Why do cartoon kings look like this?

Crowns, robes, scepters and beards. Why is THIS the official look of cartoon royalty?
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  • @jaykayismyname
    @jaykayismyname Жыл бұрын

    I actually have a personal theory about the lack of purple in depictions of old kings and royalty. I believe it's likely that the lack of artwork depicting purple clothing probably had to due with the fact that the paint needed to accurately portray this clothing required the same, or at least similar, dyes that were equally hard to get, so painters couldn't afford to use purple paint. Upon doing a little research, it seems that the nations that had the most depictions of purple-wearing royalty seemed to also coincidentally be the nations that valued art the most, and would likely have the artists that had the most access to colorful dyes and paints.

  • @glideo

    @glideo

    Жыл бұрын

    huge brain theory!!

  • @beepbeeplettuce5890

    @beepbeeplettuce5890

    Жыл бұрын

    Thats not really a theory, thats basically what happened, the only way to make purple dye back then was from one type of sea snail that lived in the bottom of the red sea

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s a good theory!

  • @Phoenix-J

    @Phoenix-J

    Жыл бұрын

    Can't you just mix red and blue paint? (Or am I being to smol brain rn)

  • @evans7515

    @evans7515

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Phoenix-J yes, but it fades relatively quickly.

  • @user-ub3ix9du7i
    @user-ub3ix9du7i Жыл бұрын

    my favourite type of JJ videos are the ones where he proposes a 5-year-old kid level question "why does it look like that" and then implements his grown up with a degree level research prowess to find the answer

  • @YourBoyDonald

    @YourBoyDonald

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, i was thinking the same lol. He earned a new subscriber, me, with the bell on.

  • @tanjoy0205

    @tanjoy0205

    Жыл бұрын

    Royal ample backside .

  • @pennyfarting
    @pennyfarting Жыл бұрын

    I would love to see you pick apart the classic cartoon "burglar" stereotype, with the black knit cap, black and white striped shirt, black mask over ONLY the eyes, and big burlap sack with a dollar sign on it.

  • @robinharwood5044

    @robinharwood5044

    Жыл бұрын

    The sack often has “swag” written on it. He is supposed to carry a jemmy as well.

  • @hotwax9376

    @hotwax9376

    Жыл бұрын

    I think the black and white striped shirt is based on the idea that convicts used to wear those in prison instead of the orange jumpsuits they wear now.

  • @Jazker_da_thief

    @Jazker_da_thief

    Жыл бұрын

    Same lol, I've always loved that trope/cartoon stereotype

  • @Labyrinth6000

    @Labyrinth6000

    Жыл бұрын

    McDonald’s is why.

  • @connor.p2594
    @connor.p2594 Жыл бұрын

    I believe that the reason why many portraits of kings had red or blue color robes instead of purple was because the purple paint was too expensive for most artists. The kings may have been wearing purple, but the painter could not afford to buy the rare and expensive purple dye, so they used a more common, cheaper color like red, blue, or white.

  • @geschnitztekiste4111

    @geschnitztekiste4111

    Жыл бұрын

    Didn’t they know that you can just mix red and blue?

  • @JosePineda-cy6om

    @JosePineda-cy6om

    Жыл бұрын

    only works for thin layers of painting. Apply more, and it gets almost black really quickly

  • @hotwax9376

    @hotwax9376

    Жыл бұрын

    That would make sense, especially because purple is what you get when you combine red and blue.

  • @KairuHakubi

    @KairuHakubi

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JosePineda-cy6om i recently mixed ultramarine blue with cadmium red and at first I got a good purple, then it turned super black, and i'm like whaaaaat why is this happening.

  • @CaptainJackSparrowSavvy

    @CaptainJackSparrowSavvy

    Жыл бұрын

    they had to have the paint made with dyes, not made from mixing the paint back then was delicate and could do black from mixing quicker then you may think.

  • @Gigadramon6
    @Gigadramon6 Жыл бұрын

    One thing to point out about your thing with "purple" here is that the color you're thinking of as "purple" is actually historically called "indigo." Actual tyrian purple doesn't look anywhere near as "blue" as this, and is typically a lot closer to looking red, and actually looks a lot closer to a dull fuchsia. It's also next to impossible to replicate the color, and given the pigment has always costed more than gold, painters could never use the stuff when painting portraits so had to substitute for other colors, like red or indigo which were much more available.

  • @sig_pagot

    @sig_pagot

    Жыл бұрын

    I'm also convinced that's the reason. I'm also pretty sure this misunderstanding is specifically an English thing, because in Italian the color associated with royalty since Roman times is called "porpora" (clearly related to purple) but we understand it as shade of red rather than the violet-like color that English speakers usually associated with the word purple

  • @JP-jq1qx

    @JP-jq1qx

    Жыл бұрын

    That sounds so cool, did you just make that up haha? If so or if not elaborate on your knowledge (or creativity)!

  • @Gigadramon6

    @Gigadramon6

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JP-jq1qx It's called "looking it up." Shit, just going to the wikipedia page will give you a crash course on the matter. But the reason I'm familiar with it is because I did a lot of research into tyrian purple at one point. It's also how I found out that the dye is worth nearly about 100x its weight in gold. Seriously, gold goes for about US$55 a gram, and tyrian purple pigment goes for $5000 per gram.

  • @johnkeefer8760

    @johnkeefer8760

    Жыл бұрын

    Does it have a RGB color code?

  • @douglasphillips5870

    @douglasphillips5870

    Жыл бұрын

    Indigo comes historically from the indigo plant. The dye made from shellfish was called purpura by the Romans and porphyra by the Greeks.

  • @squidwardstesticles5914
    @squidwardstesticles5914 Жыл бұрын

    I remember being confused as a kid when I was told purple is the “royal colour” because I was so used to seeing depictions of kings wearing red

  • @hotwax9376

    @hotwax9376

    Жыл бұрын

    I think that might have to do with the fact that the pope traditionally wore red back in the Middle Ages before switching to white some time around the period of the Reformation.

  • @elderscrollsswimmer4833

    @elderscrollsswimmer4833

    Жыл бұрын

    I remember royal blue being a thing. Maybe from Sweden or France (when they had kings). The blue was decorated with gold/yellow ornaments. Oh well, you know, mixing blue and red makes purple.

  • @MD.Akib_Al_Azad

    @MD.Akib_Al_Azad

    Жыл бұрын

    Its because purple is a expensive colour to produce

  • @Dumba55

    @Dumba55

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MD.Akib_Al_Azad was

  • @Popolothe1
    @Popolothe1 Жыл бұрын

    Hey, JJ, one idea might be to take a look at the idea of “fairies”. If you search for fairy clip art, you get a lot of pictures of girls with insect wings wearing clothing associated with ballet and a wand topped with a large star. Kind of a weird set of things.

  • @wendyleeconnelly2939

    @wendyleeconnelly2939

    Жыл бұрын

    Angels too. The 19th century paintings of women in robes with wings are nothing like biblical angels.

  • @WhyAnkylobotsWillChangeWarfare

    @WhyAnkylobotsWillChangeWarfare

    Жыл бұрын

    My guess is that Renaissance paintings, inspired with the beauty of the human bady, may be an inspiration to form our modern interpretations

  • @urphakeandgey6308

    @urphakeandgey6308

    Жыл бұрын

    I'd like to add to Shane's theory: It could also be in part the human propensity to personify or anthropomorphize everything as well. Especially in the case of fairies. Fairies tend to be benign or even benevolent, so it's natural to humanize them. Monsters, that are dangerous or malevolent, tend to take forms that are much less human because we aren't supposed to relate to them as much.

  • @anitamihholap5926

    @anitamihholap5926

    Жыл бұрын

    @@wendyleeconnelly2939 those aren't supposed to be women... And it begins earlier than 19th century.

  • @stevengoomba6490

    @stevengoomba6490

    Жыл бұрын

    It could be because of the sugarplum fairy from the nutcracker suite, which is a very well known ballet role. Since the show and music are a popular Christmas event, people made the connection in their heads.

