"The Lord of Misrule", Oil on Panel, 2008.

This image is inspired by the lore of the "Carnival King", the temporary sovereign chosen in mockery from Roman times onward in a patchwork of Pagan and Christian customs that survive today, to one extent or another, in Carnival and related holidays.

The most famous literary example of "The Lord of Misrule" (or "Pope of Fools") is to be found in the beginning of "Notre-Dame de Paris" wherein Quasimodo has the honor of being crowned as a mock king in the ceremony of "The Feast of Fools."

For further information on the "Lord of Misrule", Wikipedia has a nice article bereft of citations, and appropriately replete with dubious claims.

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