Krampus

The Krampus is a dark companion figure who accompanies Saint Nicholas during his midwinter rounds in Alpine regions and countries that were part of the former Habsburg Empire.

Krampus, 2015

There are a number of alternative names for Krampus, including Klaubauf, Bartl, Pelzebock, Gumphinckel, Schmutzli, Tuifl, and Ganggerl among numerous local variations. The feminine form of Krampus is said to be Krampa.

On Krampusnacht (December 5), Krampus visits each household to punish bad children by lashing them with a whip or rute, while for the Feast of St. Nicholas (December 6), Saint Nicholas rewards good children with treats.

Krampus also carries a sack or basket to carry off disobedient children to administer more serious consequences.

Greetings from Krampus!

Various theories on the roots of the Krampus myth propose a pagan origin. Some stories claim he is the son of Hel (a modern confabulation?), while others hypothesize he is derived from Cernunnos, Vidadus, or Silvanus.

Stephen Winick in a post at the Library of Congress Blog, dismisses these claims of pagan origin, and suggests Krampus legends come from medieval morality or miracle plays.

British Library Add MS 47682

Rituals involving the Krampus are said to have developed from pagan winter rites like Klaubaufgehen or Rauhnächten which involved masked figures dressed in furs boisterously making a clammor with bells and chains to disperse evil spirits or usher out winter and the previous year.

These evolved into celebrations where figures costumed as St. Nicholas and one or more Krampusse parade through town to visit homes and businesses. A good article on this tradition can be found at earthstoriez.

In modern days, people engage in Krampuslauf and Krampus Balls. The former involves a procession of Krampusse running through the streets in Krampus costumes while the later appears to be some sort of modern Krampusnacht celebration.

From what I understand,these celebrations can get quite rowdy in Europe, with onlookers being swatted with whips and ruten. I imagine that the Krampuslauf in the U.S. is commercialized and much more tame, but I couldn't say for sure.

Regardless, Dark Alliance has released Modern Krampus sets in 1/72 scale, and I was able to order Set 2.

The set consists of four sprues of figures in ten poses. They appear as the type of Krampus one might find at a Krampuslauf, but are armed with ill-kept medieval-style weapons.

Unlike the traditional Krampus that serves as a deterrent to bad behavior, these Krampusse appear to be on a crusade to eliminate anyone who commits apostasy against the spirit of Christmas.

The figures are actually rather reminescent of the old Heritage Lord of the Rings orcs, or maybe could be used as bugbears for those who don't have a use for an army of Krampusse.

A Modern Krampus Set 1 that includes a figure of Saint Nicholas is also supposed to exist, but I have yet to see it being sold anywhere.

It would have been nice if there was a figure that looked like the Krampus from the 2015 film.

Ten Little Indians

Just a short post showing the size of the Strelets Comanche Warriors set (M166).

My overall impression is not dissimilar to what PSR says with respect to the sculpting, but these figures are very undersized.

PSR claims they average 22mm in height, but they don't mention that the bases are 3–4mm thick.

Very disappointing.

The Dragon and the George

The Cult of Saints emerged in Christiandom during the 3rd century. Saints were seen as examplars of behavior, and capable of interceding on the behalf of believers for divine favor.

In the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, military saints became popular objects of veneration due to being viewed as protectors. Among these, were four dragon-slaying saints that represented the triumph of Christianity over heresy/evil.

The earliest attribution of dragon-slayer is usually given to St. Theodore [Tyro]. A second [later] St. Theodore is also said to have slain a dragon (or serpent), with both events having occured near Euchaita.

St. Demetrius is yet another dragon-slaying saint, though I think his iconography is more associated with killing Tsar Kaloyan [whom I presume was considered a heretic for opposing Constantinople].

Occasionally, the figure being slain is
misrepresented (purposely?) as Lyaeus,
who was actually killed by St. Nestor.

In Bulgarian folk tales, St. Demetrius and St. George were said to be twins. Their origin legend is similar to later fairy tales like The Knights of the Fish, with Demetrius saving George from a dragon.

The narrative of St. George as the sole dragon-slayer solidified in the 13th century through the Legenda aurea.

The iconography used to depict these saints is influenced by the Cult of the Thracian Horseman, and the Dioscuri, but depictions of the dragon from this legend are varied.

Personally, I always associated the St. George legend with the paintings of Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello.

His earliest painting of this subject shows a dragon with four limbs, wings with ocellated markings, and long neck and tail. The dragon is reminescent of medieval depictions of demons, and it wraps its tail around the saint whose helmet is surrounded by golden rays.

Paolo Uccello, ca. 1430
NVG 2124-4

When he revisited the subject decades later, the dragon is painted as a wyvern, though the ocellated wings remain. St. George is depicted as the classic horseman, but modernized to an armored knight.

Paolo Uccello, ca. 1465
MJAP-P 2248

His final attempt at the subject is a refinement of the second painting. The wyvern has the ocellated wings and corkscrew tail of the earlier work, but does not look as awkward. This painting defined how I thought wyverns should look.

Paolo Uccello, ca. 1470
NG6294

Apparently Conan Scanlon, the sculptor for Saxon Manufacturing was of like mind, and used the painting as inspiration for his Wyvern (Saxon Fantasy 5010).

This particular miniature was used on the Lost Minis Wiki. After I got ahold of it, I used a green Sharpie to color in the eyes and wings. A bit of isopropanol created the ocellated spots. I'm still deciding whether to strip and repaint the miniature or not.

It's probably twice the size it should be to replicate the painting, so one of these days I'll probably use this miniature as a reference to sculpt a smaller version that matches better with 1/72 scale figures.