  • @toranp.8942
    @toranp.8942 Жыл бұрын

    A point missed with the facial hair is that a full beard and mustache can also be associated with knowledge and wisdom; that’s applicable to a king, because kings are typically assumed to be very refined, well-educated, experienced, and wise people

  • @1313stjimmy
    @1313stjimmy Жыл бұрын

    It hadn't occurred to me before but I love the idea that the King's Scepter is an abstracted representation of the ingrained idea that whoever has the biggest and the pointiest stick gets be in charge and make the rules.

  • @AndrewDasilvaPLT

    @AndrewDasilvaPLT

    Жыл бұрын

    @shadiversity

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    They are a type of stylised Mace. Even secular parliaments in republics have them. There is such a Mace in the US House Of Congress.

  • @SpoopySquid

    @SpoopySquid

    Жыл бұрын

    "Mine's bigger than yours"

  • @tomifost

    @tomifost

    Жыл бұрын

    And also like a maestro or old school teacher, used for directing and grand gestures!

  • @justinc.5591

    @justinc.5591

    Жыл бұрын

    Speak softly and carry a big stick.

  • @LucasBenderChannel
    @LucasBenderChannel Жыл бұрын

    You know, I've always wondered why Wizards and Witches wear pointy hats. That might not fill an entire episode, but I'd love to know. 🤔

  • @glideo

    @glideo

    Жыл бұрын

    Why they have those pointy hats??? JJ please tell us!!

  • @BlastedRodent

    @BlastedRodent

    Жыл бұрын

    The witch would be a great subject for a stock character breakdown

  • @socalchago

    @socalchago

    Жыл бұрын

    And dunces.

  • @baconsarny-geddon8298

    @baconsarny-geddon8298

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah thats a good question. I'd guess it gioes back to early (probably inaccurate) artistic portrayals, like the spiked crown meme.

  • @yesterdaydream

    @yesterdaydream

    Жыл бұрын

    Also fairytale princess pointy hats!

  • @PuglordGabe
    @PuglordGabe Жыл бұрын

    I think part of the reason pointy crowns are so common in depictions is because they are much easier to draw than the cloth variant. Much like how stars and heart shapes don’t accurately reflect the shape of the symbol they are supposed to represent, pointy crowns exist as an easy-to-draw symbol for a crown.

  • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    Жыл бұрын

    That would explain things! Thanks for the comment!

  • @grantflippin7808

    @grantflippin7808

    4 ай бұрын

    one of the first French crowns was ringed with fleur-de-lis, and similar crowns would be adopted since the French royal family held great influenced over the nearby kingdoms.

  • @voodoosleeper
    @voodoosleeper Жыл бұрын

    The ancient culture surrounding scepters truly cracks me up. "I have the fancy stick! You must all listen to me!" It's one of many great examples of behavior we would normally deem immature or even infantile but because it's so embedded in our understanding of culture, no one questions it anymore.

  • @puppeli

    @puppeli

    Жыл бұрын

    Weren't scepters (originally) basically just fancy looking clubs? Combine that, with everybody else being forbidden to bear weapons in the presence of the king, and the situation becomes more like "If you do not respect my authority! I will bonk you!"

  • @StarlasAiko

    @StarlasAiko

    Жыл бұрын

    It's like when some prat in group therapy refuses to pass on the "talking stick". "I have the stick, I get to talk, you all shut up"

  • @williamadiputra2850

    @williamadiputra2850

    Жыл бұрын

    it's a symbolism. it's one part of the things that kings hold in their hands. you can see kings depicted with sticks, scepter, something that points, the masculine in the right hand. and an orb in the left, something feminine, an egg, something that births. jonathan pageau has a video on it

  • @DDdreamer90

    @DDdreamer90

    Жыл бұрын

    @@williamadiputra2850 It's prevalent in cultures completely disassociated with Europe too. The kings of Hawaii would carry spears, the Inca emperors had ornate halberds. It really is a universal thing that pops up everywhere.

  • @ShiftyMcGoggles

    @ShiftyMcGoggles

    Жыл бұрын

    Sceptres come from a simplified version of a Fasces, which is a collection of sticks bound together about a hand axe. The idea, at least, a hypothesis from archeology, is that by 'holding fasces' means you cannot also hold a sword or a spear, you are there to hear people out, and you cannot strike someone down where they stood. Basically, it's supposedly a symbol of restraint and composure, something prized in people who rule. Add some simplification of symbols over time and a bundled of sticks meant to keep an emperor's hands busy like a glorified fidget toy, you get the royal stick, or sceptre.

  • @romanshtompil856
    @romanshtompil856 Жыл бұрын

    I love videos like this. We have so many cultural stereotypes we take for granted. Here are some characters that I think are iconic that could be fun to look at: - Wizard - Witch (you may have done this in your Halloween focused episode) - Santa Claus - Pirate - Viking - Cowboy/Frontiersman

  • @robrophside3691

    @robrophside3691

    Жыл бұрын

    Also: - Gangster - Ninja - Clown - Nurse - Farmer - Nerd (glasses and white shirt with pens in pocket, e.g. AVGN) - Detective (Sherlock Holmes deerstalker, or film noir trenchcoat and fedora) - Moustache-twirling villain (J.J. himself drew a common stock image of this stereotype) - Magician (similar to villain) - Certain ethnic stereotypes (e.g. beret and striped shirt for Frenchman, conical straw hat for East Asian) TV Tropes lists many under "Stock Costume Traits".

  • @romanshtompil856

    @romanshtompil856

    Жыл бұрын

    @@robrophside3691 Gangster, Clown and Nerd are all great! As well as villain.

  • @robrophside3691

    @robrophside3691

    Жыл бұрын

    @@romanshtompil856 Ironically, J.J.'s villain drawing is used by his own arch-villain: Wikipedia.

  • @yayo6207

    @yayo6207

    Жыл бұрын

    Clowns, nerds and why te pirates have an eye patch

  • @chloejohnson6861

    @chloejohnson6861

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes! Anything that has a Halloween costume version of it. This could be a few different episodes, like why does [profession] look like this, or why does [supernatural character] look like this.

  • @dorkydoodle3573
    @dorkydoodle3573 Жыл бұрын

    Related to the pointy crown, I think another reason for its cultural abundance as opposed to the more “royal” looking hat is probably due to how easy it is to depict/draw and still be recognizable as a crown. It’s way more simple to portray and construct than those really complex fabric-jewel crowns! (Just being simple triangles basically)

  • @infamoussphere7228

    @infamoussphere7228

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah I'm not sure how many people can draw one of those fabric-cushion-loop crowns off the top of their head! It's a lot easier to draw something that looks like it came out of a christmas cracker.

  • @ShiftyMcGoggles

    @ShiftyMcGoggles

    Жыл бұрын

    Also, that style of crown is seen on the helmet of monarchs, so that they are identifiable on the battlefield for their own troops to know' oh shoot, it's the king, and he's telling me what to do.'

  • @KairuHakubi

    @KairuHakubi

    Жыл бұрын

    Plus it looks way cooler.

  • @xXbrokenvoidXx
    @xXbrokenvoidXx Жыл бұрын

    2:24 Dude was really like "A tree is fine too"

  • @christianvannelle5409
    @christianvannelle5409 Жыл бұрын

    Small correction: Yes, pruple dye was very rare because it required an insane amount of a small sea creature, but different dyes where a lot more common and clothes used to wear very colorful clothes, not the brown that movies often depict.

  • @OrenTirosh

    @OrenTirosh

    Жыл бұрын

    Exactly. People loved color and used it throughout history. There is plenty of evidence for that. The drab brownish attire of “commoners” is a movie trope.

  • @adampanzica3820
    @adampanzica3820 Жыл бұрын

    What an irregularly timed episode!

  • @BlackLambieSociety

    @BlackLambieSociety

    Жыл бұрын

    I just sat down on my throne and said the EXACT same thing!

