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Original fileSecond and Third Horsemen of the Apocalypse
BambergApocalypseFolio014vAndFolio15r
About This Work
These two illuminated manuscript pages depict apocalyptic visions in a Romanesque style with bold outlines and flat color fields. On the left, a rider in a blue tunic sits atop a red horse, holding a large sword, while a small, stylized lion stands to the right. On the right, a rider in a green tunic sits on a dark-colored horse holding a balance scale, with a small lamb-like creature standing to the right. Both scenes are framed by dark red borders, set against a background of simplified ground lines and pale blue sky.
This illumination is part of the Bamberg Apocalypse (c. 1000–1020 AD), a foundational example of Ottonian manuscript art commissioned by Emperor Otto III or Henry II, illustrating the Book of Revelation.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Et cum aperuisset sigillum secundum. audivi secundum animal dicens. Veni & vide. Et exiit equus rufus. & qui sedebat super illum datum est ei ut sumeret pacem de terra & ut invicem se interficiant. Et datus est ei gladius magnus. Et cum aperuisset sigillum tercium. audivi tercium animal dicens. Veni & vide. Et ecce equus niger. & qui sedebat super eum habebat stateram in manu sua. Et audivi tanquam vocem in medio quatuor animalium dicentem. Ii librae tritici denario & tres librae ordei denario & vinum & oleum ne leseris.
Translation
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Connected Texts
Book of Revelation
The images are literal visual translations of Revelation 6:3–6 concerning the second and third seals.