AHPC XV Skull Duel, Canto I

As one so near malaria's ecstasy/ Of shivering that his every fingernail/ Turns blue, and at the merest sight of shade/ He trembles head to foot, such I became

Inferno, Canto XVII

Dante Alighieri died in 1321. He was in Ravenna, in exile from his beloved Florence, aged about 56. It is generally thought that he died from malaria, the symptoms of which Dante had described above. The Centre for Disease Control supports this view*, noting the poet's recent travel through the 'bad air/ malum aeris' of the mosquito-infested swamps around Venice.

18-19th century Italian sculpture representing Dante's death.

After his death, Dante's skull will have many adventures! Join me as we trace them over the course of the Challenge.

Skull Tally

• PeteF 11
• QuinnM 10
• DavidB 7
• GregB 5
• TeemuL 1

We're underway, and the skullz are piling up. PeteF just ahead (boom tish) of QuinnM, but there's a long way to go yet.

Let's start with some classic skellies from MartinC!

DavidB has a skull on his converted hauler.

QuinnM has a lovely skull front-and-centre on this troll.

And a pile of skullz for this gribbly.

TeemuL has the fan-favourite death puppet.

GregB does no wrong with his 30K skullz.

PeteF's shadow hulk carries a collection of skullz.

Skull of the week

Frog skullz from JohnS!

Runner-up: BruceR's zombie camel skullz

To enter, tag your post with 'Skull Duel' and state in the post both how many skullz you have painted, and what your running total is. Feel free to enter the duel at any time in the Challenge.

*Breedlove, B. (2024). Poet, Politician, Exile, and Probable Malaria Victim. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 30(7), 1500-1501. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3007.ac3007.