  • @PrawnAddiction

    @PrawnAddiction

    Жыл бұрын

    I actually thought it was going to be a short and perhaps he'd planned for that but had enough for a whole video

  • @BlackLambieSociety

    @BlackLambieSociety

    Жыл бұрын

    @Safwaan I mean throne… lol

  • @sempersuffragium9951

    @sempersuffragium9951

    Жыл бұрын

    I think he's moving, and probably wants time to set up his whole new set in his new place, and so made this just before leaving. Can't see why he didn't just save it until Saturday though.

  • @OriSnori

    @OriSnori

    Жыл бұрын

    I imagined that this was meant to be uploaded in advance and publisjed Saturday, and then he accidentally messed up the settings and didnt retract because it already got lots of attention. (Altho I think JJ did delete once a few months ago.)

  • @joylox
    @joylox Жыл бұрын

    I'd like to see a video going over traits we associate with clowns. The idea and perception of clowns changed so much, but a few main elements in the costume and makeup seems to remain.

  • @musaddiqueh6248

    @musaddiqueh6248

    Жыл бұрын

    Clowns have fallen so far out of fashion that you'll notice that even ol Ronald McDonald was quietly phased out sometime in the late 2010s !

  • @Wendy_O._Koopa

    @Wendy_O._Koopa

    Жыл бұрын

    How even though less than 1% of people are actually afraid of clowns, everybody acts like it's a real thing... either ironically, or because of peer pressure? I just imagine a room full of a hundred people and one says "Clowns are scary" and the other 99 are thinking, "No they aren't, but I want to fit in the group" and then agreeing.

  • @Wendy_O._Koopa

    @Wendy_O._Koopa

    Жыл бұрын

    @@shorewall Okay, you are the one percent. That doesn't really affect the rest of us?

  • @Wendy_O._Koopa

    @Wendy_O._Koopa

    Жыл бұрын

    @@shorewall Okay, do we know what "I just imagine" means? Because that was a dramatization... actually it wasn't even a dramatization, it was a joke. The actual data says that of the 1160 polled, only 14 experienced a fear of clowns (1.2%). You can claim that sample size is too small or something, but I don't actually know _anyone_ who is afraid of clowns. However, being afraid of clowns is a huge meme, and people online (like you) act like is this huge systemic problem metastasizing in our culture... and it's just... not. It's a lot like the "Satanic Panic," even Satanists don't actually worship Satan... their name is intentionally misleading, but it's still not the society-ending problem Conservative Christians think it is.

  • @augustuscaesar6451
    @augustuscaesar6451 Жыл бұрын

    Royal Purple is actually closer to Scarlet or Burgundy than what we nowadays call purple. Any movies of ancient Rome show the Senators and Emperor wearing Red stripes on their togas, which is actually historically accurate, even though the color (2,000 years ago) was called purple. So the paintings you showed of royalty wearing RED robes were actually "Royal Purple" (to call it by its original name, not what we nowadays call Royal Purple). But your confusion is totally understandable! This is a great example of how words change meanings over time.

  • @KairuHakubi

    @KairuHakubi

    Жыл бұрын

    and 'violet' meant blue. yeah I think you might be onto something there.

  • @dernickjung342
    @dernickjung342 Жыл бұрын

    I would be interested in learning more about the origin of the classic thief look. I picture someone with a striped shirt, a small black facemask, a hat and a sack over his shoulder. Maybe you could make a video simular to this one, but about the cliché thief. ps: maybe you could talk a little about the pencil mustage as the facial hair of the thief. But I am not shure if that is really as common as I think it is. greetings from cologne, germany

  • @sandralison7584

    @sandralison7584

    Жыл бұрын

    Hello I am from Germany Wuppertal

  • @cameram-guy8684

    @cameram-guy8684

    Жыл бұрын

    Hi

  • @jamesrosewell9081

    @jamesrosewell9081

    Жыл бұрын

    Striped shirt definitely was inspired by old designs for prison uniforms, where the black and white stripes were that era's version of high visibility and instantly recognizable ways of communicating the person clothed in that uniform is a prisoner (since reflective orange jumpsuits are only a modern invention)

  • @nullpoint3346

    @nullpoint3346

    Жыл бұрын

    That's a burglar, which is a fairly modern rendition of thieves. Basically it's just a guy prison clothes and hiding their identifying features.

  • @idavrad4343

    @idavrad4343

    Жыл бұрын

    @@jamesrosewell9081 I'm pretty sure J.J. mentioned in one of his older videos, that the idea of a thief wearing stripes doesn't come from the prison clothing, but from the stereotype, that sailors were thieves

  • @DSzaks
    @DSzaks Жыл бұрын

    The beard thing might have something to do with the perception of kings as being wise rulers (despite what reality usually reflects). And with wisdom generally coming w/ age, and age coming w/ whitening hair - the white beard could be a way to symbolize this.

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    True!

  • @benjaminwatt2436

    @benjaminwatt2436

    Жыл бұрын

    Also beards are a sign of maturity

  • @thareinpotuhera5255

    @thareinpotuhera5255

    Жыл бұрын

    "Despite what reality usually reflects?" Monarchs are usually far more successful than republican rulers.

  • @juanausensi499

    @juanausensi499

    Жыл бұрын

    @@thareinpotuhera5255 Successful with what?

  • @DSzaks

    @DSzaks

    Жыл бұрын

    @@thareinpotuhera5255 I suppose that depends on how you define successful and monarch

  • @isaacgund7550
    @isaacgund7550 Жыл бұрын

    When at first you said Purple is one of the least marketable colours I didn't believe you. But after spending a few minutes thinking about the colour of nearly every possesion I own, I realised how right you are.

  • @GeorgeVCohea-dw7ou

    @GeorgeVCohea-dw7ou

    Жыл бұрын

    I seek purple out for some reason. kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4R4xbeAp8nekc4.html It is, what it is!

  • @KanyeTheGayFish69

    @KanyeTheGayFish69

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s such a pretty color I think it needs to be more common

  • @minervamclitchie3667

    @minervamclitchie3667

    Жыл бұрын

    I don't really care. It's my favorite color and most of my clothes are purple. The one color I never wear and don't like is red. The closest is burgundy. Bright red makes me look like I have a rash, bright yellow like I have jaundice and bright blue like I'm anemic. Now that my hair is white I dye my hair purple too.

  • @zerotwoisreal

    @zerotwoisreal

    Жыл бұрын

    lime is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY worse than poo-rple

  • @foursidekm

    @foursidekm

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@KanyeTheGayFish69 maybe the reason it's so pretty is because it's so rare

  • @JavieraScarratt
    @JavieraScarratt Жыл бұрын

    i'd be really interested in a deconstruction of the 'wizard' archetype (pointy hat, loooong beard, sceptre/wand, robes) - how old is it? when did characters like merlin (who's from a reasonably old story) begin to be depicted thus? where did the various elements originate? does it have any connection to extant depictions of alchemists or similar?

  • @kokofan50

    @kokofan50

    Жыл бұрын

    The short answer is Odin. He goes around dressed in a gray cloak and pointed brimmed hat, with a walking staff is a lot of stories. If you think that sounds a lot like Gandalf, that’s because Gandalf was heavily inspired by Odin.

  • @JavieraScarratt

    @JavieraScarratt

    Жыл бұрын

    @@kokofan50 ooh, interesting! along the same lines it also occurs to me that several of the lewis chessmen have a distinctly wizard-y look, with long beards and pointy hats - i think some combo of the king, berserker, and bishop would get you pretty close to the modern archetype

  • @kokofan50

    @kokofan50

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JavieraScarratt the berserker are wearing helmets.

  • @aurynlalor1366
    @aurynlalor1366 Жыл бұрын

    Henry VIII is often seen as an archetypal king and it seems to me that a lot of our ideas about what a king looks like are inspired by him

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    I don't think so. Like what?

