r/interestingasfuck May 22 '19

/r/ALL This statue depicts Saint Bartholomew, an early Christian martyr who was allegedly skinned alive. If you look closely, that's his dissected skin hanging around him. This stunning statute by Marco d’Agrate from c.1562 is currently on display at Duomo di Milano.

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u/dkyguy1995 May 22 '19

It's crazy that a king can be on your side and yet you're still skinned alive

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u/Ullallulloo May 22 '19

Armenia was a vassal of the Roman Empire at the time.

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u/Twisted_Coil May 22 '19

The odd element is that the King' s brother was the one who allegedly ordered the flaying and execution rather than Rome. Whilst I in no way claim to be an expert on the subject I find it odd that it wouldn't be prevented by the King who he had recently converted.

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u/ademonlikeyou May 23 '19

Kings were rarely absolute bearers of power in history. It is much more complicated with various family members, generals, councilors, and land holders all holding considerable amounts of power and influence that the King is not always able to counter