The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 14

The angel sounded the trumpet. The sun, moon, and stars

are darkened. Woe, woe, woe is cried out

over the earth. Revelation 8.

original Latin: "Angelus tuba cecinit. Sol, luna, & stellæ obscurantur. Væ, uæ, uæ terrę acclama tur. Apoca. 8."

An angel sounds the trumpet. Sun, moon, and

stars darkened. Woe, woe, woe will be

cried out over the earth. Revelation 8.

original German: "Ein Engel posaunet. Son̄ Mon vnd Stern verfinstert. We/ we/ we wirt vber die Erd geschuien. Apo 8."

Angel, trumpet original: "tuba", Sun, moon, stars, Apocalypse The Book of Revelation, trumpet original: "Posaune", Woe original: "Wehe"

This illustration and text depict the sounding of the Fourth Trumpet (Revelation 8:12–13). In this stage of the divine judgments, the disaster moves from the earth and waters to the heavens. A third of the sun, moon, and stars are "struck," causing them to lose their light and plunging the world into partial darkness.

The woodcut captures this cosmic event with striking detail. In the sky, the sun and a crescent moon—depicted with a human face—appear darkened or obscured. Below the angel, a banner or scroll descends from the trumpet with the repeated word "WE" (the German for "Woe"), echoing the biblical "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth." This cry serves as a terrifying transition, warning that although the first four trumpets brought great destruction, the final three (the "three woes") will be even more severe.

The landscape below features a meticulously rendered 16th-century city, complete with a tall church spire and a bridge. This artistic choice bridges the gap between the ancient biblical prophecy and the contemporary world of the reader, suggesting that such divine reckonings could manifest in their own familiar environment.