  • @roundninja

    @roundninja

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough Not so much in terms of his clothing, but his facial hair and large overweight body are a pretty close match to the stereotypical king

  • @LangThoughts

    @LangThoughts

    Жыл бұрын

    @@roundninja Yeah, the Burger King looks like a Genericized version of Henry VIII......

  • @sempersuffragium9951

    @sempersuffragium9951

    Жыл бұрын

    I think it's more likely, that most kingly stereotypes come from Charlemagne - the crown, the scepter, the robe (not ermine yet), and even a great long beard. He was the very model of a modern king in his time, and a subject of much emulation

  • @hallamhal

    @hallamhal

    Жыл бұрын

    If a king is portrayed as fat/a tyrant, he's just as likely seen wearing a bonnet like Henry's as he is a crown. Henry's bonnet was often garnished with ostrich feathers as they were rare in Europe at the time

  • @barfchugger
    @barfchugger Жыл бұрын

    The fantasy nerd in me would love to see you deconstruct the rest of the stock middle-ages characters, such as a red-plumed knight fighting a green dragon, or a princess and her tiara. But what I would love to see most of all is you delving into the origins of the stereotypical cartoon VIKING. I think it's common knowledge these days that vikings didn't actually wear horns on their helmet, they look a lot different than the way we usually depict them. I think this stems from things like classic art and operas. I know you would do this topic justice JJ!

  • @bobpobcf9723

    @bobpobcf9723

    Жыл бұрын

    I guessing it would have to do with all the paintings of the Knight Saint George (whose symbol is a RED cross on a white background) attacking a dragon who is often depicted as green to rescue a princess who was to be sacrificed. (The dragon was demanding female virgin sacrifices and the so the king decided to draw lots. When his daughter was drawn he decided to be fair to the people and giver her up despite her being royalty) Im guessing this also brought the trope of the Damsel in distress into western cannon since I believe its Ethiopian in origin An interesting side note unlike lots of modern stories where the Knight rescues the princess for her hand in Marriage, St George killed the Dragon to get them to convert to Christianity. In the Chicago Art Museum they have old Paintings of this from both Western and African artists and its really interesting to see the differences Thats just my best guess however

  • @reddykilowatt

    @reddykilowatt

    Жыл бұрын

    might as well add the stereotypical depiction of Jesus who almost certainly did not look like a white hippie guy.

  • @benjaminwatt2436

    @benjaminwatt2436

    Жыл бұрын

    "Mighty" or powerful men, such as knights, have always shown prowess through hunting. And what bigger pray is there than a dragon. The stereotype dragon is clearly mythical, but there is a lot of evidence dragon legends come from actual encounters with dinosaurs. I know it doesn't fit the current scientific narrative, but i haven't read any compelling arguments against the idea.

  • @bobpobcf9723

    @bobpobcf9723

    Жыл бұрын

    @@reddykilowatt well thats because people chose images of Jesus that looked like them. The Romans depicted Jesus as a Roman. The Ethiopians depicted Jesus as Ethiopian, the Koreans as a Korean

  • @reddykilowatt

    @reddykilowatt

    Жыл бұрын

    @@bobpobcf9723 kind of emphasizing the fact its all made up.

  • @funram
    @funram Жыл бұрын

    I've always heard the idea of purple being "the royal color" from British, American, Canadian and Australian people. In France, the "royal color" is definitely blue (and we even call this kind of blue "bleu roi"), whereas purple is more associated (not always) with imperial affirmation, and for some reason the Spanish monarchy (maybe because the kings of Spain never officially renounced their pretention to be the heirs of the late Eastern Empire, contrary to French kings who dropped the idea in the 16th century). Also, Napoléon did not wear a red cape but a purple one... or rather a "pourpre" one. In France, the color associated with emperorship (and the Spanish monarchy), and said to be inherited from the Roman Empire, is called "pourpre" (and even "pourpre impériale"), and is much redder than what today's anglophones call "purple".

  • @infamoussphere7228

    @infamoussphere7228

    Жыл бұрын

    "royal purple" and "royal blue" are both colours in English, and I'd say that people have a better conception of what "royal blue" actually is (it's sort of an ultramarine shade) than what "royal purple" is. I have a derwent pencil called "imperial purple" and it's closer to that tyrian purple shade one would have got from the snail than a violet.

  • @hotwax9376

    @hotwax9376

    Жыл бұрын

    Interesting that the kings of Spain were pretenders to the Eastern Roman Empire. Prior to the official unification of the British and Irish crowns in 1801 the English (and later) British monarchs were all pretenders to the French crown. As for blue being the royal color in France, this perhaps may explain why we still hear "royal blue" used to describe a certain shade of blue. And given how much influence France had on the fashion industry for much of the 20th century (generally after their last monarchy was abolished), that may explain how the term "royal blue" spread to the English-speaking world, especially if it was used to describe the color of certain articles. (At the very least, it probably explains the modern conception of "blue for boys and pink for girls.")

  • @someonenew3478

    @someonenew3478

    Жыл бұрын

    I, too, associate purple with imperial (which is why he found it in a Emperor of India era king of England painting) but crimson as royal king level color as well as cardinal for the princes of the church.

  • @AJMansfield1
    @AJMansfield1 Жыл бұрын

    12:30 The sticks do actually have a deeper meaning! Originally, rulers carried whole bundles of sticks, called fasces. Specifically, they were bundles of oath-sticks gifted by and representing the allegiances of subordinate tribes. Paring down from a bundle to a single stick was effectively a statement of unitary authority -- that a king's power was one indivisible thing, rather than a composite of the powers of regional leaders. The symbolism of the sticks in the bundle itself also has a deeper meaning that relates to tally sticks, an ancient method of recording the terms of a contract by cutting marks into a stick and then splitting the stick lengthwise to give each party a copy they can use to prove the terms. Giving the entire stick -- both halves -- was a gesture symbolizing that you were giving the other party the ability to dictate terms.

  • @AJMansfield1

    @AJMansfield1

    Жыл бұрын

    I should note also that the symbolic meaning of the fasces is still very much alive and in use! The United States even has one, specifically the Mace of the US House of Representatives is composed of 13 individual sticks that each represent one of the 13 original colonies, bound together with silver bands.

  • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    Жыл бұрын

    I didn't realize the connection between the _fasces_ and the royal staff! I _was_ aware of the _fasces_ being used since ancient times as a symbol (and even today, with the Mace of the US House of Representatives; by the way, the logo of the US Senate uses the _fasci_ too), but now, I know that ancient rulers once carried them around until they decided to express their centralized authority in a singular stick. Thanks for the information!

  • @tomalexander2710
    @tomalexander2710 Жыл бұрын

    As others have said (but is worth reiterating to boost engagement), the purple made from different types of murex sea snail, often grouped together as ‘Tyrian Purple’, is close to red, perhaps closer to red than some shades now called ‘royal purple’, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see more red in royal costume. The word ‘purple’ itself is etymologically descends from to the Latin and Greek words for the colour of that dye. What we would consider ‘purple’ or even ‘royal purple’ today is far more blue than the colour of murex-dyed fabrics.

  • @albertozino1474

    @albertozino1474

    Жыл бұрын

    this. The confusion arises from the English language. Royal purple or purpur shouldn't be violet but closer to red wine, and most languages distinguishes the two. A similiar color is Porphyry (a kind of granite), that takes the name from the same greek root, and the stone was also reserved to kings and emperor.

  • @seneca983

    @seneca983

    Жыл бұрын

    I'm under the impression that in the ancient times in Tyre (and maybe other places too) they also made some kind of deep blue color also from some kind of mollusks and it was also quite expensive (though maybe not quite as much?). Maybe sometimes a mixture of the two was also used?

  • @tomalexander2710

    @tomalexander2710

    Жыл бұрын

    @@seneca983 you’re right - although that’s a different species of sea snail. Phoenicians (in Tyre and elsewhere) used different sea snails for different colours. Saying that, the word for ‘purple’ is from a Graeco-Roman context and itself referred initially to the more ‘red’ dye used for dyeing robes.

