Maxime Morel
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maximemorel.bsky.social
Maxime Morel
@maximemorel.bsky.social
1.7K followers 590 following 27 posts
French PhD Researcher in history at the EUI (Florence)
Early Modern Mediterranean | Naval Ceremony | Diplomatic History
Coordinator of the Diplomatic and International History working group
Alumnus Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and ENS Paris-Saclay
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maximemorel.bsky.social
I was only able to know this was supposed to be a lion because this is how he rendered the Castille flag; it's proof that you can be an absolutely brilliant cartographer and completely incapable of even remotely conveying the idea of a lion
The flag of Castille and Leon, normally composed of two towers and two lions, but rendered with the same level of detail, so that the lions are basically three curved lines that are vaguely animal-shaped The actual flag of Castille and Leon for reference
November 3, 2025 at 7:04 PM
maximemorel.bsky.social
I found worse (of course these are winged lions, don't you see the little paws at the back?)
A Venetian flag on a portolan, but the Lion of Saint Mark is just a couple of lines for the body, a crescent for the head and some parallel lines for the wings. It does not look remotely like a lion A similar flag from the same author, somehow even more badly drawn, so that it looks even less like a lion
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
maximemorel.bsky.social
I'm going to have no choice but start a collection of goofy-looking Lions of St Mark on early modern Venetian banners because what is this
A 17th century depiction of the Venetian banner, with a silly-looking Lion of St Mark holding a book and a cross A 17th-century Venetian naval flag with another silly lion and a cross An extremely goofy-looking Lion of St Mark holding a book open in its front paws
October 21, 2025 at 9:35 AM
maximemorel.bsky.social
It was a pleasure to take part in #SplendidEncountersXII in Warsaw this week, investigating all the ways to "Fake it till you make it" in early modern diplomacy (perfect for one's impostor syndrome). Thank you again to the organisers for this lovely opportunity!
The Column Hall of the Faculty of History at Warsaw University, where the conference took place. The room is flanked by massive colums, and sports fancy carpets and furniture, as well as 19th-century statues.
September 24, 2025 at 8:31 AM
maximemorel.bsky.social
This little guy from 1686 is an accurate depiction of my face when trying to read some of these records
A marginalia (marginalium?) of a roughly-drawn human face in ink in a 1686 record. The face looks somewhat confused.
April 24, 2025 at 9:40 AM
maximemorel.bsky.social
Good evening, early modern hive mind! This is the first time I am doing this, and I could do with a little help or shared opinions. What date would you read in this picture: 1635 or 1638? I am torn between a weird 8 or an 5 written twice...
A photograph from a manuscript with a date including the numbers "163" and an unclear fourth number that could either be a 5 or an 8.
March 19, 2025 at 6:01 PM
maximemorel.bsky.social
Thank you Wikipedia, I often get them confused
A screenshot of the Wikipedia page for Pope Pius V (Head of the Catholic Church from 1566 to 1572). The text underneath it reads: "This article is about the head of the Catholic Church. For Nicaraguan dessert named after him, see Pio Quinto"
January 16, 2025 at 1:53 PM