The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 16

Four angels who slay. Clad in breast-
plates, they sit upon horses having heads of lions,
and tails similar to serpents. Revelation 9.
original Latin: "Quatuor angeli occidentes. Loricati insident equis habentibus capita leonum, caudas similes serpentibus. Apoc. 9."

An angel sounds the trumpet. Angels kill
the people. Mounted troops / whose horses
had lion heads and tails like ser-
pents. Revelation 9.
original German: "Ein Engel posaunet. Engel tödten die menschen. Reysiger zeug / deren roß hetten löwen köpff schwenz wie schlangen. Apoc. 9."

This passage and its accompanying woodcut illustrate the Sixth Trumpet (the Second Woe). According to the biblical text, four angels who had been bound at the great river Euphrates are released to kill a third of mankind.

The description focuses on the terrifying nature of the "cavalry" (referred to in the German text as Reysiger zeug, or mounted troops). These are not natural horses; they possess the heads of lions, breathing fire and smoke, and their tails are like serpents with heads that can inflict harm. This imagery was frequently used in the 16th century to represent inescapable divine judgment or, in some contemporary commentaries, the threat of invading armies from the East.