  • @tomalexander2710

    @tomalexander2710

    Жыл бұрын

    @@albertozino1474 yes, definitely, very good point. Those gorgeous porphyry sculptures and the Byzantine use of the colour purple (porphyros) as a politically symbolic colour were in the back of my mind too :)

  • @minervamclitchie3667

    @minervamclitchie3667

    Жыл бұрын

    You can actually make purple dye from purple flowers. My Indian grandmother made dye from lavender and violets and showed me the way she did it as a girl in The Punjab.

  • @spaguettoltd.7933
    @spaguettoltd.7933 Жыл бұрын

    Have you considered deconstructing the “American canon of normal jobs?” The sort you’d find in a child’s play set? I can think of doctor, teacher, construction worker, fireman, cop as good examples. Why are there no accountants or lumberjacks in fisher-price world?

  • @star7communicator434
    @star7communicator434 Жыл бұрын

    I always assumed that kings were bearded to invoke a sense of elderly wisdom or gruff authority, the same way that a wizard would be depicted with a beard or how cops are portrayed with moustaches

  • @xenontesla122
    @xenontesla122 Жыл бұрын

    6:38 Yeah it's weird how old art and media get viewed as legitimate even when they depict even older things. I'd love to see a video dedicated to this topic!

  • @jesster2283
    @jesster2283 Жыл бұрын

    Ah yes, the next installment in my favorite ongoing series "Why does this thing look like that". Certainly a true all time classic 👍 but honestly amazing work J.J.

  • @kaiserharry6568
    @kaiserharry6568 Жыл бұрын

    Actually the crown of Christian the fourth of Denmark, though being a bit more gaudy than the usual clip-art crown, is pretty spot on, in terms of having the general shape of a classic cartoon crown

  • @z3iro383
    @z3iro383 Жыл бұрын

    Until now I thought that the ermine cape was actually Dalmatian fur, I had no idea the black spots were meant to be the bits of the weasel's tail

  • @hotwax9376

    @hotwax9376

    Жыл бұрын

    ...So you thought Cruella DeVil was a royal? :P

  • @KairuHakubi

    @KairuHakubi

    Жыл бұрын

    somehow my dumb ass thought it was like, owl or falcon chest feathers. Like I knew it was fur, but some part of my brain was like "yeah of course, chest feathers. that kind of fur"

  • @hotwax9376
    @hotwax9376 Жыл бұрын

    Red-robed medieval kings are pretty common in cartoons as well, such as Prince John in Disney's Robin Hood and in the Looney Tunes short "Rabbit Hood," where Bugs Bunny impersonates the king of England and "knights" the Sheriff of Nottingham by whacking him on the head repeatedly with a scepter. (Not only did he have a red robe, but also a spiked crown.) The idea of purple being the color of royals wasn't invented by modern culture, though; the purple dye you mentioned earlier was generally reserved for royals because it was so expensive only the wealthy could afford it.

  • @paulastalas8691
    @paulastalas8691 Жыл бұрын

    Speaking of purple being a royal/imperial color, we can thank the byzantines. Their emperors we're into purple and one of the emperor's mark was a purple robe. They even had a room build from purple stones in the palace of Constantinople where empresses gave birth. That's why a son born to a sitting emperor in called in greek porphyrogenitus or "born in the purple".

  • @joeedwards4340

    @joeedwards4340

    Жыл бұрын

    Dude… no. All those facts about the Byzantines are true but they did NOT come up with them… They are not the reason we consider purple royal. That concept is much older and more widespread than the Byzantines. They inherited the tradition of purple=royal from their Roman forefathers

  • @oatmealman1586

    @oatmealman1586

    Жыл бұрын

    The real reason that purple was a royal color is that it was so hard to get that it was literally worth its weight in gold. Purple as a color being widespread is a modern luxury we take for granted, before some chemist accidentally found out how to make artificial dye the only way to get purple as a dye was through using a type of snail only found in the red sea, which also didn't make a lot of the purple color. And you can't just mix red and blue dyes to get purple as you would usually get a muddier purple since dyes and paints are hard to mix well. Also, when I say that purple color being widespread is a modern luxury I mean it. Artificial purple was only invented around 100 or so years ago by accident, and before then many countries outright banned the use of the color unless you were of nobility to keep the color protected.

  • @tiberiuscodius5828

    @tiberiuscodius5828

    Жыл бұрын

    Per Joe Edwards, while those are all true and fascinating facts about Byzantium, the value and royal associations of Purple did not come into being simply because the Byzantine Emperors happened to be "into purple." The Byzantine Emperors would have got that primarily from their Roman predecessors who also decorated themselves in Purple. The royal associations of Purple were well established before the Romans ever had an Empire

  • @paulastalas8691

    @paulastalas8691

    Жыл бұрын

    @@tiberiuscodius5828 i think that everybody misunderstand what i said. Even in the video jj says that early roman emperors wore purple, so this need to point this out confuses me. The toga picta, which existed before the empire and was worn by generals during a triumph is important in this development. I wanted to give a shoutout to byzantium to keeping this tradition alive. Also you can't take them as separate from the early empire. They we're romans, they and everybody else called them romans and a continuity existed for almost 1000 years.

  • @diamondedge83
    @diamondedge83 Жыл бұрын

    The original "Royal Purple" is actually a red color, also known as Tyrian Purple and Phoenician Red. Modern royal purple isn't the same color, it actually is the common idea of what purple is.

  • @simpleminded1uk
    @simpleminded1uk Жыл бұрын

    What we call purple used to be a lot redder than what we call purple now. The clue is in the name, from the Latin, 'purpur', meaning 'fire fire'. A lot of those crimson cloaks you're looking at in those pictures would have been coded as purple at the time. Other examples of colours changing their names/boundaries are around if you look for them. A good example is to get hold of a spectrum printed on paper, and mark out the section you consider to be orange. Then go and get an orange. It'll be yellow.

  • @dodgyduck9841
    @dodgyduck9841 Жыл бұрын

    Great video as always. Really enjoy the cartoon related videos.

  • @Waterpassion

    @Waterpassion

    Жыл бұрын

    I thought he was going to scrutinize a new king game that GrayStillPlays recently played. I was like I'm into this! Lol either way, I love the history ❤️

  • @peosea
    @peosea Жыл бұрын

    My favorite, however more nerdy, is the one bearded man theory, where Merlin, Gandalf, Dumbledore (in short, the old wizard in every tale) are actually the same person that travels between worlds

  • @benjaminwatt2436

    @benjaminwatt2436

    Жыл бұрын

    That's from "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White. it's a good read

  • @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei

    @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei

    Жыл бұрын

    I mean, it probably has more to do with the fact that a lot of fantasy copies Tolkien (I bet Rowling did too). Although Gandalf was more inspired from the Norse deity Odin. But then again... to imagine a dude with a lot of knowledge as an old dude and associating old dudes with beards isn't really surprising.

  • @loszhor
    @loszhor Жыл бұрын

    So many questions answered! Thanks for uploading!

  • @alechenry1483
    @alechenry1483 Жыл бұрын

    I know it's a little silly to say, but I'm a little sad this is that last time we will see this iconic background. I'm sure the next background will be cool though!

  • @ungrave5231
    @ungrave5231 Жыл бұрын

    I'd love to see a video on the standard "fantasy jobs" that we see all the time today. My understanding of the evolution is basically just Tolkien getting inspired by random European folklore, which in tern inspired trpg creators, which became the standard for every single fantasy setting after that era it seems. That's just what I've heard from the grapevine, so I'd love to hear your take on all that, plus the effect it's had on our culture as a whole.

  • @SilliS
    @SilliS Жыл бұрын

    Would love to see a similar analysis about the stereotypical pirate look!

