#portcullis

Sweethearts and Wives by Samuel Edmund Waller

Carl Grossberg (German, 1894-1940), Harburg Castle, Castle Gate with Portcullis, 1938. Watercolour and pen and India ink on laid paper, 49.8 × 40.2 cm.

Three hundred fifty years ago, from September 2 to 5, 1666, a catastrophic fire swept westward from Pudding Lane in the City of London along the course of the river Thames, before stopping just short of Whitehall Palace. By September 4, the fire had reached Ludgate, the westernmost gate of the old city. That moment is represented in this painting, which was made shortly after the Great Fire to commemorate the disaster. Ludgate is consumed by fire while the medieval St. Paul’s Cathedral burns in the distance. The diarist John Evelyn described the destruction of Old St. Paul’s in apocalyptic terms: “the stones of St. Paul's flew like [grenades], the melting lead running down the streets in a stream, and the very pavements glowing with fiery redness, so as no horse nor man was able to tread on them.”

Vajdahunyad Castle, Budapest, 1942. From the Budapest Municipal Photography Company archive.

Elden Ring

The portcullis raises and "The Prince" rides forth in full plate on a scaled draconic horse. His winged helmet and glowing red eyes are reminiscent of Warduke, though the Prince seems to predate the official D&D toy & cartoon character by at least 2 years. (Don Greer, Down in the Dungeon, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1981)

loose approximations of how my old character Portcullis would look according to my current style/taste. His horns are a pain to freehand but fun to draw at the same time