No. 040, in ten platesMiddle Ages Black on Black
Knights, monks and a castle or two, small and inky at the bottom of a great deal of white sky.
Despite the name, this is black on white, and mostly white. Each plate is a scratchy ink vignette in the manner of a medieval marginal doodle: solid black cloaks and horses, quick hatching for chain mail and brick, stippled grass, and a few plates signed off with a small red seal. One plate swaps white for cream paper. The figures are small, the sky is huge, and that restraint is what makes the ten plates feel like pages from one book.
The cast reads like a cheerful chronicle. A knight in mail sits a shaggy horse with a spear; another holds a lance with a pennant on darker ground. A procession of monks and a crowned king shuffles past, a small child in tow. Three clerics confer over a table with a beehive on it. A tower rises from the deck of a boat while a lone rower paddles by, a hill town bristles with spires above a pond where a stag wades, and a cloaked figure in a skiff looks up at a castle on a craggy island. Elsewhere a horned figure waits between pines under a tiny moon, and two figures stand in a brick archway as cats prowl.
This is the most clock-friendly room in the gallery. In nearly every plate the top half is untouched white, so the time sits on clean paper with no help needed. The drawings live in the bottom third, exactly where widgets and the dock go, so on the Home Screen choose a sparse layout and let the knights show. Dark labels suit the white ground; this is a light-mode set.
Ideal for history nerds, fantasy readers and minimalists with a sense of humour. Between the Pines and Village Gathering are free in full resolution; the other eight are premium.
The knights are small, the sky is enormous, and the clock has never had it better.
Try each one on before you save it.
Tap any plate to hang it on the Lock Screen, then switch to the Home Screen to see it behind your apps. This is the same preview the app gives you, on your own phone, with your own clock.
Every plate here can be ordered as an unframed matte print, from A$59 with free shipping. Or hang three side by side: any three plates from Middle Ages Black on Black, 8 × 16 in each, for A$179.
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Plate IThe Mounted Knight -
Plate IICastle on the Crag -
Plate IIIThe Procession -
Plate IVHill of Spires -
Plate VLance and Pennant -
Plate VIThe Beehive Council -
Plate VIITower Ship -
Plate VIIIThe Archway -
Plate IXBetween the Pines -
Plate XVillage Gathering
How Middle Ages Black on Black wears.
Minimal, wry, storybook, quiet. Minimal medieval ink vignette, sized for every iPhone up to 2160 × 4800.
On the Lock Screen
The Mounted Knight leaves the whole upper half blank, so the time hangs over the spear tip like a banner.
On the Home Screen
Castle on the Crag gives a strong central shape with a dark band at the bottom that grounds the dock.
Full resolution, every model
Each plate is delivered at the exact size of your iPhone's screen, up to 2160 × 4800, so nothing is stretched or soft at the edges.
- Vellum white#FFFFFF
- Mist#E0E0E0
- Mail grey#808080
- Ink black#000000
- Iron#404040
Free plates, and the rest.
Open Middle Ages Black on Black in pxCream and preview any plate on your Lock Screen first. Prices come from the App Store in your region and are shown in the app before you buy.
Middle Ages Black on Black
Two free platesFree
Full resolution, saved straight to Photos.
A single premium plate10 credits
Yours for good: re-download it any time, on this iPhone, at no extra cost.
pxCream UnlimitedMonthly
Every premium plate in Middle Ages Black on Black and the rest of the gallery, for as long as you subscribe.
On the App Store · iPhone only · No account needed
About Middle Ages Black on Black.
Why is it called Black on Black when the plates are white?
Call it a medieval joke. The ink is black, the cloaks and horses are black, and the paper behind them is white or cream, with the occasional red seal.
Will widgets cover the medieval drawings?
They can, because the scenes sit low. Use the Lock Screen, or a Home Screen page with only a row or two of apps, to keep the figures visible.
Can I get all ten plates without paying?
Two of them. Between the Pines and Village Gathering are free in full resolution; the rest of this room is premium, at 10 credits a plate in the pxCream app (re-download forever) or included with Unlimited.
Something else? Support answers within two business days.
Middle Ages Black on Black, in your pocket.
pxCream is on the App Store for iPhone, with Middle Ages Black on Black and the rest of the gallery inside.