  • @guyxx23
    @guyxx23 Жыл бұрын

    Love this series! More pleaseee

  • @curiosamente
    @curiosamente Жыл бұрын

    The issue with purple is that in those times people used to call purple all the different tones that could be extracted from the snail, including red. It is called "red purple". Look at this museum photo: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Purple_Purpur_%28retouched%29.jpg/2560px-Purple_Purpur_%28retouched%29.jpg

  • @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    @Hand-in-Shot_Productions

    Жыл бұрын

    I didn't know that! So many of the "purple" robes of the Middle Ages might very well have been _red_ robes, which would explain how royal robes can be red in real life and purple in the popular imagination. Thanks for the information!

  • @KristianWontroba
    @KristianWontroba Жыл бұрын

    Had a friend who carved Nordic runes into my wooden hockey stick for me, which roughly meant "power" and "destruction". It was basically a functional sceptre and totally "metal"! 😅🤘

  • @notcrackerjack

    @notcrackerjack

    Жыл бұрын

    Should’ve used it to clobber the opposing players over the head

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    A sceptre is more of a Mace, a hockey stick with Runes is a bit more of a Stave or Spear. Name your stick ‘Gungnir’

  • @hannibalburgers477

    @hannibalburgers477

    Жыл бұрын

    I had one but in japanese. It said Chicken Soup

  • @overthecounterbeanie
    @overthecounterbeanie Жыл бұрын

    Ah time to enjoy yet another award-winning* video from JJ over dinner! Edit: playing cards have certainly played their part perpetuating what a king is supposed to look like.

  • @saladmcjones7798
    @saladmcjones7798 Жыл бұрын

    @8:15 "That's the cutest f'ing thing I've seen in my entire life." _gets turned into a robe_

  • @perforongo9078
    @perforongo9078 Жыл бұрын

    Purple has indeed been a very rare color historically due to it's rarity, but you're right in pointing out that it hasn't necessarily been associated with royalty as much as people say. In 1856, the English chemist William Henry Perkin patented an easy way to make purple dye that led to a kind of purple-mania in Victorian English fashion at the time. Queen Victoria famously wore many outfits using the (no longer rare or expensive) purple dye, which is probably why English royalty used purple after that, as she was well-respected. I think it'd be pretty ironic that it became associated with royalty in the modern era precisely at the time it became cheaply available to everyone.

  • @davidjacobs8558

    @davidjacobs8558

    Жыл бұрын

    The Real name of the "Forbidden City" in Beijing, is actually "Purple Forbidden City". 紫禁城 紫(purple) 禁(banned/forbidden)城(walled city/fortress/castle) not sure why they dropped the "purple" part when translated to English name.

  • @menoflowicz

    @menoflowicz

    Жыл бұрын

    @@davidjacobs8558 also, Porphyrogénnētos (Greek: Πορφυρογέννητος, lit. 'purple-born'), Latinized as Porphyrogenitus, was an honorific title in the Byzantine Empire given to a son, or daughter (Πορφυρογέννητη, Porphyrogénnētē, Latinized Porphyrogenita), born after the father had become emperor.

  • @auldfouter8661

    @auldfouter8661

    Жыл бұрын

    My mother's cousin was married to Averil Perkin who from family tree research I now know to be the granddaughter of the above mentioned William H Perkin. He led an interesting life and made several discoveries. Averil was an Edinburgh girl , as some of the family moved up there and Averil had four daughters who all have offspring so there are a few descendants on the go !

  • @KairuHakubi

    @KairuHakubi

    Жыл бұрын

    @@auldfouter8661 really slammin down on that spacebar eh

  • @auldfouter8661

    @auldfouter8661

    Жыл бұрын

    @@KairuHakubi Hey , you win this week's prize for the most unnecessary comment!

  • @Ricalloo
    @Ricalloo Жыл бұрын

    I'd love to see a breakdown of fantasy characters like elves and dwarfs.

  • @seneca983
    @seneca983 Жыл бұрын

    I think not all dyes were expensive. The ones derived from mollusks were extremely labor intensive to produce and therefore very expensive but I think some plant based ones were much less so and thus available to many common people too.

  • @celeste8360

    @celeste8360

    Жыл бұрын

    Onion skins are easy to dye with and plentiful.👍

  • @1Cr0w

    @1Cr0w

    Жыл бұрын

    Common madder gives vibrant shades of red, and has been found in viking age york (likely used for dyeing). Woad gives jeans-y blue-cyan shades. Ochrolechia Tartarea/Cudbear and Evernia Prunastri give purples/lilacs. Weld/Dyer's weld gives yellow, which was combined with Woad's blue to give "Lincoln green" ("'Robin-Hood-green'") All of these were used and quite easily available in europe.

  • @SocieteRoyale
    @SocieteRoyale Жыл бұрын

    on the subject of kings, playing cards would be really interesting to look at, when I was travelling in Spain, an Italian friend asked if I wanted to play cards so I agreed and he pronounced a deck of card designs completely unfamiliar to me! I was fascinated that there was more available than the standard British/North American deck of the usual designs that were still popular in various European countries. Maybe looking into the Tarot would be an interesting place to explore architypes and other recurring motifs?

  • @anonyarena

    @anonyarena

    Жыл бұрын

    Exactly. I myself was wondering how he was able to create a whole video about how kings are depicted in illustration, without ever even mentioning playing card kings (the Kings of Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds) and how these were derived from the earlier Tarot card kings (the Kings of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.) Seems like such an obvious thing to point to. Apart from children's fairytale books and movies, modern people most often see pictures of kings in card decks.

  • @Ctrl_Shift_
    @Ctrl_Shift_ Жыл бұрын

    That single inserted frame did not go unnoticed.

  • @buttershy_
    @buttershy_ Жыл бұрын

    JJ uploading on thursday feels illegal

  • @alfonsoarroyo3283
    @alfonsoarroyo3283 Жыл бұрын

    Love the conspiracy theory about Big Colour being behind Royal Purple! Careful though, Big Colour has its tentacles everywhere... On a sidenote, the spiked crown being seen as "radiating light" might have some connexion to the cult of Sol Invictus that is most associated with the Emperor Aurelian, and in the coins ive seen of that era the Emperor is wearing just the spikes, no wreath. I associate the wreath more with the early Principate.

  • @lunct5211

    @lunct5211

    Жыл бұрын

    Didn’t Nero depict himself with the ‘radiating light’ crown. That’s early principate.

  • @mcgodg7591
    @mcgodg7591 Жыл бұрын

    Yay!!!! Another J.J. Video! Love the videos, keep going! Love and peace from Georgia!🇺🇸🍑

  • @LAK_770
    @LAK_770 Жыл бұрын

    This is the platonic ideal of a JJ video topic

  • @lethargicAilurophile
    @lethargicAilurophile Жыл бұрын

    I'd love to see you deconstruct 'The Artist' (black turtleneck , sunglasses and beret / generic French guy with moustache) or 'The Nerd' (glasses, suspenders,etc) Im also an illustrator and I've loved your videos talking about the universal/western visual shorthand we use for things, especially the video you made about the symbols for toys 🥁🧸⚽🚂

  • @the_katzy
    @the_katzy Жыл бұрын

    With the beards, I'd actually guess that it's to do with a mix of "virility" and wealth. Being able to grow a long beard fully and actually maintain it (which I can personally attest is a pretty big pain) would be a huge show of wealth since keeping it groomed requires actual time and effort. I'd hazard a guess that just the few (bi)weekly hours needed to care for a beard nowadays would be much longer in centuries past where clean, rushing water was a heavenly luxury and... tonics, you could say, were either expensive and ineffective or just non-existent. Plus, if you could keep that beard full well into your old age, it'd be a way of saying that you're still sprightly in some regards and thus capable to rule.

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    That's good analysis!

  • @nidohime6233

    @nidohime6233

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough There is also the impression that someone with a big beard is someone dutiful and wise, usually done in more benevolent depictions of kings since they are supposed to be respected as the most powerful person of a kingdom with a huge responsability on their backs.

