Leopold the Illustrious of Austria

These are the first drawings I ever did entirely digital on gimp – yay

I based my drawings on:

1. Actual contemporary depictions (very rare)

2. Depictions from the late Middle Ages

3. Clothing References from the Internet

4. My Imagination

But if any of you medieval nerds spots a very serious mistake please tell me.

A little historical background: The Babenberg Dynasty ruled Austria during its first 280 years of existence and pretty much created Austria. We don’t know their real name. “Babenberg” refers to a remark made by medieval historian Otto of Freising that their ancestors came from Bamberg.

Without further ado:

This is Leopold I the Illustrious, Margrave of Austria. He is not very well known. In fact even his own family forgot about him – yes Historian Otto of Freising (Son of margrave Leopold III) does not mention him at all. He first shows up in History when he takes over the Mark which would later be known as “Ostarrichi” on 21th July 976. I depicted him carrying a bow since a bow played an important role at two points in his life – first legend tells us that on a hunt the emperor Otto II was attacked by a bear when his bow broke. Leopold reacted quickly and shot the animal just in time, thus saving the emperor. Thankfully Otto handed over the broken bow to Leopold saying that he may exchange it for a new piece of land as soon as one will be available. In 976 the former Margrave of the “Marcha orientalis” died and Leopold took over.

And the second time a bow played an important role in Leopold’s life was when his life ended. At a tournament in Bavaria someone attempted to murder his cousin Henry – but the assassin missed and shot Leopold instead.  

Old Paper Texture in the Background fav.me/d2n8aw8