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Original fileThe First and Second Trumpets of the Apocalypse
BambergApocalypseFolio019vAndFolio20r
About This Work
The left panel shows a row of seven haloed angels standing above, each blowing a trumpet. Below them, an angel stands before an altar and pours fire onto the earth, while a figure looks on. The right panel features a large, central angel blowing a trumpet, positioned over a landscape where trees and greenery are being consumed by fire. A small human figure stands in the lower right, gesturing toward the destruction. The style is characteristic of Ottonian manuscript illumination, featuring flat fields of color, stylized drapery, and bold outlines.
This manuscript illumination is a central component of the Bamberg Apocalypse, an Ottonian masterpiece produced at the scriptorium of Reichenau Abbey for Emperor Otto III or Henry II, illustrating the apocalyptic visions from the Book of Revelation.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Et primus angelus tuba cecinit. Et facta est grando et ignis mixta cum sanguine et missum est in terram et tercia pars terre combusta est et omne foenum viride combustum est et tercia pars arborum combusta est.
Translation
And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth, and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Connected Texts
Book of Revelation
The image is a direct visual depiction of the narrative described in Revelation 8:6-9.