  • @elderscrollsswimmer4833

    @elderscrollsswimmer4833

    Жыл бұрын

    I'd say the beard simply stands for "adult, mature man". Plus Egypt had a certain style of beard as official part of regalia, including some fake ones. Also, maybe some kings were paranoid enough not to let anyone near their throat with a razor.

  • @jennifermorrey7378
    @jennifermorrey7378 Жыл бұрын

    A "bearded king" could also be a sign of a "wise king" because good kings are always wise!

  • @almightycinder
    @almightycinder Жыл бұрын

    What about the different stock villains, such as the undead sorcerer and the grand vizear/chancellor? You can find a lot of villains that look like either Skeletor or Jafar. Plus, I think Skeletor would look awesome in your art style.

  • @judobigdog7683
    @judobigdog7683 Жыл бұрын

    I always love how I will literally never be able to guess what the next vid you make it. Love this quality 'tent!

  • @SylviaRustyFae
    @SylviaRustyFae Жыл бұрын

    JJ, you shudve delved deeper into "why purple?" bcuz the fact that it is so rare is why it gained an eventual rep of bein a noble colour. Heres a tidbit from the eastern roman empire durin the reign of Justinian and Theodora. "According to Procopius, at a meeting of the government council, Theodora spoke out against leaving the palace and underlined the significance of someone who died as a ruler instead of living as an exile or in hiding, saying, "royal purple is the noblest shroud" Also, that rarity of dye for makin purple didnt only last thru roman times; it lasted until the mid 1800s.

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    Why are there no paintings of kings wearing purple?

  • @sempersuffragium9951

    @sempersuffragium9951

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough 1. As discussed above, it might just be, that artists used red to symbolize purple, creating a vicious cycle, whereby kings would see portraits of their ancestors wearing red, and conclude, that red looked even better, than purple. 2. Another colour that featured prominently in royal garments was ultramarine blue - associated with virgin Mary, and hideously expensive. 3. I think that red might just have taken over as "the shade of purple" that everyone ended up wearing, when it became necessary to brand other things as royal (the most notable example being the British royal guards "scarlet tunics" - scarlet being associated with the royal purple. (although - fun fact - in the British army a blue uniform served to signal a unit's close proximity to the king (for example the cavalry regiment of the blues and royals, or artillery regiments before they all got the standard camo look)

  • @SylviaRustyFae

    @SylviaRustyFae

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough The most famous portrait of Emperor Justinian is actually him wearin purple robes

  • @emmag9890
    @emmag9890 Жыл бұрын

    This kinda makes me think of those princess hat things (actually called hennins) and how they were actually worn by noblewomen in the middle ages, mostly in France

  • @zacharyhertz4984
    @zacharyhertz4984 Жыл бұрын

    Another amazing video like always 👍

  • @hsmk-zd9hv
    @hsmk-zd9hv Жыл бұрын

    We all know who the real King is. Long live JJ the first!

  • @metsfan1873
    @metsfan1873 Жыл бұрын

    So the purple snail-based dye is also traditionally thought to be used on the Jewish tallis (or tallit) - sometimes described as a "prayer shawl" (which isn't quite right - but close enough). Well for the better part of 2,000 years or so this was impossible, because the snails were thought to be extinct. In the 1980s (I think) a small colony of them were found living in the coastal waters of Caesarea in Israel. (This has it's own irony, being a city built by Rome as a Roman powerbase in Judea. As you noted, Rome also knew of this snail.) Now the stuff is available at great expense - the snails are farmed, but growing out a large enough population is a whole thing of its own. Some Jewish groups now demand this dye, most take the view that "other dyes were good enough for centuries, we can wait until this stuff is farmed out to provide large sustainable harvests" and still others that "other dyes are still good enough, get over yourself." I don't know that there's a video in that, but it's interesting all the same.

  • @adrianblake8876

    @adrianblake8876

    Жыл бұрын

    But for the prayer shawl it's actually blue, not purple (though "blue and purple" is a common phrase in hebrew)... Also, no. They didn't use "other dyes", they just kept it in its undyed white state...

  • @annmettam1948
    @annmettam1948 Жыл бұрын

    J.J. 's Videos are just the Best. Well researched and never boring.

  • @hugh.g.rection5906
    @hugh.g.rection5906 Жыл бұрын

    purple is the colour of royalty due to how rare and valuable the dye was. nowadays we have artificial ways of making purple dye but the only purple dye that used to be available costs around $2,500 per gram today

  • @supertombrother1988
    @supertombrother1988 Жыл бұрын

    Seeing as how Christmas is coming up; I think you should go over the various looks of Santa Claus around the world. The Father Christmas version looks a lot like Santa Christ from Nostalgia Critic.

  • @TheAlexSchmidt

    @TheAlexSchmidt

    Жыл бұрын

    He's actually already done a video on other versions of Santa Claus.

  • @guillemedina7908

    @guillemedina7908

    Жыл бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/hptpmKmIZqy5c7g.html&pp=ugMICgJlcxABGAE%3D

  • @supertombrother1988

    @supertombrother1988

    Жыл бұрын

    @@guillemedina7908 there's actually a lot more santas than the ones pictured in that video. I wanted a video with ALL of them. Three out of twenty something isn't all.

  • @fluxin9467
    @fluxin9467 Жыл бұрын

    I think a great video idea that ties into "the king" character would be a video about common western archetypes. I'm sure you would have plenty of fun drawing these archetypes in your own style!

  • @ragnaroni
    @ragnaroni Жыл бұрын

    You get my "I love this video" award. Now you can claim it is award winning and not be wrong!

  • @MrNiceguyofficial
    @MrNiceguyofficial Жыл бұрын

    Your allways teching me about stuff i didnt know I wanted to know :) also nice your repping my dude Harald Rex V

  • @Thegrimforest
    @Thegrimforest Жыл бұрын

    Love these type of videos, great job! I think an interesting topic could be the stereotypical depiction of the devil/ or demons as a red guy with horns and a pitchfork

  • @JJMcCullough

    @JJMcCullough

    Жыл бұрын

    Ooh that’s a good idea

  • @scottboyenga7532

    @scottboyenga7532

    Жыл бұрын

    Along the same vein, it would also be interesting to see how Western culture has depicted God (in human form).

  • @elliottgussow9555

    @elliottgussow9555

    Жыл бұрын

    And a tail with an arrowhead point.

  • @overthecounterbeanie

    @overthecounterbeanie

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough you might check out Offhand Disney's recent video, it covers some of the visual tropes of the pop-culture Devil: kzread.info/dash/bejne/mWxn0cqjXdWscbw.html

  • @robertjarman3703

    @robertjarman3703

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JJMcCullough TedEd already did that.

  • @lucaio502
    @lucaio502 Жыл бұрын

    The topic of Final Fantasy made me think of other fantasy based characters and thier looks. Things like knights who looked different from the modern cartoony depictions of them, and wizards with large conical hats. In the same way that everyone knows real Vikings never wore horned helmets, yet we never question why they're depicted with them to begin with.

  • @stormRed
    @stormRed Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for being an endless source of fun fact trivia

  • @arcadecaptainYT
    @arcadecaptainYT Жыл бұрын

    I was literally just thinking about this yesterday, while writing my history paper, this is so awesome!

  • @MrDEWaters
    @MrDEWaters Жыл бұрын

    I think it should have been noted that playing cards almost always feature a king who is bearded, whereas the Jack (or Knave) is clean-shaven. Also playing card kings are good examples of the kingly robes, scepters, and crowns.

  • @infamoussphere7228

    @infamoussphere7228

    Жыл бұрын

    I would say that beards also have to do with age, and kings contrast with princes. The prince is always clean shaven, the king is older and has had time to grow a decent beard.

  • @SecretSquirrelFun
    @SecretSquirrelFun Жыл бұрын

    Visual shorthand fascinates me 🙂 Oh, and I really like the way they portray burglars in Japan. It’s totally different than the masked person that I grew up with in Australia/ America

  • @shirleymaemattthews4862

    @shirleymaemattthews4862

    Жыл бұрын

    How do they potray them in Japan?

