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Original fileThe Second, Third, and Fourth Trumpets of the Apocalypse
BambergApocalypseFolio020vAndFolio21r
About This Work
This illumination consists of two framed, rectangular scenes separated by a vertical margin, presented on parchment. On the left, an angel with blue wings blows a trumpet while, below, a great mountain of fire descends into the sea, turning it blood-red, while a figure representing a river spring gestures in shock. On the right, a second angel sounds a trumpet over a landscape where a star falls into a river, causing human figures to perish in the bitter waters, while a dark celestial orb and stars appear above against a reddish sky. Both scenes are characterized by bold color blocking, stylized drapery folds, and clear, didactic composition typical of Ottonian manuscript art.
This artwork is a primary illustration from the Bamberg Apocalypse, an Ottonian illuminated manuscript commissioned by Emperor Henry II. It provides a visual commentary on the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse of John), reflecting the millenarian anxieties and political theology of the early 11th-century Holy Roman Empire.
Inscriptions(Latin)
Et secundus angelus tuba cecinit. & tamquam mons magnus igne ardens missus est in mare. Et tertia pars maris facta est sanguis. & mortua est tertia pars creature qui habent animas. Et tertia pars nauium interit. aquarum absinthium & multi hominum mortui sunt de aquis quia amare facte sunt. Et tertius angelus tuba cecinit & cecidit de celo stella magna ardens tamquam facula. Et cecidit in tertiam partem fluminum & in fontes aquarum. Et nomen ei dicitur absinthium. Et facta est tertia pars Et quartus angelus tuba cecinit. Et percussa est tertia pars solis & lune & tertia pars stellarum. ut obscuraretur tertia pars eorum. ut dies non luceret pars tertia. & nox ita similiter.
Translation
And the second angel sounded the trumpet: and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea. And the third part of the sea became blood: And the third part of those creatures died, which had life: and the third part of the ships, was destroyed. of the waters, wormwood, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: And the name of the star is called wormwood. And the third part... And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them might be darkened, and the day might not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner.
Connected Texts
Book of Revelation
This image directly illustrates the prophecy of the Seven Trumpets found in Revelation 8:8–12.