this carpentry thing ...well... this build will really be by a newb for other newbies to think upon. Hopefully useful too : ) I think that the green 5 striped flag with the Royal CoA is exactly right for the period(> 1700AD); given that I've already considered the idea of an Avis Cross or Order of Jesus flag to adorn the vessel but right now, the CoA on green and white (there are both red and blue equivalents too) looks appropriate, with or without the CoA. Bear in mind some Portuguese vessels of the day merely carried the mark or device of his sponsor, municipality or Company. I might change my mind about which to use, as ever. Contributions to this particular discussion are encouraged! I've taken onboard the wise advice offered by the sticky about 'walk first, run later' when choosing my very first build log -- and this litle boat seems perfect in that regard. (My AL sanbuq or dhow has no scale plans and the glossy, oddly translated instructions filmed with a weird fish-eye lens which can -and is- tripping this newbie up a bit, especially at the bow). The emphasis will be on fun too. I recall the days when soviet ww2 aircraft camouflage caused a humongous flame-war because of one man's publication on the subject. He proposed colour A, which I very carefully followed for an Ilyushin. The internet erupted and cried No! Colour B! The fun soon disappeared. What is the point if you're not having fun? If this little boat isn't museum perfect, that'll be fine to me. I am sorry. Please do accept my further apologies if you're one of the many seasoned craftspersons here on these boards. This *will* seem trivially basic and dull to you, but recall this is for entry level beginners such as myself. Corrections and bitter chastisements always appreciated -- especially from vexillologists. Thanks for reading. According to Alexander Justice, Dominions and Laws of the Sea (London 1705) Alegoria ao Terramoto de 1755, João Glama Strobërle.

Oh well. Now you can be sure. Dayglo Orange and Purple with the ciphers of the forever-blessed Dandolo and baby Paleologus somewhere. You know, I'm reminded of the Cilician-Armenian 'middle ground' for a pertinent device (Habit: Sasanian and Roman used Armenia as somewhere to measure how much blood can be spilled. Anyway, they, Rubinids, had ports only in the 12th Century, a bit late. Very latin, as per their allegiances. Your cross examples wouldn't look out of place maybe. Just a silly thought. I think by now you've decided a very good direction to go despite fantasy interruptions). Ռուբինեաններ Ouch. That's huge. Sorry.

Steven, just grabbed a copy of Byzantium: Treasures of Byzantine Art and Culture from British Collections ISBN-10: 071410566X that accompanied an Exhibition at some point. Scanning through for the first time, in a particular section it is thought that crosses of a particular style were considered this or that level of 'unacceptable' due to its role in crucifixion. However, the essay ss at first in a subsection of the study of earlier ERE. If there's anything similar in the later sections, I'll bring it to your attention, hopefully using a proper desktop computer, for Pete's sake \o/ Regardless, general perception could be important to you; for better or worse you might decide some variations seem too Latin for your dromon. Apologies for any presumption.

Hm, that last. I see Iberian or saintly Knights of Aviz or similar. But I've seen it represent 'The Morea' in very strange places too. Otherwise, your choice looks to be absolutely ... Roman. : ) (High praise).

I think a secure source of the murex snail industry might have been demanded by any Emperor worth his salt, if you'll forgive the pun, much like the tiny sources of Porphyry (Sinai) were intensely guarded or coveted. Lesser 'tyrian' was the posession of lesser Romans, I think. But maybe the sultans closed off those sources as political acts in the period of your dromon -- but Islam was always the traders' friend at least, unlike Mazdayasnan Iran in earlier times (see Fourth Estate) for example. As for a banner -- suggestion: an 'E-streamer' of red, blue, red, blue, red (or suchlike) at the main mast as seen multiple times in your linked document. Perhaps the swiss-style cross at the hoist of it. Btw. Look! Neon purple pronoia!

Steven, thank you for the link; worth the 1.2 Gb download : ) I believe whatever we do, we have to move away from -and ignore- the idea of 'heraldry' and (neon purple!) national flags as per recent popular video games and the like; honestly I don't think you capable of such a crime : ) Sound knowledge may become further vital, if for example, a certain World Heritage museum beyond value becomes a singular place of worship, as is threatened again. (I wonder what a 'Third Rome' would make of this transformation?) Passions aside, I thank you for your fastidious studies. Looking forward to your next installment.

Steven. You already decided. (Our 'hellenic' paradox Laskaris friend was an example). Aaand... there it is again; we see the red blue combination "E-streamers' (you see it on depictions of Imperial thrones on occasion) displayed in your chosen image. Interesting; will try to collect as many examples as I can of this phenomenon as I hadn't seen this image before. (Its even illustrated in modern graphical design depictions, including below, with true artistic license. I hope Fokas' siege image is somehow helpful too) Sincere apologies for side-tracking your train of thought in your project. But the Imperator should have something visible. From any distance (and any decoy when present). But what? This may be irrelevant to your project, of course. Have a fruitful week, Steven : )

Remarkable. An amazing thread to be sure. I'm getting emotional! ; ) I realise this topic could (or could not) be someway away but I am keen to see your choice of 'standard bearing' devices, such as flags, banners, colour of the sail and similar. We all know that later Rome more or less rejected what the West calls heraldry, but some of the later Emperors used their famous familial 'crests' (example: Theodoros Laskaris' dark two headed eagle on a yellow background) but on naval vessels, I am unsure. Perhaps Orthodox ikon imagery. It'll be interesting to find out if you make any given choice, at your discretion. Its certainly a confusing topic. (Btw red-hued (murex etc) sails for 'admiral or "nobilty" aboard' is something I am very unsure about but has been mentioned elsewhere.) Salut

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Firedog. Embracing a hobby and falling quite in love with that hobby can help work miracles. My cancer diagnosis in 2013 near broke us, but reading, good music and lots of model-making took the sting out a good bit. Looking forward to your contributions, sir.

Masterful in reasoning and execution, Steven. After Gibbon's hatchet job on the later Roman Empire, it's work like yours -complete with exquisite period details - that helps us 'rehabilitate' the ERE. Congratulations. Now for something -anything -more somewhere on how their mortal foes the Sasanid Shahs did it all of this - there's so little info in the west!