  • @yumi9626

    @yumi9626

    Жыл бұрын

    @@shirleymaemattthews4862 they tie a handkerchief over their face knot side forward and carry a big patterned santa sized sack

  • @waynemontpetit8181
    @waynemontpetit8181 Жыл бұрын

    There's actually an all-purple store at a tourist store in Myrtle Beach (PURPLEologist). It's got all kinds of purple accessories, home decor, and clothing. For those purple lovers out there 💜

  • @Zagill

    @Zagill

    Жыл бұрын

    Wait, there's The Purple Store at Pike Place in Seattle too! What a weirdly specific thing to exist in completely separate places

  • @wyattlewis4069

    @wyattlewis4069

    Жыл бұрын

    That's what that place is?! It's just a short drive from my house, but I never took the time to really ponder what they purvey. I usually just walk past it on my way to The Spice and Tea exchange in Barefoot

  • @waynemontpetit8181

    @waynemontpetit8181

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Zagill is it called PURPLEologist? Perhaps it's a franchise

  • @waynemontpetit8181

    @waynemontpetit8181

    Жыл бұрын

    @@wyattlewis4069 yes it's in Barefoot Landing! 😊. My wife and daughter's favorite color is purple, so they were in their glory LOL

  • @Zagill

    @Zagill

    Жыл бұрын

    @@waynemontpetit8181 nope, literally called "The Purple Store"

  • @TheRootedWord
    @TheRootedWord Жыл бұрын

    12:47 The scepter originates from the rod, which is mention in the Bible associated with rulers. Probably it came from the shepherd's crook and symbolized the shepherding of the people. It is said that Jesus will rule them with an iron rod.

  • @__Christian_
    @__Christian_ Жыл бұрын

    Can’t wait for the next installment of Why Does This Thing Look Like That

  • @lordnobody2210
    @lordnobody2210 Жыл бұрын

    I think the beard thing is because Kings rule till death so a long well groomed white beard represents strength and wisdom as you were able to survive long into your reign. Kinda Like how in Sparta elders were treated with high respect because being old means that you've been able to survive all the wars that you go through which implies strength and renown.

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s also a masculine symbol. Kings as an archetype demand a certain level of Masculinity. Big beards are an easy way to get that across in a cartoon.

  • @theprofessionalfence-sitter

    @theprofessionalfence-sitter

    Жыл бұрын

    @@captainl-ron4068 Is the King necessarily stereotyped as particularly masculine? I feel nobles (though kings somewhat less so) are usually portrayed as somewhat effeminate.

  • @ksplatypus
    @ksplatypus Жыл бұрын

    Great vid! Never really thought about this stock character much. Definitely made up of a lot of parts. Conversely, the queen stock character usually just tends to look like one of the previous queens of Britain (Victoria and both Elizabeths depending on when the story takes place)

  • @JeffKing310
    @JeffKing310 Жыл бұрын

    I’m sensing another award is on its way. Now I’m off to pick up my polished sceptre.

  • @oatmealman1586
    @oatmealman1586 Жыл бұрын

    I think the reason the crown stereotype survived so long despite no crowns actually looking like that was the fact that it was simpler to draw and still got the point across since most crowns at least had some points along the sides in the form of decorations. It's essentially like saying "long time no see" instead of "I haven't seen you in a while" because it's easier, despite the fact that it's a primitive and outdated sentence.

  • @rodrigoadrianrodriguezaedo4477

    @rodrigoadrianrodriguezaedo4477

    Жыл бұрын

    afaik the phrase "long time no see" comes from an English-based pidgin that used to be used in Southern China in the 19th century

  • @wendyleeconnelly2939

    @wendyleeconnelly2939

    Жыл бұрын

    Also royal tiaras worn by women in royal families ARE spiky crowns.

  • @richard6196
    @richard6196 Жыл бұрын

    I think an aspect of the beard that you missed is that a beard means that the king is quite old. A king that has ruled presumably from early adulthood or eve childhood to the point that they are able to grow a thick and even white beard means that they are healthy, well liked and competent, things that the ideal king should be.

  • @shinyagumon7015
    @shinyagumon7015 Жыл бұрын

    Great episode. In regards to the scepter, I through it was a derivative of a weapon as a sign of power and authority. Like how the British Parliament or the US Senate have Mallets to signify their authority so does a king have a sceptre to signify theirs. Also since Kings derive their power from the divine it could also be a worldly equivalent to the Bishops Staff or be a symbol of the king as defender of the Faith.

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s a Mace.

  • @Luma1606
    @Luma1606 Жыл бұрын

    Very cool Video! Just have to point out a small mistake, at 5:32, you actually depicted the Museum of Art History in Vienna (which, as a Fun Fact, looks identically to the Natural History Museum of Vienna)! The Imperial Treasury would be located a bit further off at the Hofburg, which is the former imperial palace of the Habsburgs :)

  • @TheTuckTuck13
    @TheTuckTuck13 Жыл бұрын

    Great episode, as usual! I love your work. You’ve got me puzzled by the flash of the kid with the, balloon?, though. I’ve watched a ton of your videos and haven’t noticed that kind of thing before so it really stood out to me and now I can’t stop thinking about it. What does it mean?

  • @The1Zubatman
    @The1Zubatman Жыл бұрын

    If you are deconstructing classical trope characters I would love to see your take on knights and princesses. Very common in our western storytelling and very close to the King.

  • @1waka2laka
    @1waka2laka Жыл бұрын

    I dont know if its only me, but I find the facial hair of a man conveys experience/wisdom in the sense that most males need to be fully grown before they can even grow a proper beard. Without it the king may look too young and immature.

  • @TheBrianFlanagan
    @TheBrianFlanagan Жыл бұрын

    J.J.: “Can you think of another cartoon character that you’d like to see me deconstruct?” My mind: “Don’t say Stripperella, don’t say Stripperella.” Me: “ ummmmm… *Yoshi* “ 🤥

  • @freddiesimmons1394
    @freddiesimmons1394 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for caring about the little things so much, JJ. This is the most fun parasocial relationship I could wish for

  • @canwegetashoutouttoworking2002
    @canwegetashoutouttoworking2002 Жыл бұрын

    I think the reason why they have beards is much simpler: Beards symbolise old age, old people are wise, kings are seen as wise people.

  • @taherbertolinirodrigues9104
    @taherbertolinirodrigues9104 Жыл бұрын

    One thing to point out, the purple they had available on the middle ages was really really red in appearance, the shade is called “Byzantine purple” so you can see how it looks today

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    There are still producers of genuine ‘Tyrian Red’ the old seashell derived purple pigment.

  • @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei

    @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei

    Жыл бұрын

    @@captainl-ron4068 Yes and it's still extremely expensive. So it didn't change that much. And just like people back then we have cheaper alternatives for purple dye.

  • @captainl-ron4068

    @captainl-ron4068

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei the biggest change in the colouring of clothing etc since that time is the invention/discovery of 'mordants' which are chemicals used to fix colours that would otherwise wash out. Alum salts were the first widely used, and the entire world got a lot more colourful when that happened

  • @Georgnac
    @Georgnac Жыл бұрын

    Why not a queen for the next one? But probably only as a KZread short, because there are a lot of the same themes as with the king stock character (e.g. anachronistic clothing and personal grooming). Wizards draped in robes with various astronomical bodies and constellations and big pointy hats to match would be an obvious choice, but I'd also suggest taking a look at depictions of professional fools and jesters, which seem to be mostly influenced by theatre rather than actual custom??

  • @kajunsblerdeye9325
    @kajunsblerdeye9325 Жыл бұрын

    I about spit my coffee out when you showed the beardless Burger King

  • @TheGrimAlliance11
    @TheGrimAlliance11 Жыл бұрын

    1:45 was that the king from battle chess? Man that takes me back!