Knight In Snoring Armor

Don Quixote by Cervantes

These past couple of days have brought two or three Don Quixote references to my ears, which spawned the desire to do another booksketch tonight.

While I don't think this particular illustration is directly taken from any scene in the novel, I could picture ol' Quixote insisting on sleeping in his ratty armor to always be at the ready, should danger or villainy rear its ugly head. Lest any windmills sneak up on him.

Now that I'm thinking of this illustration, I guess there's another layer to it. The novel (or two novels, technically) is mostly about The Man From La Mancha's spiral into his dreamworld, losing sight of reality and becoming enamored with chivalry and knighthood. It's interesting to picture this dreamer actually dreaming, wrapped in his armor. Armor from what? Reality.

The illustration was done with inkwash and Micron Pen.

My Kingdom For A Horseradish

"I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion."

It was about time I did another sketch from Don Quixote. This here jolly, simple fellow (atop his donkey) is Sancho Panza. He comically served Don Quixote as a faithful squire through various misadventures and escapades. DQ recruits him at the onset of the book by dazzling Sancho with hopes of governing his own island once DQ becomes a famous knight. The kind of thing that grabs at a peasant's heart, right?

After I drew the sketch, I wiki'd Sancho and was surprised to find a picture taken of a statue of Sancho in Madrid, Spain. The statue looks pretty much like the sketch, sans sandwich. I felt the need to draw him with some sort of food because he was constantly grumbling about how hungry he was.

Since Sancho is a rather simple, hardworking fellow, and Don Quixote is a rather muddled, disillusioned figure, Sancho is often found to be the more rational of the two. I suppose you could say that he was the brains of the operation, since DQ couldn't really claim that title, being addled and all. So, really, it was a pretty good team!

Be Knight'd

I'll come right out and say that I think I would have made a good knight. One of the noble ones, not a corrupt pillager. Nay, I say. I don't think that's an odd thing to admit. People can have dreams, you know!

I think I have at least forty books (fantasy) which feature some sort of sword-bearing, armored warrior in each. I know, right?

You just can't be a knight these days. There is just no place in society for a suit of armor to tromp about. And there aren't even any more dragons or Grendels or Elfstones or anything. You have to just be knighted in your imagination. Which is one reason why Don Quixote (titular character pictured above) is my favorite book of all time.

Alonso Quixano read so much books of chivalry that, in his old age and with a lack of sleep and care, started to believe himself a mighty knight. So he slapped together some makeshift armor, renamed himself "Don Quixote" and set off on his rickety old horse across the countryside. Misadventures ensued. MANY misadventures. For example, he attacked a windmill because he saw it to as a threatening giant. I love it.

The book isn't just humor. It explores disillusionment, melancholy, deceit, loyalty, faith and many more themes and subthemes, dreams and daydreams. In the first volume, Don Quixote is trying to impress himself (and his revered maiden) onto everyone he meets. In the second volume, people have heard of his misadventures and seek to mess with him. It is one of just a handful of books that have made me laugh out loud. And at times it is extremely touching and insightful. Go read it.