The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 13

The angel sounded the trumpet; a burning star fell into the rivers and springs, from which people die. Revelation 8.

original Latin: "Angelus tuba cecinit, stella ardens in flumina & fontes cecidit, unde homines moriuntur. Apoc. 8."

An angel sounds the trumpet / A burning star falls into the water and the wells / from which the people die. Revelation 8.

original German: "Ein Engel posaunet / Brennender stern fellt in wasser unnd brunnen / davon die menschen sterben. Apoc. 8."

Apocalypse, Revelation, Angel, trumpet, star, trumpet original: "posaunet", Wormwood Wormwood: A bitter plant used here as the name of the star to symbolize the bitterness and toxicity of the poisoned water., Third Trumpet

This illustration captures the sounding of the Third Trumpet (Revelation 8:10–11). In this sequence of divine judgments, the focus shifts from the salt-water oceans to the world's fresh water supply—the rivers, springs, and wells essential for human life.

In the woodcut, an angel is positioned in the upper clouds, sounding a long, slender trumpet. Directly below, a massive star—depicted with many flaming points—descends toward a stone-rimmed well or fountain. This star is named "Wormwood" in the biblical text. The artist has included a town or city in the background, grounding the supernatural event in a human landscape.

The figures shown near the water sources appear to be in distress or dying, illustrating the text's warning that many people would perish because the waters became "bitter." This woodcut serves as a stark visual reminder of the vulnerability of life when the most basic necessities, like water, are corrupted.