Template:POTD/2010-07-29
"Sir Kenneth before the King", the frontispiece from an 1887 edition of Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman: A Tale of the Crusades. The novel takes place at the end of the Third Crusade, mostly in the camp of the Crusaders in Palestine. Scheming and partisan politics, as well as the illness of King Richard the Lionheart, are placing the Crusade in danger. In this scene, Sir Kenneth (far right) confesses to losing the Banner of England on his watch to King Richard (far left), and refuses to offer any defence of himself. By the end of the chapter, he faces his imminent execution. Kenneth is a fictional version of David Earl of Huntingdon, who did in fact return from the Third Crusade in 1190.Engraving: Brothers Dalziel; Restoration: Adam Cuerden