Cephalophores intrigue me. I mean, walking along, holding your own head, must give you quite a different outlook on life. And many of the stories are somewhat lacking after the key moment of the head-carrying.

This one is Saint Denis, a Parisian saint and his statue stands on the front of Notre Dame.

I took this photo in Notre Dame today. Clearly, for those who know their New Testament, it’s the murder of the innocents from Jesus’ childhood. I think there are a few things to note:

1. The baldy on the left has a killing technique which leaves much to be desired. Trying to get the leverage required to skewer that baby is going to be really tricky from that angle. At best, he’s likely to remove an arm. I mean, presumably the order was given at rather short notice and he hadn’t had much innocent-mudering experience, but he’s clearly going at it with gusto. He just needs to work on that technique.
2. The one with the the flowing locks on the right isn’t faring much better. True, he’s having to contend with the mother who’s got her arm in his face, but if he brings that sword down from the position it’s in, he’s going to hit baldy before he gets anywhere near baby-stabbing territory. Most likely he’ll end up getting it caught in that tree.
3. Perhaps this bad technique is due to the fact that the boss, Herod, is sitting right next by them. Someone needs to tell him about the dangers of micromanagement. Maybe Herod has a bit more experience of murdering babies and he’s trying to impart some wisdom, but I think it’s pretty easy to tell this training session isn’t going well.
4. Finally, all of them have failed to notice that the baby they’re looking for is RIGHT NEXT TO THEM. I mean, it can’t be easy to creep away, unnoticed, ON A DONKEY. They’re not creatures known for their ability to prowl silently. Granted, baby-killing’s probably a noisy business, but I think a bit of attention to detail wouldn’t go amiss.